Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, has surpassed $1 billion in market capitalization lower than a 12 months after launching in December 2024.
The milestone makes RLUSD the tenth largest U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin by market cap, in response to information from CoinGecko. Issued by XRP creator Ripple, RLUSD is backed by greenback reserves and short-term U.S. Treasuries, and is designed to be built-in into Ripple’s broader funds and liquidity infrastructure.
Whereas RLUSD’s market cap stays small in comparison with the sector’s two dominant gamers — Tether’s USDT at $183 billion and Circle’s USDC at $76 billion — its rise indicators sturdy early demand. RLUSD’s circulating provide at present splits between $819 million in tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and $203 million on the XRP Ledger community, RWA.xyz information exhibits.
Most stablecoins have taken years to succeed in the billion-dollar mark, and RLUSD’s fast climb suggests Ripple has been in a position to leverage its present buyer base and international monetary community to speed up adoption. The corporate has marketed the token primarily to institutional purchasers searching for steady on-chain settlement choices, however notable traction amongst retail customers added to its quick progress.
Monica Lengthy, president of Ripple, informed CoinDesk in an interview that demand for the agency’s cost providers has been rising. Ripple has processed almost $100 billion in funds quantity up to now, and RLUSD is the “main stablecoin” used for cost flows, she added.
“We have doubled the variety of prospects all year long,” Lengthy mentioned, including that Ripple now holds over 75 international licenses.
Ripple has been on an acquisition spree this 12 months, shopping for 4 firms to enhance the agency’s digital belongings providing for establishments and enterprises. It acquired prime dealer Hidden Highway, now Ripple Prime, for $1.25 billion, purchased stablecoin funds agency Rail for $200 million, with the newest targets being treasury know-how supplier GTreasury and pockets infrastructure startup Palisade.
“It has been a very massive 12 months for us, each natural growth-wise and inorganic progress,” Lengthy informed Coindesk. “We’re taking that each one in [to] convey all of the items collectively.”
Ripple’s acquisition technique, Lengthy defined, is to seek out targets that both accelerates present choices, equivalent to Palisade and Rail including to stablecoin cost capabilities, or helps increase the enterprise into new verticals like Hidden Highway’s prime brokerage.
“We’ll proceed to be opportunistic [with acquisitions]. We proceed to have a very wholesome, giant stability sheet,” Lengthy mentioned.
