The XRP Ledger is witnessing a significant uptick in transaction volume, driven primarily by AI agents facilitating payments. Former Ripple Product Manager and co-founder of t54ai, Chandler Fang, highlighted in his recent post on X that these “agentic payments” are growing at a far faster rate than many anticipated. In July, the number of transactions was approximately one million, and this figure has now surged beyond 13 million.
Transaction Volume Expands Rapidly
Referencing insights from J.A. Akinyele, Head of Engineering at RippleX, Fang noted that the infrastructure supporting agentic payments on the XRP Ledger has crossed a pivotal threshold. Akinyele had predicted that transactions would exceed 10 million, a milestone that has been surpassed as the total now reaches 13,489,468.
J.A. Akinyele emphasized surpassing the 10 million transaction threshold, with XRP Ledger processing over 13 million agentic payments in collaboration with more than 160 x402 vendors.
Current data reveals that payments processed through 168 registered x402 vendors have resulted in 6,982.32 XRP and 12,009.98 RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. Akinyele forecasts that if this momentum continues, the platform could reach 100 million agentic payments sooner than expected.
Real-World Application on the Horizon
Fang believes that surpassing the 13 million transaction mark indicates a transition to the next growth phase. This period is anticipated to bring more real-world vendors and service providers onto the blockchain. Fang explained that AI agents facilitate payments using XRP and RLUSD via the x402 protocol on the XRP Ledger.
The x402 protocol is known as a transactional layer designed to streamline payment processes between AI agents and digital services. Agentic payments refer to the automatic transactions made by software agents for services such as APIs, data, or computational power.
AI agents are already paying for APIs, data, and computing power. The expanding toolkit of AI provides developers with opportunities to translate this demand into new product offerings.
Agentic Payments Power Quarter of Network Activity
During the opening address at the XRP Seoul 2026 event on October 3, J.A. Akinyele focused on the infrastructure paving the way for the AI agent economy. He recently shared that agentic payments currently account for about 25% of the activities on the XRP Ledger.
Chandler Fang anticipates that the next surge in agentic payments growth will incorporate more real-world services onto the blockchain, with agents continuing to transact using XRP and RLUSD.
To support this rapid expansion, Ripple is reportedly developing specialized infrastructure for AI agents. This system includes secure smart wallets capable of holding XRP and stablecoins, equipped with robust enforcement protections like verifiable identities, permissions, and spending rules. These wallets are designed to provide quick settlement times of three to five seconds.
