RLUSD market cap hits $1.6B as Ripple expands stablecoin reach

RLUSD's market capitalization reached $1.6 billion on Aug. 1 as Ripple expanded its dollar-pegged stablecoin across South Korean exchanges, launched institutional infrastructure, and pushed deeper into AI-driven payments on the XRP Ledger.

A Ripple executive said RLUSD had launched on the four largest South Korean exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone. Upbit opened won, bitcoin, and tether trading pairs on July 28, with Bithumb following a day later, both using the XRP Ledger for deposits and withdrawals.

Supply data confirms the expansion. Ripple minted 15 million RLUSD on Ethereum on July 30 while burning the same amount on the XRP Ledger, rebalancing distribution between the two chains. Ethereum-based circulation now exceeds $712 million, while XRP Ledger-based circulation stands at about $873 million, according to RLUSD Treasury data. Over the past seven days, 36.5 million RLUSD were minted and 25.3 million burned on Ethereum, while the XRP Ledger saw 65.4 million minted and 68.7 million burned.

The moves set up RLUSD to compete more directly with established stablecoins in institutional payments. Ripple launched Ripple Mint, a platform for financial institutions to issue, manage, and redeem RLUSD, and invested in Notabene, a compliance firm with more than $2 trillion in annualized transaction volume. The XRP Ledger also surpassed 1.4 million transactions initiated by AI agents on July 22, a milestone for machine-to-machine payments.

Japan's Financial Services Agency approved RLUSD for use through SBI VC Trade, extending the stablecoin's reach into one of Asia's largest regulated crypto markets. Ripple also became one of the first partners to integrate OpenUSD, reinforcing its multichain infrastructure strategy. Binance extended support for RLUSD in July with new promotions and increased visibility across its platform, while Ripple's Giving4th campaign donated RLUSD to nonprofits during the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

Ripple Mint and Notabene Target Enterprise Flows

Ripple Mint gives banks and fintech firms a dedicated platform for stablecoin issuance and management, complementing Ripple's existing payments ecosystem. The Notabene investment pairs Ripple with a compliance infrastructure provider whose Flow platform processes more than $2 trillion in annualized transaction volume. The two companies plan to integrate RLUSD into Flow and explore trust-based payment authorization features for Ripple Payments.

AI Agents Drive XRPL Activity

On-chain analytics showed the XRP Ledger surpassed 1.4 million transactions initiated by AI agents as of July 22. The milestone reflects growing experimentation with autonomous applications and machine-to-machine payments on the ledger, extending its use beyond traditional transfers. Developers are increasingly exploring the XRPL for use cases beyond payments, though the sector remains in its early stages.

RLUSD's accelerating adoption through exchange listings, enterprise infrastructure, and AI-driven use cases could strengthen Ripple's position in the stablecoin market, which remains dominated by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. The expansion of RLUSD supply and distribution channels may also increase demand for XRP as the underlying network token, though the direct price impact remains unclear.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.