RLUSD Ethereum supply nears record as XRP Ledger share drops to 48%

RLUSD supply on Ethereum is approaching an internal all-time high as fresh capital flows shift to the largest smart-contract chain, with the XRP Ledger's share of the token falling to 48 percent.

"RLUSD could make XRP pointless," Jake Claver, chairman at Digital Ascension Group, said, arguing that a dollar-pegged stablecoin can serve as the bridge asset that XRP was designed to be on the XRP Ledger.

RLUSD's total market value reached $1.57 billion, more than double the $643 million in circulation a year ago, according to RWA.xyz data. The token's holder count grew 21.8 percent to 74,056 over the past 30 days, while monthly active addresses fell 29.7 percent to 7,693 — a pattern consistent with institutional rather than retail usage. Transfer volume rose to $9.82 billion in the same period.

The supply shift raises questions about XRP's centrality to Ripple's strategy. If RLUSD continues to grow on Ethereum and other chains, the XRP Ledger's role as the primary host for Ripple's dollar stablecoin could diminish, potentially pressuring demand for XRP as the network's native asset.

Ethereum's Share of RLUSD Supply Grows

The distribution of RLUSD across chains has shifted dramatically since March, when Ethereum held roughly 82 percent of the token's supply. The XRP Ledger now holds about 52 percent against Ethereum's 48 percent, according to RWA.xyz data. But fresh capital flows are now moving back to Ethereum, pushing supply toward an internal record.

RLUSD's record total supply reached $1.81 billion on June 2 before Ripple managed supply down to $1.57 billion. More than 80 million RLUSD came out of circulation in a sequence of 10-million-token burns in early July, with 20 million minted back, according to RWA.xyz.

The shift matters because RLUSD is Ripple's flagship dollar stablecoin, backed by cash and US Treasuries and regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. It trades at $0.99998, holding its peg within a fraction of a cent.

RLUSD and XRP: Competing or Complementary?

Claver's argument centers on whether a dollar stablecoin can replace XRP as the bridge asset on the XRP Ledger. He uses the analogy of an airport hub: without a hub, 100 assets would need 4,950 direct trading pairs. Using one bridge asset reduces that to 100 connections.

But RLUSD serves a different purpose than XRP. RLUSD is designed as a digital dollar for payments and settlement, while XRP acts as a neutral bridge for assets that lack direct liquidity. RLUSD has an issuer and operates under regulatory rules, while XRP is the native asset of the XRP Ledger with no issuer.

Ripple's institutional deals illustrate the divide. The company closed ten major deals in the first half of 2026, and none used XRP as the settlement asset. BlackRock uses RLUSD to redeem its BUIDL tokenized fund, which holds over $500 million in assets. Deutsche Bank integrated Ripple's payment infrastructure for cross-border wires. Mastercard has been settling credit card transactions through RLUSD on the XRP Ledger since November 2025.

XRP still handles thin corridors that stablecoins cannot serve profitably. Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity product runs in more than 40 corridors, with roughly 40 percent of the 300-plus institutions on RippleNet actively using it. Japan's SBI Remit moves about $2 billion a year through XRP into the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

The question is whether RLUSD's growth on Ethereum and other chains reduces the XRP Ledger's utility. XRP trades near $1.02, down 46 percent this year, even as RLUSD's supply has more than doubled. If Ripple's stablecoin continues to expand beyond the XRP Ledger, the network's native token may need to find new use cases beyond the bridge role it was designed for.

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