Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), has spent the last six months quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing assets in the $160 billion stable value sector, even though most of its issuance still resides on a rival network, not the XRP Ledger.

That split—95 percent of the $455 million supply currently sitting on Ethereum—was the starting point for a lively exchange over the weekend on X between XRP expert “Crypto Eri” and skeptics questioning whether Ripple’s plans would ever benefit the XRP Ledger (XRPL) itself.

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“Ripple is a long-term player,” Eri wrote. “Ripple's public statements about integrating smart contracts on the mainnet will ultimately position RLUSD on XRPL as a more competitive stablecoin, with faster and cheaper settlement than Ethereum.”

This comment came just a few days after Ripple activated its EVM-compatible sidechain, bringing full Ethereum-style smart contract functionality to XRPL on June 30, 2025. According to remote data measured by developers, more than 1,400 contracts were deployed in the first week, and this bridge is now operational with 80 other chains via Axelar.

On-chain data highlights the risks. The circulating supply of RLUSD has increased by 47 percent just in June to $455 million, the fastest rate among major stablecoins, with about $390 million currently sourced from Ethereum after a fourfold expansion since January.

There are only about $65 million left on XRPL. That imbalance has led a user to tell Eri that the utility of RLUSD "affects ETH more than XRP." She acknowledged this viewpoint—"true, so far"—but argued that demand will move as XRPL's programmability and liquidity deepen.

Ripple's strategy does not solely rely on code. On June 2, the company filed with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter. A parallel filing by its subsidiary Standard Custody & Trust is seeking a master account with the Federal Reserve for RLUSD reserves to potentially reside at the central bank rather than a custodial institution.

This moment coincides with the pending GENIUS Act, a bipartisan bill that will for the first time apply a single federal regime to payment stablecoin issuance. While the $10 billion asset threshold of the bill means RLUSD may still remain under New York’s oversight for now, this application positions Ripple to voluntarily shift to federal oversight—a move that CEO Brad Garlinghouse calls a "new (and unique!) standard for trust in the stablecoin market."

Eri emphasizes the charter aspect in her post: “The national bank charter application, aligned with the GENIUS Act, ensures a master account with the Federal Reserve… boosting confidence, expanding financial services and cryptocurrency payments, and eliminating the patchwork of state licenses, allowing for continued scaling with lower costs.”

If the charter is granted and RLUSD begins to move as requested to XRPL, two flywheels will support the native token, analysts say. First, RLUSD transfers on XRPL will pay transaction fees in XRP, turning every dollar of stablecoin volume into increased demand for the asset that Ripple still holds in large quantities. Second, the EVM sidechain allows decentralized finance builders to tap RLUSD liquidity without leaving XRP's low-cost consensus layer, potentially reversing the flow of users and liquidity that has thus far moved to Ethereum.

Eri argues that: “These calculated steps in the stable $$$$$-dollar cryptocurrency market provide great potential for the digital asset XRP, but it needs more time to unfold.”

Currently, the growth of RLUSD is still driven by the DeFi economy of Ethereum, and skeptics like the user "sammie" assert "it will always be this way." Eri's ultimate response was succinct: "Let's see. I know we will stay in touch!"

This brevity captures both the promise and uncertainty ahead. The technical rails have been established; license applications have been submitted. Whether capital, compliance, and market demand can converge quickly enough to move billions of RLUSD to XRPL—and in turn enhance the utility of XRP—remains a billion-dollar question.