• XRP is seeing a surge in popularity, with active addresses exploding by 490% since hitting its low point in the 2022 market cycle. That’s a big jump!
• Interestingly, Bitcoin’s active addresses have only nudged up by 10% during the same period.
• According to crypto analysis firm Glassnode, this recent buzz around XRP seems to be fueled mainly by everyday investors getting in on the action, also known as retail speculation.

It looks like XRP is riding a wave driven by regular folks in this market cycle. Active addresses on the XRP network have shot up by a whopping 490% since the market bottomed out in 2022. To put that in perspective, Bitcoin, the king of crypto, saw a much smaller increase of just 10% in active addresses over the same timeframe, as pointed out by data from Glassnode.

This kind of dramatic increase suggests there’s a lot of speculative excitement around XRP, especially from individual traders. This is quite different from Bitcoin’s current rally, which seems to be more稳, supported by larger institutions and bigger players.

Glassnode: Is the XRP Rally Retail-Driven While Bitcoin’s is Backed by Institutions?

Glassnode analysts highlighted that Bitcoin’s price has been climbing steadily, fueled by investments from institutions and the flow of money into those new Bitcoin ETFs. XRP, on the other hand, was relatively quiet for a while before suddenly experiencing a burst of speculative energy in December 2024.

“Even though both Bitcoin and XRP have seen similar price increases since the market lows, both climbing roughly 5x to 6x from their bottoms, the way they’ve gotten there is quite different,” Glassnode explained. “Bitcoin’s growth looks like a steady climb driven by real events and catalysts, whereas XRP’s surge seems to be largely based on speculation.”

Related: Curious about Ripple’s XRP strategy? We dive into the data to see if Ripple is Quietly Reducing Its XRP Sales Pressure: Escrow Data Analyzed

Why XRP’s Market Setup Could Mean Bumpy Roads Ahead

Recently, XRP’s price took off, attracting a flood of fresh investment. In fact, its Realized Cap, which gives us an idea of the total value invested in XRP, nearly doubled, jumping from $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion! However, it seems this upward momentum has cooled off a bit since late February 2025. Could this be a sign that the retail-driven excitement is starting to ease?

Adding to the picture, it appears that newer investors now hold a much larger chunk of XRP wealth. The portion of XRP’s realized cap held by addresses less than six months old has leaped from 23% all the way up to 62.8%. This creates a market structure that might be a bit unstable, potentially making it more vulnerable to sudden price drops.

Are Cracks Starting to Show? XRP Profitability Metrics Signal Potential Weakness

Glassnode’s analysis also points to another interesting trend: XRP’s Realized Profit/Loss Ratio has been on a steady decline since January 2025. Essentially, this means fewer investors are taking profits, while more and more are selling at a loss. Historically, these kinds of conditions often appear just before market downturns as confidence begins to waver.

Furthermore, looking at the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio for XRP supply held at a loss, we see a figure of 0.88. This indicates that there’s a moderate level of stress among XRP investors. While it’s not as extreme as what we’ve seen during previous bear market bottoms, it does raise some flags about whether XRP’s price can maintain its current stability going forward.

Looking Ahead: Is the XRP Rally Built to Last?

XRP’s recent growth definitely shows it’s capturing the attention of everyday investors. However, according to Glassnode’s analysis, questions remain about how long this rally can really last.

Related: Ready for the Moon? Crypto Analyst Egrag Believes XRP is Set for a ‘Final Blastoff’ After a ‘Boredom Phase’: Surge Predicted!

The thing is, we haven’t seen strong evidence of wider adoption for XRP yet, and it seems to be leaning heavily on retail speculation right now. This raises concerns about whether the price can stay stable in the long run. If this surge in new addresses doesn’t translate into XRP being used more in the real world, or if on-chain activity doesn’t grow beyond just trading, then XRP could be at risk of facing significant selling pressure down the line.