Whales Snap Up 30 Million XRP As Ripple Launches Its RLUSD Stablecoin

XRP whales have been on a buying spree as blockchain payments company Ripple officially launched its dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, on several global crypto exchanges this Tuesday. The stablecoin is now available for trading on platforms Bitso, Uphold, CoinMENA, MoonPay, and Archax, with additional listings expected soon.

RLUSD is designed to maintain a stable value in line with the US dollar and is compatible with both the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and the XRP Ledger (XRPL), the latter being developed by Ripple Labs alongside XRP. 

However, shortly after its launch, RLUSD experienced some volatility, trading at $1.50 on MoonPay early Tuesday—an unexpected premium above its intended value, Fortune Magazine confirmed.

David Schwartz, Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), had anticipated potential price discrepancies in a prior post on X. He explained that early supply shortages could lead to RLUSD trading at a premium until the market stabilizes. 

Schwartz reassured investors, stating, “But rest assured, the price will come back to very close to $1 as soon as supply stabilizes. If it doesn’t, something is very seriously wrong.”

Interestingly, RLUSD’s inflated price of $1.50 is a fraction of what it was previously listed at on Xaman, a crypto wallet for the XRP ledger. In the lead-up to the launch, Ripple supporters made bids for the initial RLUSD tokens, with some investors willing to pay as much as 511 XRP—approximately $1,300 per token.

As the launch of RLUSD drives increased activity on the XRP Ledger, interest in XRP itself has surged. The token, used to settle transaction fees on the blockchain, saw a 6% rise in value on Monday, peaking at $2.71. However, it has since retraced to the $2.52 mark.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez reported that large investors, or “whales,” bought an additional 30 million XRP prior to the launch, further bolstering its price. In contrast, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum experienced declines of 2.6% and 4.6%, respectively, in the same timeframe.

The launch of RLUSD follows recent regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services, positioning Ripple to enhance its presence in the payment network sector for cross-border transactions.

Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoins at Ripple, emphasized the potential for institutional adoption, stating, “The stablecoin market is going through this next growth spurt where there’s going to be more institutional adoption that is premised upon institutional use cases.” He highlighted stablecoins as a “killer app” for global payments.

While initial interest in RLUSD is largely driven by retail investors, Ripple aims to integrate the stablecoin into its payments business to facilitate international transactions for global banks and institutional partners starting next year.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com