Ripple CTO defends low XRPL volume, says banks settle off‑chain

Ripple, the company behind major cryptocurrency XRP, is facing community backlash after online entrepreneur Andrei Jikh raised questions over the company’s projects and transparency.

Jikh took to X on Wednesday to voice his multiple concerns about Ripple, including the lack of verifiable on-chain data to support the company’s claim of securing over 300 bank partnerships in its 13 years of operation.

Ripple’s chief technology officer David Schwartz promptly joined the X thread, addressing all six questions raised by Jikh to defend the company’s approach to transparency, on-chain data and institutional adoption.

Source: Andrei Jikh

“I think there are a number of reasons why institutions have historically preferred to use digital assets off-chain rather than on-chain,” Schwartz wrote, highlighting that even Ripple does not use decentralized transactions on its XRP ledger (XRPL).

Ripple CTO admits on-chain adoption is slow

Although highlighting institutional preferences to stay off-chain, Schwartz suggested that this trend is “close to changing” because “institutions are starting to see the benefits of moving on chain.”

“But I agree it has been very slow,” he said, reasoning Ripple’s choice to not rely on the XRPL DEX for payments due concerns related to terrorism financing.

An excerpt from an X post by Ripple CTO David Schwartz responding to questions by Andrei Jikh. Source: David Schwartz

“We can’t be sure a terrorist won’t provide the liquidity for payment,” Schwartz said.

He also mentioned that features like “permissioned domains” could be a tool to address this issue, but did not elaborate on how this could be a solution.

What is the XRPL, and how big is it?

Launched in 2012, the XRPL is a decentralized, open-source blockchain that serves as the foundation for the underlying cryptocurrency XRP (XRP).

Positioned by Ripple as “decentralized public blockchain built for business,” XRPL has been at the center of a growing number of enterprise partnerships. These include tokenization initiatives with the Dubai government and US investment firm Guggenheim, both announced in June 2025.

Despite increasing institutional interest, there is still a lack of transparent, on-chain tracking tools to show how these partnerships are translating into actual transaction volume on the XRPL network.

XRPL metrics and TVL chart from May 2024. Source: DeFiLlama

Platforms like DefiLlama report only $81.8 million in total value locked (TVL) on XRP Ledger decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, but according to Schwartz, most institutional activity happens off-chain and thus remains untracked.

Ripple reported a 30%–40% drop on XRPL in Q1

After a period of significant growth throughout 2024, on-chain activity on the XRPL declined in the first quarter of 2025, Ripple officially reported in May 2025.

“There was a 30–40% decline in both new wallet creation and overall transaction volume on XRPL — in line with activity contractions seen across major blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum,” Ripple said, without specifying the actual figures.

An excerpt from Ripple’s Q1 2025 XRP Markets Report released on May 6, 2025. Source: Ripple

The report also mentioned that XRPL’s “DeFi activity proved to be more resilient than other segments,” as decentralized exchange volume only decreased by 16% quarter-over-quarter.

Ripple winds down XRP Markets Report in current form

In the same quarterly report, Ripple mentioned that the company decided to sunset the report in its current form starting in Q2 2025.

“While the report is evolving, Ripple will continue to be transparent and share relevant updates on Ripple and XRP-related announcements through its official channels, including Ripple and RippleXDev […],” the company said, adding:

“As more institutions engage with XRP, additional perspectives and insights are expected to follow, pushing the market conversation forward.”

Cointelegraph contacted Ripple for comment regarding tracking the XRPL volumes but did not receive a response by publication.

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