Foreign media report that as transaction activity on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) increases, the real-world use cases of XRP are once again becoming a focus of discussion. A working paper from Hong Kong, dated June 2026, uses XRP as a case study to examine the role of digital tokens in payments and tokenized economies, moving beyond a sole focus on price performance.
The study includes the XRP case.
This working paper from the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research places XRP within the broader discussion of the blockchain economy. The paper notes that XRP is used to illustrate how tokens can participate in the operation of digital platforms, particularly in reducing costs in cross-border settlement and payment scenarios.
Foreign media believe that such research does not equate to actual adoption, but it indicates growing academic interest in the functions of digital tokens. Rather than focusing solely on price fluctuations, research perspectives are increasingly shifting toward network usage and economic activity itself.
XRPL transactions and ETF fund inflows rise
The article states that institutions continue to focus on faster, lower-cost cross-border settlement infrastructure. Transactions on the XRPL typically complete in 3 to 5 seconds, with a fee of approximately $0.0002 per transaction.
As usage increases, on-chain activity on the XRPL has also risen, with daily transaction volumes reaching between 2.7 and 3 million transactions in some days. Meanwhile, spot XRP ETFs have seen cumulative net inflows exceeding $1 billion since their launch, with institutional holdings totaling approximately 927 million XRP.
RLUSD and RWA Expansion
Beyond payments, stablecoins and the tokenization of real-world assets within the XRPL ecosystem are also considered key supporting factors. The article notes that Ripple USD (RLUSD) has already achieved a monthly transaction volume of billions of dollars on the XRPL network.
Meanwhile, tokenized real-world assets on the XRPL reached $2.25 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a quarterly increase of 124%. Despite price pressure, network transaction volume still grew by 35%, indicating that on-chain usage did not weaken in tandem.
Foreign media believe that this divergence between price and usage reflects a growing market consensus that XRP’s long-term value is increasingly tied to real economic activity, rather than short-term sentiment or conceptual hype.