XRP Ledger gains ground in RWA market, but can it sustain the hype?

• XRP Ledger sees 34% RWA growth, hinting at rising institutional and developer interest.
• Speculation around XRP ETF builds, but NVT ratio flags concerns on real transaction utility.

The XRP Ledger [XRPL] is quietly building momentum in the real-world asset (RWA) space.

With over $157 million in tokenized RWAs already on the network, XRPL is now positioning itself as a strong competitor to Ethereum [ETH].

Backed by low fees, growing developer interest, and talk of a possible Ripple ETF, XRPL might just be the unexpected player to watch in the race for institutional adoption.

XRP Ledger’s RWA momentum in numbers

Source: RWA.xyz

According to the RWA League Table, XRPL ranks 10th with $157.4M in total RWA value — posting a strong 34.60% growth over the past 30 days, the third-highest among all listed networks.

Despite having just six RWA issuers, its growth rate outpaces that of many larger players, including Ethereum.

Source: RWA.xyz

The stacked chart shows consistent asset distribution across various tokens like MGL, AAULF, and OUSG, pointing to early but steady diversification.

As institutional interest grows, this data hints that XRPL could become a serious RWA contender much sooner than expected.

Institutional confidence grows as development picks up

Institutional interest in the XRP Ledger is gaining traction, with firms like Mercado Bitcoin set to tokenize over $200 million in RWAs on XRPL; one of Latin America’s largest blockchain tokenization efforts.

The move shows confidence in XRPL’s infrastructure to host permissioned, regulated financial products across global markets.

Source: Santiment

At the same time, Santiment data shows a noticeable uptick in XRP’s development activity, particularly during late June, mirroring price recoveries and institutional news cycles.

As projects move forward, XRP Ledger’s growing activity suggests it’s becoming a more active part of the broader tokenization landscape.

A mixed picture

Source: Polymarket

Speculation around a potential Ripple ETF approval is fueling optimism, with Polymarket pricing in an 88% chance by the end of 2025.

This confidence, while slightly dipped, remains strong among traders anticipating regulatory green lights.

Source: Cryptoquant

On-chain, however, the XRP’s NVT ratio reveals a more volatile narrative. Spikes in the NVT ratio — often seen as a sign of overvaluation — contrast with relatively stable price action around $2.2.

This suggests market value may be outpacing transaction utility at times.

While ETF speculation boosts sentiment, sustained on-chain growth will be key to backing the valuation with real network activity.