XRP Has Lowest Supply Inflation Among Top Payment Cryptos at 5.5%

$XRP circulating supply grew 5.5% year over year in the first half of 2026, the lowest annual dilution rate among its crypto payment network peers, according to asset manager 21Shares.

In its latestanalysisof $XRP’s H1 2026 performance, 21Shares said $XRP’s circulating supply expanded through escrow releases and re-locks. Approximately 272 million $XRP entered circulation each month.

Despite the supply growth, $XRP compares favorably with other payment-focused crypto networks. Stellar’s circulating supply is diluting holders at an annual rate of 8.8%, while TON has a 9.6% dilution rate.

Tron is the exception, as its fee revenue is sufficient to offset supply growth and generate a net positive return of 1.4% per year for holders.

$XRP Holders Face 5.5% Annual Drag

For $XRP holders, the 5.5% supply growth represents a net annual drag at current fee levels.21Shares estimates that$XRP’s pricewould therefore need to rise by at least 5.5% annually for holders to simply break even on a purchasing-power basis.

However, the report argues that fees alone are unlikely to close the gap. XRPL revenue would need to increase by 12,700 times to offset one year of newly issued supply at current values.

This means the long-term value proposition for $XRP depends more on increased adoption and demand than on higher network fees.

XRPL Settlement Volume Surges as Revenue Falls

The supply dynamics come as the $XRP Ledger continues to process substantial transaction volumes.

XRPL settled $159.9 billion during the first half of 2026. However, network fees dropped 81.6% year over year, from $6.43 million to $1.18 million. At the same time, the stablecoin base on XRPL expanded by 1,131%.

This shows that while the network is growing and attracting more activity, its revenue is not growing at the same pace.

21Shares noted that much of the revenue decline came from trading fees paid to liquidity providers and $NFT royalties. XRPL’s automated market maker revenue fell 80.3% year-over-year, while $NFT royalties declined 69%.

Together, the two categories accounted for roughly 89% of total network revenue. Ordinary transaction fees, meanwhile, declined 66.3%, from $269,600 to $90,800.

Only a Small Part of XRPL Revenue Helps $XRP Holders

Notably, XRPL fees do not directly benefit $XRP holders very much. Some transaction fees are burned, which reduces the total supply of $XRP. But other fees, such as swap fees and $NFT royalties, go to liquidity providers and creators instead.

As a result, 21Shares estimates that only 10.6% of XRPL’s $1.18 million in revenue in H1 2026 indirectly benefited $XRP holders through $XRP being burned.

Source: cryptonews.net