A Major Development on Ethereum and XRP Ledger Ahead of Upcoming Launch

• Ripple has minted the first 185 tokens of its RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, just weeks after it first announced that it had started beta testing the project.
• The company also minted 200 stablecoin tokens on Ethereum, the other network where it’s set to launch the project.

Ripple has minted the first tokens of its upcoming stablecoin, RLUSD, on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, just weeks after it started beta testing the project.

Blockchain sleuths revealed the minting on X. First, 185 tokens were minted on the XRPL on August 21, costing the company 0.000135 XRP, or $0.000081.

Hours later, the company minted 200 RLSUD tokens on the Ethereum network at a cost of 0.000187994637375527 ETH, or $0.49. 

💵💵💵200 #RLUSD minted at RLUSD Treasury!https://t.co/5xTekAT5SM

— Ripple USD (RLUSD) Tracker (@RLUSD_TRACKER) August 22, 2024

Right off the bat, there’s a considerable difference in cost between minting the token on XRPL and Ethereum. In fact, it cost the company over 6,000 times more to mint on Ethereum than XRPL. While the cost was manageable for this small number of tokens, it could become a significant factor once RLUSD goes into production mode with millions of users.

The two mints are just Ripple’s way of testing its systems, and it will likely keep minting, issuing, and redeeming with some of its priority partners until it’s satisfied that RLUSD is ready for the market.

Will Ripple’s RLUSD Impact XRP?

Ripple first announced the new stablecoin earlier this year as its stab at the $177 billion stablecoin market. According to CEO Brad Garlinghouse, the token was long overdue; he told CNBC in an interview in April that a stablecoin is “the number one request we get from the XRP community.”

“Our view is that having pools of liquidity that are native to the XRP ledger, they complement and help grow the XRP ecosystem,” he added.

This is RLUSD’s first aim: attracting billions of dollars to the XRP—and ultimately the XRPL—ecosystem. Stablecoins are powerful in attracting volume as they are every crypto trader’s go-between.

TRON is the best example of just how powerful stablecoins are to any blockchain. As we’ve reported, TRON has become one of the leading networks in the market over the past few years. Stablecoins, specifically Tether (USDT), have been the singular push behind TRON’s rise.

Here’s a wild statistic that shows just how critical stablecoins are for TRON: in June, USDT transfers accounted for 99% of all transfers conducted on the network. Today, TRON accounts for a higher share of USDT transactions than Ethereum, the original network it launched and the world’s largest smart contracts network.

Can RLUSD make such a significant difference for XRPL? Well, maybe not quite as much. After all, USDT and USDC dominate 90% of the stablecoin market with a combined $152 billion market cap, and most of the smaller players have failed to make a significant mark. Of the top 10 stablecoins, only three others (after USDC and USDT) have managed $1 billion in market cap.

However, RLUSD could still play a massive role. After all, Ripple has a much bigger presence than the other stablecoin issuers, other than USDT and USDC. Additionally, XRP has a significant legion of users, many of whom could be easily converted into RLUSD users. The recent partial victory in court against the SEC would also play a big role for the stablecoin as it gives regulatory clarity to Ripple at a time when Tether continues to face scrutiny.

XRP trades at $0.6013, shedding 1.9% in the past day.

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