The year 2025 is witnessing a strong boom in stablecoins. The total market capitalization of stablecoins has surpassed $280 billion, led by Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). Notably, the United States passed the Genius Act last month – an important regulatory framework governing stablecoins. In this context, many large financial organizations are considering issuing their own stablecoins, and Ripple is one of the blockchain companies making the boldest moves. If you are an XRP investor, Ripple's recent actions regarding stablecoins are something to pay special attention to.

1. Ripple officially launches its first stablecoin

In December 2024, Ripple received a license from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to issue its first stablecoin – Ripple USD (RLUSD). This is a stablecoin fully backed by cash and cash-equivalent assets.

CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that Ripple chose the regulatory framework in New York for its transparency and credibility. As a result, RLUSD quickly aligned with the reserve and audit standards under the Genius Act.

RLUSD plays an important role in Ripple's global payment network, allowing customers to send and receive digital dollars quickly and at low cost. However, the market capitalization of RLUSD is currently only about $670 million (as of August 16, 2025), meaning there is still significant room for growth.

2. Strategic partnership with Circle – the issuer of USDC

On June 12, 2025, Ripple and Circle – the issuer of the USDC stablecoin – announced a partnership to integrate USDC into the XRP Ledger (XRPL), Ripple's core blockchain.

This integration promises to bring abundant liquidity and attract more developers to XRPL. With a market cap of over $68 billion, USDC is more than 100 times larger than RLUSD, and bringing USDC onto XRPL will make this network more attractive to businesses and investors.

3. Acquisition of the stablecoin payment platform Rail

On August 7, 2025, Ripple continued to enhance its stablecoin strength by acquiring Rail – a stablecoin payment platform – for $200 million.

Rail allows businesses to send international payments using stablecoins without having to hold cryptocurrency directly. This platform supports the conversion of fiat currency to stablecoins and vice versa, enabling fast, cost-effective payments.

According to reports, Rail currently accounts for over 10% of the total global B2B stablecoin volume, equivalent to $36 billion in annual transactions. This is a strategic move that complements Ripple's long-term goal of expanding payment infrastructure for enterprises.

4. Will stablecoins diminish the role of XRP?

XRP originally serves as the base currency on XRPL, used to pay transaction fees and as a bridge currency in Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service. With ODL, XRP allows financial institutions to convert currency instantly without needing to hold multiple foreign currencies.

However, the emergence of stablecoins – particularly RLUSD – raises an important question: Will stablecoins replace the bridging role of XRP?

  • Positive: Stablecoins (RLUSD, USDC) will attract more transactions and liquidity to XRPL. Each transaction requires a small amount of XRP for fees, which still creates demand for XRP.

  • Negative: Transaction fees on XRPL are very small (0.00001 XRP). The true value of XRP lies in its bridging role in cross-border payments. If RLUSD performs this role well, the demand for XRP may decrease.

Nevertheless, Ripple still holds nearly 50% of the XRP supply, so the company has a clear interest in maintaining the core role of this token. It is highly likely that XRP and RLUSD will coexist in parallel:

  • XRP continues to act as a bridge between various currencies.

  • RLUSD is used when both parties in a transaction want to maintain value in USD.

5. Conclusion for XRP investors

Recent moves indicate that Ripple is building a payment ecosystem combining XRP and stablecoins. This could be a long-term growth driver for both assets, while helping Ripple become a major player in the global payment sector.

However, XRP remains a high-risk, highly volatile currency. Investors should only allocate a small portion of their portfolio, rather than betting their entire capital.

In summary: Stablecoins present both opportunities and challenges for XRP, but if Ripple succeeds in balancing these two factors, XRP could benefit from the stablecoin boom in the coming years.