XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) closed around $1 on August 12, marking its lowest daily close since November 2024 and a decline of roughly 69% from its January 2025 peak near $3.30. Despite the price correction, network activity metrics indicate sustained usage within the ecosystem.

Network Activity vs User Growth

Data from Santiment shows a divergence between network engagement and user acquisition. Active addresses averaged around 35,700 per day in August, up from around 26,400 in July. However, new-user growth remained stagnant, averaging roughly 2,260 per day in August versus 2,270 in July.

The increase in activity is being driven by existing XRP users rather than an influx of new participants. Network usage is rising, but the user base is not expanding alongside it.

Evernorth Adjusts Treasury Deal

Evernorth announced changes to its transaction with Armada II as it advances toward a planned Nasdaq listing. The transaction was originally structured when XRP traded around $2.36. With XRP substantially lower, Evernorth stated that amended terms will adjust the share count based on XRP’s value at closing.

The goal is to keep the company’s capitalization aligned with the market value of its underlying XRP treasury while allowing each common share to represent a larger percentage of the treasury at current prices. XRP Ledger validator Vet noted that the new structure effectively shifts Evernorth toward volume-weighted pricing for investor share issuance. At current XRP prices, investors would receive exposure to more XRP per share when the company makes its expected public-market debut in Q3 or Q4 of 2026.

Russia Excludes XRP From Crypto Framework

The Bank of Russia established a framework allowing non-qualified investors to purchase certain cryptocurrencies. Eligibility considers factors including market capitalization, average daily trading volume, and at least five years of pricing history on foreign exchanges.

Under those criteria, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) have been included among cryptocurrencies available for public exchange trading. XRP was not selected by the bank.

What the Numbers Show

The data reveals a concentration of network activity among existing holders rather than broad adoption. While active addresses increased by approximately 9,300 per day from July to August, new user counts effectively flatlined. This suggests that current price levels are driving existing users to transact more frequently, but are not attracting new participants to the network.

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) on-chain data reveals significant accumulation by large holders and rising derivatives activity, diverging from recent price performance. While the asset's market capitalization fell 29%, the number of wallets holding at least 1 million XRP increased by 32 over the past three months, according to Santiment data cited on Aug. 11.

Whale Accumulation Amid Market Downturn

The divergence between wallet growth and market capitalization suggests institutional or large-scale investors are absorbing selling pressure. Santiment noted that the count of million-XRP wallets grew despite the broader market contraction.

This accumulation coincides with developments in Ripple’s infrastructure, specifically the growing institutional presence of its RLUSD (CRYPTO: RLUSD) stablecoin. The analytics firm highlighted Ripple’s payments, custody, and tokenization infrastructure as fundamental drivers supporting this holder behavior.

Network Activity and Derivatives Surge

Network usage metrics show a sharp increase in engagement during August. Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez highlighted that active addresses climbed 84.18%, rising from 23,642 on Aug. 1 to 43,543.

Derivatives markets also reflect increased trader exposure. Open interest in XRP futures rose to 2.67 billion XRP, valued at nearly $2.73 billion. This represents an increase from $2.41 billion as of Aug. 1, indicating higher leverage and speculative positioning despite the muted spot price action.

What the Numbers Show

The simultaneous rise in active addresses (84.18%) and futures open interest ($2.41 billion to $2.73 billion) alongside whale accumulation suggests a decoupling of network utility and derivatives speculation from immediate spot price realization. While large holders are increasing positions, the 29% drop in market cap indicates that selling pressure from other segments continues to offset this demand.