Coinbase’s retail trading volume fell sharply in the second quarter, but XRP continued to generate more consumer trading revenues than Ethereum under the surface, extending the trend that began in the first quarter.
According to Coinbase’s Q2 shareholders letterXRP accounted for 13% of consumer transaction revenues, bringing Ethereum to 12% just a little earlier. This showed a shift from Q1, with a low share of assets at 10%, but XRP surged to 18% in a short time.
Overall trading revenue fell 39% quarterly to $764 million, with total net revenues being Analyst Expected $1.5 billion against a $1.5 billion consensus.
“In the first quarter, the SEC dropped the appeal in the Ripple case, confirming that XRP’s secondary market sales were not securities,” said Juan Leon, investigative analyst at Bitwise Asset Management. Decryption. “That legal victory sparked a rally of retail interest in XRP prices and token trading.”
XRP’s trading share at Coinbase has steadily risen from under 10% throughout 2024. The first quarter jump of the token coincided with a wave of value exploration traders that corresponded to legal clarity.
However, the meeting proved to be short-lived. “Price momentum calmed in the second quarter,” Leon pointed out, and Ethereum regained the ground behind the institutional flow and renewed ecosystem interest.
With fewer new regulations or product catalysts, “retailers were returning to Ethereum, with stable activity and negative use accelerating,” Leon said. Decryption.
Leon cites the influence of Passing the act of genius He said that he “gets 38% returns in the second quarter of XRP and 11%,” in the narrative of law and tokenization as key factors for gatherings useful for Ethereum.
Still, Ethereum’s recovered footing in Q2 was not driven by retail alone.
“Demand for Ethereum has skyrocketed as a result of influx through ETFs and purchases from the Ethereum Treasury,” Leon said, explaining how this factor is driving Ethereum price gatherings. “We believe strong institutional demand for ETH will be brought later this year.”
Other observers pointed to changing price action and narrative as the main driver behind the reversal.
“XRP’s first quarter retail rise was driven by legal clarity and low-cost appeal, attracting value-focused traders,” said Hank Huang, CEO of Kronos Research. Decryption.
Ethereum delay switched to the second quarter during Ecosystem development And the ETF’s prediction that Huang said has “restored investor trust and liquidity.”
The flow from the Ethereum ETF “fosters the vitality of the broader ecosystem,” he noted.
However, retail from Coinbase is “remaining price-driven” and shows how retail sentiment changes based on “stories, market momentum, macrocues, rather than sustained platform engagement,” Huang explained.
Presto senior analyst Min Jung reiterated his view, adding that Ethereum’s performance in Q1 was low as the ETH/BTC ratio hit multi-year lows and retail profits waned.
Jung said this pattern reflects the way the “retail-heavy nature” of Coinbase volumes often responds to these factors.
Ethereum was “one of the least loved assets of crypto at the time,” Jung said. Decryption.
Nevertheless, Ethereum began to “recover momentum” as a digital asset finance I’ve acquired Towing, John said. That factor gave Ethereum a “fresh story” and helped him recover from price and retail profits late, he added.