The XRP whales have been on a buying spree as blockchain payments company Ripple is officially on launched its dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, on several global crypto exchanges this Tuesday. The stable is now available for trading on Bitso, Uphold, CoinMENA, MoonPay, and Archax platforms, with additional listings expected soon.
Ripple RLUSD Stablecoin Launches Amidst Price Volatility
RLUSD is designed to maintain a constant value relative to the US dollar and is compatible with both the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and the XRP ledger (XRPL), the latter being developed by Ripple Labs along with XRP.
However, shortly after its launch, RLUSD experienced some volatility, trading at $1.50 on MoonPay early Tuesday – an unexpected price above its intended value, Fortune Magazine confirmed.
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David Schwartz, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), had predicted potential price differences in a previous post on X. He explained that an early supply shortage could lead to RLUSD trading at a high so that the market would be stable.
Schwartz reassured investors, saying, “But rest assured, the price will come back to close to $1 as soon as the supply stops. If it doesn't, something is very wrong.”
Interestingly, RLUSD's increased price of $1.50 is a fraction of what it was previously listed on Xaman, which crypto wallet for the XRP ledger. Before the launch, Ripple supporters made bids for the initial RLUSD tokens, with some investors willing to pay up to 511 XRP – about $1,300 per token.
XRP returns to $2.52 after the first Spike
As the launch of RLUSD drives more activity on the XRP Ledger, interest in XRP itself has increased. The console, used to configuration transaction fees on the blockchain, a 6% increase in value on Monday, peaking at $2.71. However, it has since gone back to the $2.52 mark.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez reported that large investors, or “whales,” bought an additional 30 million XRP before its launch, bolstering its price. In contrast, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum fell by 2.6% and 4.6%, respectively, in the same period.
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The launch of RLUSD continues recently regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services, positions Ripple to increase 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, saying, “The stablecoin market is going through this next growth spurt where there will be more institutional adoption is based on institutional use cases.” He identified Stable as a “killer app” for global payments.
While initial interest in RLUSD has been largely driven by retail investors, Ripple aims to integrate the stable into it payments business to facilitate international transactions for global banks and institutional partners starting next year.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
