Ripple, a centralized fintech firm, reported selling $226 million worth of XRP tokens in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the XRP Markets report. The company, which develops global payment products, created the XRP payment system, which it claims is decentralized. Although Ripple and XRP are separate entities, Ripple utilizes XRP and its public blockchain to power its various products. The payments processor recorded 106 million transactions on the XRP Ledger, a decentralized blockchain, and the creation of 228,000 new user wallets.
Ripple stated that it only sold XRP in connection with on-demand liquidity (ODL) transactions, which continued to grow during the quarter after having its “strongest” year. ODL, which was launched in 2018, allows Ripple customers to instantly transfer money globally using XRP without the need for correspondent banking, unlike traditional remittance methods, which can take several days to settle and have high fees.
In its report, Ripple stated that XRP spot markets saw a decline in average daily volumes to $700 million, down from $1.1 billion in Q1 2022. However, the company anticipates investment activity to return to payment and trading tools in the near future.
According to Ripple, the cryptocurrency market is expected to stay fragmented, however, investment focus will shift towards enhancing key crypto elements like payments, custody services, decentralized exchanges, and cross-chain user experiences.
