Key Takeaways
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin supply expanded by over $310 million in the last seven weeks to top $1.55 billion, showing rapid adoption even as the affiliated XRP token struggles with declining on-chain activity and a price drop to $1.39.
“For institutions to really unlock the full demand … you have to be regulated at the highest level,” Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, said, emphasizing the company's focus on utility over market capitalization for its regulated digital dollar.
The stablecoin’s market cap grew from $1.24 billion on March 31 to over $1.55 billion by May 8, according to market data. In contrast, daily new addresses on the XRP Ledger have fallen 85% from 18,000 in December to 2,700 on May 7, Glassnode data shows, while the XRP price fell 1.36% over 24 hours.
The divergence highlights a key market dynamic: while Ripple’s institutional, regulation-first strategy is winning its stablecoin new demand, it has not yet translated into momentum for XRP, which remains compressed between support at $1.40 and resistance near $1.45.
Recent legislative progress, particularly the GENIUS Act, has given traditional finance firms a “permission slip” to enter the stablecoin space, according to MoonPay’s Richard Harrison. This regulatory momentum, now building with the proposed CLARITY Act, is drawing a clearer line for the industry on how stablecoins can be used, particularly distinguishing usage-based rewards from bank-like interest.
This clarity is critical for institutional customers, who require regulated products and strong counterparties. Ripple’s recent pilot with JPMorgan and Mastercard for a tokenized Treasury settlement that completed in under five seconds underscores the demand for blockchain-based efficiency in capital markets. Executives at Paxos and Ripple noted that while market cap is one metric, the real drivers for institutional adoption are utility in payments, corporate treasury, and collateral management.
Despite the positive developments in Ripple’s ecosystem, the XRP token has not followed RLUSD’s upward trajectory. The price has struggled to hold the $1.40 level, pressured by a broader market dip and weakening on-chain fundamentals.
Data from Glassnode points to a significant drop in retail and speculative interest, with daily new addresses on the XRP Ledger hitting an 18-month low. The 85% decline since December indicates that new user growth has stalled, limiting buying pressure in the spot market. Derivatives data from CryptoQuant, while showing volume of $372 million on May 7, suggests the recent price drop was driven by a lack of buyers rather than heavy leveraged selling, meaning a recovery depends on fresh demand.
The next phase of stablecoin adoption depends on building the supporting infrastructure to use them for everyday payments, from rent to a cup of coffee, as MoonPay’s Harrison noted. While business-to-business payments are a clear use case, broader consumer adoption and unresolved issues like privacy on public blockchains remain hurdles.
For Ripple, the growth of RLUSD serves as a proof point for its regulated strategy. McDonald stated that the stablecoin is designed to complement XRP, not compete with it, as transactions on the XRP Ledger still use XRP as the native token for settlement. The market will now watch to see if the expanding utility and institutional confidence in RLUSD can eventually reignite demand and network activity for XRP.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
