[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] The number of active accounts on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) plunged in a day, falling from about 20,000 to around 7,800. The drop of about 61 percent could, on the surface, fuel concerns about users leaving the network or a slowdown in adoption. The market, however, is interpreting it as a normalisation signal as overheated activity fades, rather than an ecosystem breakdown.

U.Today, a blockchain media outlet, reported on June 8 that the XRP Ledger has repeatedly seen active addresses surge and then fall back as events such as waves of speculative trading, token launches, arbitrage and temporary spikes in network use come and go. The latest decline, it said, may be a “normalisation” in which activity returns to a more sustainable range, rather than a collapse of the ecosystem.

Markets appeared to react more sensitively to price moves than to on-chain indicators. XRP had already been under bearish pressure before the active-account indicator turned down. A months-long descending triangle pattern that began in March has recently broken down, and selling spread in the aftermath, pushing the price below $1.3, a key support level. A brief rebound followed, but the former support level is now acting as resistance.

Trading volume also pointed in the same direction. Activity rose sharply during the price breakdown, suggesting many market participants moved at once to unwind positions. U.Today noted that such volume spikes often appear during capitulation phases when fear-driven selling intensifies. It said the direct backdrop to XRP’s weakness is closer to broad market selling pressure than to any single network fundamental.

There have also been past cases in which XRP rebounded after on-chain activity fell sharply. This has again drawn attention to the idea that a high number of active addresses does not always signal strength. An excessively inflated address count can sometimes reflect speculative demand that is hard to sustain, and the unwinding of that demand can instead help cool an overheated market.

The key question is whether active accounts continue to fall after the latest plunge or stabilise around current levels. If a user base of around 7,000 to 8,000 is maintained, the recent decline is more likely to be seen as the result of temporary activity disappearing. If the downtrend continues, demand for the network itself would need to be reassessed.

The indicator looks shocking in raw numbers, but the broader picture is more complex. With the possibility that the XRP Ledger is returning from a short-term overheated phase to a healthier baseline, the market is watching whether it can regain its price resistance level and whether active accounts stabilise as the next signal.