Transaction metrics presented an equally compelling narrative. Successful transactions increased by 80.8% to 1.7 million, while total transactions increased by 138.7% to 2.4M.
In particular, payments rose by 108.9% to 1.2 million. Ledger throughput also increased significantly, with ledgers closed rising 288% to 20.4K while transactions per ledger decreased 38.5% to 116.47. This pattern is consistent with faster ledger close times distributing the same or higher transaction load across more, smaller batches.
Growth across the board
With a mere 0.1% increase to 389 seconds, the ledger interval itself was essentially flat. Value transferred throughout the network increased significantly as well. Payment volume increased by 894.3% to approximately 704.2 million $XRP, while $XRP burned as network fees increased by 225.7% to 300.3 $XRP.
This is a result of the increased transaction throughput because each transaction on the $XRP Ledger destroys a small fee. The spike in activity coincides with a resurgence of $XRP's strength.
$XRP/USD saw a dramatic reversal in late August, rising from roughly $1.05 to almost $1.70 intraday before consolidating, after trading in a protracted downtrend for the majority of the second and third quarters. After reaching highs around $1.65, the price has since risen back above its key moving averages, most recently trading close to $1.53.
When combined, the rise in new accounts, payment volume, and fee burn indicate a significant increase in network usage, but the decline in active users raises the possibility that the growth is concentrated among a smaller but much more active group of users rather than a wider expansion of the user base.