Ripple Labs announced the beginning of beta testing Ripple USD (RLUSD) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum mainnet. RLUSD will be valued 1:1 to the US dollar and 100% backed by USD deposits, short-term US government treasuries, and other cash equivalents. The private beta launch came in when Ripple registered a massive legal win against the SEC.
The new stablecoin has yet to receive regulatory approval and is, therefore, unavailable for purchase or trading. Ripple urges market participants to be cautious of scammers who claim that they have or can distribute RLUSD, as the stablecoin is not currently available for purchase or trading.
Ripple moves ahead with RLUSD
Ripple marks a major milestone in the stablecoin sector, as this move will allow the firm to bring more high-quality assets to the XRPL and institutional use cases for users. It highlights that the mainnet version of Ripple USD is also available on Ethereum.
As per the release, Ripple plans to use both RLUSD and XRP in its cross-border payment solution. The firm plans to explore other blockchains and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols while Ripple USD remains in the beta phase. Ripple suggests that the current phase is crucial for ensuring that the stablecoin meets the highest security standards.
Testing, testing…RLUSD! We’re excited to share that Ripple USD (RLUSD) is now in private beta on XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet. RLUSD has not yet received regulatory approval and therefore is not available for purchase or trading – please be cautious of scammers who claim they…
— Ripple (@Ripple) August 9, 2024
Tether rules the stablecoin market
Data shows that the cumulative stablecoin market capitalization stands at around $173 billion. Ripple expects this sector to grow to over $2.8 trillion by 2028. Tether’s USDT is the biggest stablecoin with a market cap of more than $115 billion. Its 24 hour trading volume stood around $52.4 billion.
Circle issued USDC is the second biggest stablecoin in the market with a market cap of $34.4 billion and a 24 hour trading volume of $5.9 billion. DAI is another major player in this sector with capitalization of $5.3 billion.
Tether has minted over $1.3 billion worth of USDT since the market bottomed on August 5. This large amount of USDT was transferred to major centralized exchanges like Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, and OKX. It suggests that investors bought the dip when Bitcoin dropped below the $50k price level.
Ripple’s native crypto, XRP, recorded a spike of over 20% as the long-running legal battle between the US SEC and the blockchain firm comes to an end. A US judge ruled that Ripple Labs must pay $125 million in penalties amid the highly anticipated settlement. However, the commission is expected to appeal the decision.
The XRP price is now up by 35% in the last 30 days, while Bitcoin saw a jump of just 4%. XRP is trading at an average price of $0.5898 at press time. Its 24 hour trading volume stood at around $2 billion with a market cap of $33 billion.
