Recent reports indicate that XRP has reached an almost six-month high in daily transactions, marking a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency as it exhibits increasing adoption across both payment systems and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. 

For January 2026 alone, the XRP Ledger recorded 1.45 million daily transactions, following a steady upward trend in network usage that began in late 2025, coinciding with the introduction of new payment corridors through Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity platform and the integration of stablecoins such as RLUSD.

Market expert Sam Daodu highlighted in a recent report for 24/7 Wall St. that historical trends suggest that gaps between rising demand and stagnant prices often precede sharp rallies. 

With exchange reserves at eight-year lows and increasing institutional inflows seen with XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the current situation indicates that the altcoin may be quietly gearing up for its next breakout.

Despite a slight rebound to $2.42 on January 6, which represented a nearly two-month high for the token, its price has since retraced to approximately $2.048 at the time of writing. This decline occurred despite the transaction surge, suggesting that XRP has yet to capitalize on its increased usage.

Daodu noted that the discrepancy between XRP’s price and its on-chain activity isn’t unusual. He asserts that such gaps between usage and price have often been precursors to significant price movements, while also pointing out several factors contributing to the current delay in price reaction.

Market-wide consolidation is one of the key reasons, as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) traded sideways in early 2026, dampening momentum for altcoins like XRP. 

In addition, profit-taking pressure has emerged following XRP’s July 2025 rally up to $3.65. Many short-term holders have cashed out, creating strong resistance levels in the $2.20 to $2.50 range. Until new catalysts arise, Daodu claims XRP may remain confined to this range without breaking out.

Looking forward, Daodu posits that XRP has a historical tendency to lag behind its on-chain progress before initiating explosive price moves. In both 2017 and 2020, spikes in transaction volume and wallet activity preceded significant rallies for the token’s price by several weeks.

For instance, in the third quarter of 2020, XRP’s daily transactions grew by over 40% in just two months, while the price remained flat at around $0.25, only to surge to over $0.70 within weeks in November. 

A similar scenario unfolded in late 2017, where heightened usage metrics preceded a jump in XRP’s price from $0.30 to $3.30 by early January 2018. This suggests that the current surge in on-chain transactions could be a leading indicator of a delayed price breakout for XRP. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

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