Foreign media, citing Messari's observations on the XRP ecosystem in Q1 2026, stated that XRP's role in the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is expanding. Beyond payments and cross-asset bridging, the token is increasingly entering lending, stablecoins, tokenized assets, and on-chain liquidity scenarios.
Native lending is seen as the next catalyst.
Messari believes that the upcoming native lending feature on XRPL is a key driver of this change. This feature will allow users to lend and borrow XRP directly on-chain, extending its use from simple settlement to collateral and credit markets.
Within this framework, XRP is no longer just a payment intermediary asset, but may also become a liquid asset eligible for profit sharing. The article argues that this will improve the efficiency of XRP's capital utilization in DeFi scenarios.
On-chain data rises in sync
Messari noted that XRPL's average daily transaction volume reached 2.48 million in the first quarter of 2026, a 35.3% increase from the previous quarter. The article attributed this growth to increased payment activity, DeFi usage, and the circulation of tokenized assets.
- RLUSD has a market capitalization of $340.3 million on XRPL.
- The quarterly increase was 45%, making it the largest stablecoin on the network.
- RWA's size increased to $2.25 billion, a 124% increase quarter-on-quarter.
Messari believes that XRPL's presence in the tokenized asset sector is rising, and the flow of stablecoins and on-chain assets is also expanding in tandem.
Institutional settings are the core narrative
The article states that XRPL's distinguishing feature is that it integrates some financial functions directly into the protocol layer, rather than relying primarily on complex smart contracts. This design includes native token issuance, a built-in decentralized exchange, compliance modules, and identity support, making it more aligned with regulatory requirements for predictability and execution efficiency.
As stablecoins, RWAs, and decentralized liquidity expand on XRPL, XRP's role in the network becomes more diverse, including payment of transaction fees, account reserves, provision of market liquidity, and serving as a neutral bridge between different tokenized assets.
Additional information:In the article, Messari also mentioned that the XRPL ecosystem has recently seen the emergence of wallet products with exchange, yield, and fiat currency access functions, as well as QR code tools for real-world payment scenarios. These developments are seen as continuing to expand the use of XRP.
