Coinspeaker
Ripple Kickstarts RLUSD Minting on XRP Ledger and Ethereum
Blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc has hit another milestone with its United States dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD. The firm has started minting the stablecoin on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum mainnet. At the time of writing, Ripple had successfully minted 385 RLUSD on both networks. The minting started on Thursday on the XRPL, with 185 RLUSD obtained so far.
According to the dedicated stablecoin tracker, Ripple USD (RLUSD) Tracker, the firm has minted an additional 200 RLUSD on the Ethereum mainnet today. The size of the mint suggests that Ripple is only testing the waters rather than taking a full dive.
💵💵💵200 #RLUSD minted at RLUSD Treasury!https://t.co/5xTekAT5SM
— Ripple USD (RLUSD) Tracker (@RLUSD_TRACKER) August 22, 2024
Ripple Makes Progress with RLUSD Launch
Ripple began putting effort into the development of RLUSD, which is pegged at 1:1 with the United States dollar, at the beginning of this year. It recently launched a webpage for the stablecoin.
The token is designed to be fully backed by USD deposits, short-term U.S. government treasuries, and other cash equivalents. Ripple informed its community that a third-party accounting firm would constantly audit these reserve assets.
It also plans to provide monthly attestations to maintain transparency. Notably, this is a significant milestone towards the official launch of the stablecoin later this year. The firm’s plans might also notably affect the price of XRP and Ripple’s expansion. This is not yet reflected in the price of XRP, currently trading at $0.5993, corresponding with a 0.51% dip in the last 24 hours.
Its other key metrics do not demonstrate a bullish stance, either. XRP’s trading volume dropped by 14.91%, making it the eighth-highest traded coin with $969,791,009. Its market cap dipped at the same pace as the price.
Ripple Stablecoin RLUSD Is Still in the Testing Phase
It is worth noting that even with this minting, RLUSD is still in the testing phase. Therefore, XRP community members and other netizens interested in holding some stablecoins are advised to remain cautious. When Ripple introduced the stablecoin a few months ago, some bad actors took advantage of it to perpetuate malicious activity.
They began to tout fake tokens disguised as RLUSD on the XRP Ledger. Some industry experts immediately weighed in, asking crypto enthusiasts to exercise caution. X by Vet, a validator of the XRP Ledger dUNL, warned the public that the official RLUSD stablecoin is not yet available. He also advised users against engaging with fake accounts to avoid scams.
Regulation is also a possibility, which may bring Ripple back under the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s radar. Renowned XRP advocate lawyer Fred Rispoli strongly believes that the potential regulatory challenge will differ from the one the blockchain payments firm battled with the market regulator for close to four years.
