XRP Network Activity Experiences Significant Decline
The on-chain fee burn for XRP has plummeted to levels not seen since the end of 2024, signaling a notable decrease in network activity.
Recent Fee Burn Statistics
As of Friday, September 12, 2025, the XRP ledger recorded a mere 190 XRP burned in transaction fees by mid-session. Even if there is a late surge in activity, the day’s total is expected to remain unusually low.
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For comparison, Thursday, September 11, concluded with just 549 XRP burned, marking one of the lowest daily figures of 2025. This aligns with the ongoing downward trend observed over the past year, as indicated by data from XRPscan.
Understanding XRP’s Fee Mechanism
To comprehend the significance of these figures, it is crucial to understand how XRP’s fee structure operates. Every transaction on the XRP Ledger incurs a minimal fee, known as the “base fee,” which equals 10 drops or 0.00001 XRP. This fee can increase temporarily when the ledger is under high load.
When network activity is low, the fee reverts to its minimum. However, during periods of heavy usage, it rises to discourage spam transactions. Thus, the total XRP burned serves as a real-time indicator of transaction volume and network congestion. A significant drop in burned XRP typically indicates fewer transactions and fees at their minimum.
What Caused the Surge on December 2, 2024?
The remarkable surge on December 2, 2024, saw the ledger burn approximately 17,339 XRP in a single day. This spike can be attributed to two primary factors.
Firstly, a protocol change occurred when XRPL validators approved a 90% reduction in the ledger’s reserve requirements, which took effect on December 2. While the base transaction fee remained unchanged, this reserve reduction prompted increased on-chain activities, including account adjustments, trust-line changes, and liquidity movements, leading to a sharp rise in activity and, consequently, the burn rate.
Concurrently, XRP reached a multi-year price high of $2.50, drawing increased trading and settlement activities on-chain. The combination of structural ledger changes and a price/volume surge created the conditions for this one-day burn extreme.
Downtrend in Network Activity for 2025
Throughout 2025, from spring to late summer, the one-year chart reveals a pattern of declining daily burn figures, characterized by lower highs and lower lows. This trend suggests two key points.
Firstly, the ledger seldom hits congestion levels that would elevate the per-transaction fee above the base 10 drops. Secondly, overall transaction volumes have diminished compared to the bursts observed during the AMM launch cycle and the December reserve change.
This context explains the exceptionally low readings observed today. Since the XRP Ledger burns a small fraction of XRP with each transaction, the burn metric remains a reliable, low-latency measure of XRPL’s usage.
Should activity increase, driven by factors such as market volatility, feature enhancements, or renewed DEX/AMM flows, this will manifest as a rising burn baseline and more frequent instances of congestion, causing the dynamic fee to exceed 10 drops. Conversely, if the baseline remains near current levels, it indicates subdued utility demand and fees clearing at the minimum threshold.
