What to know:
- The XRP price fell alongside broader crypto weakness, ending Q1 2026 with a 26.3% quarterly drop in market cap.
- XRPL fee burns and the fixed supply model continue to add slow deflationary pressure.
- XRP ETFs expanded holdings to 775.4M XRP, showing rising institutional demand.
The XRP price started the quarter under pressure as XRP price movements reflected broader weakness across major digital assets. According to Messari, XRP ended Q1 2026 with a market capitalization of $82.21 billion, marking a 26.3% decline quarter over quarter.
Source: Messari
The XRP price drop came during a period where Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB together also declined by 23.3%, showing that market-wide sentiment weighed on large-cap assets.
In that period, however, XRP dropped to the fourth spot behind BNB before reclaiming its position as the third most valuable non-stablecoin. The XRP price had also affected its market share, taking 3.9% of the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies without stablecoins.
Source: Messari
This is a reduction compared to 4% in Q4 2025 and a fall from 4.8% in comparison to Q2 2025. Nevertheless, XRP was still a top cryptocurrency due to its stability around crucial support levels.
Also Read: Coinbase Opens Crypto Derivatives Access for US Institutions
XRPL Network Structure, Fees, and Supply Impact on XRP Price
In addition to being impacted by the nature of the network of XRP, which burns all the transaction fees forever, the XRP price has seen reductions in total USD fees paid out by 39.3% to $80,710 and native fees paid out by 12% to 50,750 XRP in Q1 2026.
Source: Messari
In the process, since day one, there has been a burn of about 14.3 million XRP, leading to a gradual decline in the total number of XRPs in circulation.
The XRP price depends on the fixed number of XRP limited at 100 billion and the escrowed XRP release mechanism. A total of 1 billion XRP is released every month, and any extra is escrowed again.
XRP Price Movement and Institutional ETF Demand Growth
The XRP price has increased since it became more accessible to institutional players via U.S. spot ETFs. According to statistics for Q1 2026, the total amount of XRP that U.S. spot ETFs had on hand was 775.4 million, representing 1.26% of all XRP tokens in circulation. This number kept growing until reaching its peak of 810.2 million XRP in March.
However, significant XRP ETF sponsors such as Canary Capital, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and 21Shares have been relatively balanced in distributing their investments, thereby creating effective competition among ETF issuers.
Source: Messari
Canary Capital held the highest number of XRP at 197.1 million, while Bitwise held the second-highest with 194.9 million. An increased market access made things easier for XRP ETFs due to the clarification offered by Ripple vs. the SEC in 2025.
This article contains market analysis and price predictions. These are not guarantees. Crypto markets are volatile. Always DYOR. Not financial advice.
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