Account activation
Plain definition. An XRP Ledger address becomes an account once it receives enough XRP to meet the reserve requirement, which is currently 1 XRP on Mainnet.
Technical definition. To have an account, an address must hold a minimum amount of XRP in the shared global ledger. A new address is funded by receiving enough XRP to meet the reserve requirement, whose Base Reserve is required for each address and stands at 1 XRP on Mainnet; validators can change it through Fee Voting. The reserved XRP cannot be sent to others, but it can be used to pay transaction fees.
On this site
On this site, Account activation comes up in Why must I deposit XRP before a new wallet works? and How do I move XRP from an exchange to my own wallet without losing it?.
Source
Reserves (xrpl.org), read October 1, 2026.