Bearish for XRP
RLUSD Displacing XRP Settlement Role
Stable
Steady attention in XRP coverage, without a clear trend.
Updated 13 October 2026
The bearish argument: The XRP Ledger's growing transaction volume and institutional adoption no longer correlate with XRP token price appreciation because network activity is increasingly denominated and settled in RLUSD rather than XRP, decoupling the token from the network's growth metrics.
How attention has changed
0% of XRP coverage
Rolling 3-day share · as of 13 Oct 2026
This measures attention in published coverage, not the likelihood of a price move.
| Date | Share of coverage |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-14 | 1.1% |
| 2026-09-15 | 0.7% |
| 2026-09-16 | 1.4% |
| 2026-09-17 | 0.6% |
| 2026-09-18 | 0.5% |
| 2026-09-19 | 0% |
| 2026-09-20 | 0% |
| 2026-09-21 | 0% |
| 2026-09-22 | 1.1% |
| 2026-09-23 | 2.1% |
| 2026-09-24 | 2.1% |
| 2026-09-25 | 1.5% |
| 2026-09-26 | 0.5% |
| 2026-09-27 | 0% |
| 2026-09-28 | 0% |
| 2026-09-29 | 0% |
| 2026-09-30 | 1.3% |
| 2026-10-01 | 0.7% |
| 2026-10-02 | 0.5% |
| 2026-10-03 | 0% |
| 2026-10-04 | 1.2% |
| 2026-10-05 | 1.1% |
| 2026-10-06 | 0.9% |
| 2026-10-07 | 0% |
| 2026-10-08 | 0% |
| 2026-10-09 | 0% |
| 2026-10-10 | 1.2% |
| 2026-10-11 | 0.9% |
| 2026-10-12 | 0.6% |
| 2026-10-13 | 0% |
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The argument and its evidence
Several outlets can carry the same argument; no single article is its origin. Read each one in its own context.
Recent coverage
-
U.Today · Published 9 Oct 2026
XRP Ledger Drops 400,000 Payments Out of Nowhere
In coverage record: 10 Oct 2026
“a drop in network activity is a weak indicator”
Read article
Earlier coverage
-
U.Today · Published 3 Oct 2026
Stellar Unlocks New DeFi Milestone at Over $273 Million
In coverage record: 4 Oct 2026
“steady growth of capital deployed across protocols based on its network, driving further growth in its native token, XLM”
Read article -
Cointelegraph · Published 29 Sep 2026
Peter Brandt Says Bitcoin May Hit $600K By 2029, Calls XRP A ‘Fool Coin’
In coverage record: 30 Sep 2026
“Just because something is transactional, that doesn't mean automatically that it must be more valuable”
Read article -
Crypto News · Published 23 Sep 2026
XRP Ledger delegation upgrade could go live Oct. 5, will XRP benefit?
In coverage record: 24 Sep 2026
“Stablecoins and other issued assets can handle much of the underlying value transfer while XRP retains roles including transaction fees, reserves and some routing functions.”
Read article -
U.Today · Published 22 Sep 2026
Stellar (XLM) Rally Proves Stronger Than XRP's at Key 50
In coverage record: 23 Sep 2026
“the XRP Ledger demonstrates complete centralization: just 264 wallets share $456.64 million, and the bulk of the supply is locked in custodial storage.”
Read article -
CoinGape · Published 21 Sep 2026
ECB’s Pontes Goes Live as One of Four Day-One DLT Platforms Runs on XRP Ledger Tech
In coverage record: 22 Sep 2026
“Institutions can adopt XRPL-derived rails without buying public XRP.”
Read article -
CoinGape · Published 15 Sep 2026
XRP ETFs Top $1.7B Inflows as 21Shares Flags Utility vs Holder Value Gap
In coverage record: 16 Sep 2026
“The firm flags a structural risk, institutions can settle on the XRP Ledger without holding XRP for long periods. That means XRPL activity can scale while token demand lags.”
Read article -
Crypto Breaking News · Published 13 Sep 2026
Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Rally Falters as Fed Rate Hike Odds Hit 86%
In coverage record: 14 Sep 2026
“XRP faces a more difficult setup than Bitcoin and Ethereum right now. Whales sold or redistributed about 90 million XRP tokens over the past week. Daily active addresses fell 90.18%, dropping from 388,492 to 38,163.”
Read article -
CryptoSlate · Published 10 Sep 2026
XRP activity is booming, but the users behind it are disappearing
In coverage record: 11 Sep 2026
“The firm classified 767 of those accounts as machines, responsible for 92% of all transactions, while 26 exchange hot wallets contributed another 1.1%. DEX order bots generated 39.25 million transactions, or 48.1% of August traffic, while dust-spraying accounts contributed another 18.79 million.”
Read article -
Crypto News · Published 9 Sep 2026
XRP fell 27% while RLUSD crossed $2.3 billion and nobody blinked
In coverage record: 10 Sep 2026
“The stablecoin is migrating to XRP's home chain at an accelerating pace, which means the ledger's growing transaction volume is increasingly denominated in dollars, not in XRP. Every mint on the XRPL is a vote of confidence in the chain and a vote of indifference toward the token.”
Read article