Pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan has criticized Tether for its lack of transparency in reserve management, while praising Ripple’s RLUSD as a safer and more reliable alternative.
Morgan’s remarks come as Tether prepares to expand into the U.S. market, recently hiring Bo Hines – former executive director of the White House Crypto Council – to strengthen regulatory compliance. Meanwhile, Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD has been surging, with its market capitalization climbing over 25% in just one month.
Bill Morgan: RLUSD Outshines USDT in Reserve Management
On Tuesday, Tether announced the appointment of Bo Hines as its crypto strategic advisor, aiming to support U.S. expansion amid pro-crypto policies under Trump and the recent passage of the GENIUS Act. Analysts noted that Tether has partly dispelled doubts over transparency, thanks to validation from investment banking giant Cantor Fitzgerald.
However, Bill Morgan stressed that Tether’s biggest flaw lies in its failure to use an independent third-party custodian to safeguard reserves. By contrast, Ripple’s RLUSD relies on BNY Mellon – one of the world’s most reputable banks – for custody. According to him, this makes RLUSD a far more reassuring option for investors.
A user on X echoed this view, noting that Tether has also never agreed to undergo credible audits from independent external firms. Morgan called this “negative fact number two” for USDT.
Still, he acknowledged one positive aspect: “To be fair, I like one thing about Tether – it has never lost its peg to the U.S. dollar.”
In Q2 2025, Tether continued to post strong results, reporting $2.6 billion in profits while disclosing gold and Bitcoin reserves. During the same quarter, the company issued $13.4 billion worth of USDT.
Ripple RLUSD Expands Market Presence
At the same time, Ripple’s RLUSD has been systematically expanding its footprint in the stablecoin market. Over the past month, its market cap has grown from $527 million to $666 million – a 26% surge.
Notably, last week the proceeds from Bullish’s IPO were settled entirely in RLUSD, issued on the XRP Ledger. Jack McDonald, Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Stablecoins, emphasized:
“RLUSD on XRPL is becoming increasingly integrated into traditional financial rails – from serving as collateral and enabling cross-border settlement, to now, for the first time, being used for IPO proceeds. Even before the GENIUS Act was passed, RLUSD had been repeatedly recognized across both crypto and TradFi as the gold standard in compliance – and now, the floodgates are opening.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently announced that community banks are permitted to collaborate with stablecoin issuers. This development is expected to further benefit Ripple, which is also applying for a U.S. banking license to strengthen RLUSD’s integration into traditional finance.
