Over $100 Million in Ripple USD (RLUSD) Has Been Issued Since April 1

Over $100 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD) has been issued since April 1, among the highest levels in recent months, as demand for the relatively new stablecoin heats up.

Relative newcomer Ripple USD (RLUSD) has seen strong demand in recent months, with over $100 million in the stablecoin being issued since April 1, among the highest levels in recent times.

A $50 million tranche of RLUSD was issued earlier this week on Tuesday, with another $50 million late Wednesday. That came as Ripple added the stablecoin to its official payments product, with payment providers BKK Forex and iSend already said to be using the stablecoin.

50,000,000 #RLUSD minted at RLUSD Treasury.https://t.co/OoZLB3xfgp

— RLUSD (@RLUSD) April 5, 2024After a nearly two-month stall in March, the latest batches of RLUSD issuance batches saw the stablecoin heat up in April, with a total of $100 million being issued in the first week of the month alone.

Industry leaders expect RLUSD to further shift crypto market dynamics, with upstarts tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) potentially set to see competition from Ripple’s product.

XRP Ledger-based decentralized financial (DeFi) applications could be a cohort to watch for as the stablecoin gains traction on various platforms, potentially boosting XRP token demand.

What is Ripple USD?

RLUSD is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, offered on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain. It is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents.

To maintain its peg, RLUSD relies on a 1:1 reserve system—each token has a corresponding fiat value held in reserve.

Users can mint RLUSD by depositing dollars with authorized partners, who issue tokens, or burn RLUSD to redeem cash. Market arbitrage helps stabilize its price: if RLUSD trades below $1, traders buy it to redeem at par, increasing demand; if above $1, they mint more, increasing supply.

The stablecoin also has a unique clawback feature, which was added to the XRP Ledger via a vote earlier this year. This feature allows the issuer to reclaim or "claw back" certain tokens, such as RLUSD, from users' wallets under specific conditions, such as if a user is engaging in fraudulent activity or if tokens are sent to an unintended address.

The addition of the clawback feature to the XRP Ledger earlier this year was a hotly debated topic among XRP community members, with some expressing concern over the potential for abuse by the issuer. Despite this, a majority vote saw the feature go live on the network in January.