Fundamental Ripple (XRP) Update: Native Stablecoin Development Progress

TL;DR

• Ripple plans to launch a stablecoin called Ripple USD (RLUSD) on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, aiming to bridge crypto with traditional finance.
• A few days ago, Ripple minted the first portion of RLUSD tokens as part of private beta testing.

The Latest Development

Ripple became the talk of the town earlier this year when announcing that it will introduce a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse argued that the product could serve as a bridge between the cryptocurrency industry and traditional finance.

Ripple’s team has revealed that the stablecoin will be called Ripple USD (ticker RLUSD) and will be available on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum. Its launch is expected later this year. 

According to on-chain data from XRP Scan, Ripple minted 185 RLUSD during private beta testing earlier this week. The transaction fee of the effort was 0.000135 XRP. 

Ripple’s team has previously claimed that RLUSD will provide “deep liquidity for major trading pairs” on certain centralized exchanges. Users will also be able to send the product around the globe in real time with minimal fees and no bank account required. 

Some X users, including Cobb, claimed that the launch of the stablecoin could positively influence the price of Ripple’s native token, XRP, in the near future.

Controversy With the SEC

Ripple’s intention to launch a stablecoin has already caused the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise eyebrows. In May, the agency labeled the product a “new unregistered crypto asset.”

The quarrel between Ripple and the SEC does not end with RLUSD. Those following the industry must be aware that the Commission sued the company in December 2020, accusing it of selling XRP in an alleged unregistered security offering.

The lawsuit passed through numerous developments in the following years before reaching a major milestone at the beginning of this month. Back then, Judge Torres ruled that the firm must pay a $125 million fine for violating certain securities laws. The sum might sound substantial, but it actually represents just a fraction of the $2 billion initially demanded by the SEC. 

Multiple industry participants interpreted the decision as a victory for Ripple, while XRP’s price also reacted positively. Both entities have until early October to appeal the ruling. While the SEC seems more likely to contend, there have been no indications of such a move so far.