XRP's Decline Outpaces Stablecoin's Rise as Institutions Flock to RLUSD
Ripple's XRP has experienced a significant decline in value, down 27% from its January price of $1.90 to $1.36 by August. This drop in price contrasts sharply with the growth and adoption of Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD, which has seen its market capitalization increase by 1,278% this year.
RLUSD was launched in late 2025 as a compliance-first stablecoin designed to fit into existing banking infrastructure. The stablecoin quickly gained traction, crossing $2 billion in market capitalization and becoming one of the top ten largest stablecoins by market capitalization in just seven months. It has also seen significant growth in trading volume, surpassing $9 billion.
The listing trajectory of RLUSD is equally impressive, with major exchanges such as Binance, OKX, and Gate.io adding it to their platforms within a short period of time. The stablecoin's supply is also shifting towards the XRP Ledger, with 58.9% of its total supply now residing on XRPL.
The adoption of RLUSD by major financial institutions such as JPMorgan, Mastercard, and BlackRock underscores the growing preference for a dollar-pegged token over XRP. These institutions have chosen to use RLUSD for their cross-border payments due to its stability and low volatility risk.
Meanwhile, active accounts on the XRP Ledger have dropped by 40% year-over-year, while daily transactions rose by 21%. This 'fewer, larger hands' paradox highlights a significant shift in the XRP ecosystem, with retail traders increasingly leaving the network as institutional flows dominate.