
The XRP Ledger Foundation announced this week that the network has crossed 8 million activated accounts, marking the first time it has had that many active accounts simultaneously. According to the latest data, this milestone represents a significant achievement as the count only includes accounts that are live and funded today, unlike previous totals that included every wallet ever created, including ones that no longer exist. The ledger crossed 7 million activated accounts last September and needed approximately ten months to add the eighth million, demonstrating resilience even during one of the roughest markets XRP has ever traded in. However, as reported by multiple sources, only about 25,000 of the 8 million wallets are active on a typical day this month, marking one of the network's lowest readings of the year. The latest data shows only 2,130 new wallets were created on July 11, the lowest count since November 2024, indicating declining network adoption despite the milestone achievement.
According to attorney John Deaton, nearly 4,000 XRP holders provided crucial support for Ripple's landmark victory over the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Deaton represented these holders as a friend of the court, collecting sworn statements that helped shape the legal outcome. As reported by Deaton, Judge Analisa Torres cited the XRP holder affidavits in her final decision, alongside only several dozens of other exhibits out of thousands submitted in the case overall.
On July 13, 2023, Judge Torres ruled that XRP itself is not a security, though she found that $728.9 million in direct sales to institutions broke securities law. Sales to everyday buyers on exchanges were not found to violate securities regulations. Ripple paid a $125 million fine in 2024, and the case formally closed in August 2025 when both sides dropped their appeals. According to reports, CEO Brad Garlinghouse admitted that Ripple nearly shut down rather than face the SEC in court.
Despite the milestone, XRP trades roughly 70% below the $3.65 peak it reached last July, currently around $1.10. The token has been stuck between roughly $1 and $1.15 since June, with every attempt to break above $1.20 failing. Institutional money has gone quiet, with XRP ETF inflows dropping from $131.94 million in May to $59 million in June, and to almost nothing so far this month. The lack of fresh buyers is particularly concerning, as most of what Ripple wins from licenses to software deals earns the company money without the token being involved at all. A $10 XRP price would value the token at roughly $625 billion, which would be more than Ethereum was worth at its all-time high and would require a 9x rally from current levels.
A significant development in network usage comes from the x402 payment standard added in June, which allows AI agents to make payments without human involvement. Agents passed a million payments on the ledger in about a month, each requiring its own activated account with 1 XRP locked. This marks the first source of account growth in the ledger's history that doesn't need the coin's price to rise, as agents open accounts based on job requirements rather than price movements. Ripple released an AI starter kit for the ledger in June, Mastercard named the company a launch partner for its agent-payments network, and a dedicated XRPL AI Hub went live in early July. While this growth doesn't directly impact the XRP price, it represents a fundamental shift in network usage patterns, with AI agents potentially driving future account growth independently of market conditions. The more interesting question now is who the new accounts belong to, because strangely, the answer isn't people - agents are the first source of account growth that doesn't need the coin's price to rise.