CoinDesk
Ripple rolled out two infrastructure plays on Thursday aimed at turning its dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin from a balance-sheet asset into a working payment rail, even as monthly transfer volume across the token slipped 25%.
The headline product is Ripple Mint, an automated platform that lets institutional customers create, redeem, bridge and track RLUSD through a web dashboard or direct API integration. Until now, minting the token typically meant arranging issuance directly with Ripple under a manual process; the new APIs let a firm trigger minting and redemption from its own systems and trace each transaction from dollar transfer through onchain settlement. Ripple also widened RLUSD's footprint beyond the XRP Ledger and Ethereum onto the XRPL EVM sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain.
Separately, Ripple announced a strategic investment in Notabene, integrating RLUSD into the compliance network's business-payments platform and placing the token in front of institutions wired up to send and receive it.
Why it matters
The two launches land in a stablecoin market where regulatory clarity has become the main battleground. RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust under a limited-purpose trust charter from New York's financial regulator, the credential Ripple leans on when courting banks. Mint handles the issuance and treasury side; Notabene handles the compliance and counterparty plumbing. Together they are Ripple's answer to the gap between issuing a regulated stablecoin and embedding it into institutional payment workflows.
Market impact
The numbers behind the rollout are mixed. RLUSD's market cap sits near $1.5 billion, split roughly $877M on the XRP Ledger and $643M on Ethereum, per RWA.xyz data, putting it among the larger regulated stablecoins but still a small fraction of Tether and Circle's USDC. Over the past month, holders climbed 6% and active addresses jumped 70%, a sign the user base is broadening quickly. But market cap slipped almost 5% and monthly transfer volume fell about 25%, from roughly $14.6B to $11B, meaning more wallets are holding RLUSD while less money is moving across it.
Frequently asked questions
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What did Ripple launch for RLUSD on Thursday?
Ripple launched Ripple Mint, an automated platform that lets institutions create, redeem, bridge and track RLUSD via a web dashboard or API, and announced a strategic investment in compliance network Notabene to integrate the stablecoin into institutional payment rails.
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What networks does RLUSD now run on?
RLUSD is live on the XRP Ledger, Ethereum, the XRPL EVM sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain, after Ripple expanded the token beyond its original two chains.
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How big is RLUSD and how is its supply split?
RLUSD's market cap sits near $1.5 billion, with roughly $877M on the XRP Ledger and about $643M on Ethereum, according to RWA.xyz data.
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Why did monthly RLUSD transfer volume fall 25%?
Monthly transfer volume dropped from roughly $14.6B to $11B over the past month, while holder counts and active addresses climbed, suggesting the token is being held rather than actively used for transactions.
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What regulatory credential does RLUSD carry?
RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust under a limited-purpose trust charter from New York's financial regulator, the compliance credential Ripple leans on to court banks and institutional users.
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