Update (July 25, 12:10 pm UTC): This article has been updated to correct information related to Ethereum-issued RLUSD and rectify previous information about EVM sidechain-issued RLUSD.
Ripple USD, a stablecoin issued by XRP coin issuer Ripple, was initially marketed as an “enterprise-focused” stablecoin but has since gained traction among retail users.
Ripple officially introduced its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in late 2024, with CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighting its institutional focus, setting RLUSD apart from competitors primarily focused on retail use.
Still, with increasing RLUSD adoption by self-custodial wallets like Xaman and integrations with platforms like Transak, RLUSD appears to be expanding beyond enterprise use.
“While RLUSD may have launched with an enterprise-focused narrative likely due to XRPL’s strengths like speed, cost-efficiency and finality, we’re seeing real traction on the retail side,” XRPL Labs and Xaman chief operating officer told Cointelegraph.
Controversy over RLUSD’s enterprise focus
Initial reports about RLUSD emerged well ahead of its official announcement in December 2024, with Ripple CEO Garlinghouse calling it the “gold standard for enterprise-grade stablecoins” as early as October.
Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz also suggested that RLUSD would “probably only ever be available directly to institutions,” sparking debate over its potentially intended exclusivity for enterprises.
When Ripple officially announced RLUSD on Dec. 16, 2024, the statement made no mention of retail use cases, but highlighted initial availability on major platforms like Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay and others.
RLUSD is a direct competitor to Circle’s USDC
“RLUSD has indeed been designed with enterprise-grade utility in mind,” Transak’s marketing head Harshit Gangwar told Cointelegraph last week.
“However, its issuance and redemption infrastructure supports both institutional and retail accessibility,” he said.
Huma Finance co-founder Erbil Karaman said that RLUSD today operates like “any general-purpose stablecoin,” and is directly competing with rivals like Circle’s USDC (USDC) across all market segments:
“This evolution underscores a simple truth; what matters isn’t who issues a stablecoin or what it’s initially marketed for; it’s what it actually becomes useful for, and that only becomes clear after launch.”
Most RLUSD is issued on Ethereum, but holders prefer XRPL
Addressing RLUSD usage, XRPL Labs’ Kiuru highlighted a gap between the amount of RLUSD issued on Ethereum and the number of users preferring XRP Ledger (XRPL).
According to data from RWA.xyz, Ethereum-issued RLUSD accounts for 88% of the stablecoin’s current $557 million market cap, with under 12% of it coming from XRPL.
Related: XRP dump: Ripple co-founder under fire for moving $175M XRP near highs
However, the majority of RLUSD holders — or more than 90% of the total 34,160 users — are on the XRPL, leaving only around 10% to Ethereum, Kiuru told Cointelegraph. He cited data from a June 20 X post by Vet, a prominent community member.
“I think they are still promoting it as an enterprise, and that’s due to the nature of the XRPL being positioned as an enterprise chain since its inception and its speed,” Kiuru said, adding:
“Whether it’s being used by retail as well, that’s a big win. I don’t think the positioning of XRPL and RLUSD is moving away from enterprise.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Ripple for comment regarding the RLUSD’s rising retail use but had not received a response by publication.
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