The recent burning of virtually all Ripple USD (RLUSD) tokens, totaling 46,676,120 within a single day, has sparked speculation about an imminent official launch announcement from Ripple (XRP). This move, tracked by the Ripple Stablecoin Tracker on X, could signal that Ripple is fine-tuning its stablecoin strategy, possibly in preparation for regulatory approval or public release.
Pretty much all #RLUSD was burned today.
On each Ethereum and XRP Ledger there is only around 100k RLUSD left. pic.twitter.com/05poexxvcE
— Vet (@Vet_X0) November 28, 2024
Ripple entered the stablecoin market in April, responding to the growing demand for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies. Despite the market being dominated by giants like Tether (USDT), with a market cap over $133 billion, and USDC by Circle, near $40 billion, Ripple aims to carve out a niche. The company began testing RLUSD in August with select enterprise partners, deploying it on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum (ETH), with potential expansion to other networks in the future.
A significant challenge Ripple faces is obtaining approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS), a critical step for broader adoption and legitimacy in the U.S. market. Ripple President Monica Long has hinted that RLUSD will already have customers lined up when it makes its public debut, though the exact timeline remains unclear. Previously, Long indicated that a launch could happen this year, reiterating Ripple’s focus on integrating stablecoins into its ecosystem to improve payment and liquidity solutions. She has also highlighted the fact that the current stablecoin market cap is approximately $170 billion, with projections suggesting it could surpass $3 trillion in the years ahead.
The burning of such a large number of RLUSD tokens might be part of Ripple’s strategy to manage supply, maintain value stability, and prepare for a controlled introduction of the stablecoin into the market. This action could also be seen as a commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance, key elements in the highly scrutinized stablecoin sector.
With these developments, the crypto community and Ripple’s stakeholders are keenly watching for official updates on RLUSD’s launch, which could significantly impact Ripple’s position in the stablecoin landscape.
Price Action: As of press time, XRP is trading at $1.47, up 1.34% on the day. The cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $84 billion, has soared over 193% in the past month, rallying from around $0.50—a level it had lingered at for much of the past two years.
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