XRP has bounced back from a tough few years and is up 300%, heading for a new all-time high that will end in 2024. Xaman, one of the most popular wallets in the XRP Ledger ecosystem, has seen a surge in activity throughout this year. Furthermore, the market-wide XRP open interest reached a record high in December 2024. Apart from regulatory developments, much of the XRP hype is fueled by the on-chain stablecoin RLUSD. RLUSD is scheduled to be released on multiple exchanges on December 17th.
XRP is enjoying its time in the sun.
The global payments project endured a long winter of legal action from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
However, the coin received much fanfare following speculation that Donald Trump's SEC administration is likely to drop its lawsuit against XRP.
Looking back over the past 12 months, XRP has returned an impressive 300%, and wins continue to roll into the community following the announcement of its native stablecoin RLUSD.
Now that the release date has been announced, the market is waiting to see if RLUSD will boost the on-chain activity of traditional blockchains.
But you may not even have to wait until RLUSD's release date, December 17th, to get the answer.
Related: Citi Report Highlights Role of Stablecoins in Strengthening USD
Traders and DeFi users flock to XRP as project grows rapidly
The growing interest in XRP is already having an impact on blockchain.
Xaman, the leading self-custodial wallet on the XRP Ledger, has seen a 250% spike in activity over the past few months, reaching 212,000 active users last week.
To put these numbers into context, this time last year, Xaman had only about 80,000 weekly active users.
And it’s not just DeFi users who are driving projects towards an end in 2024, but traders are also noticing the momentum of XRP.
The coin has hit an all-time high in open interest, a key indicator for tracking derivatives markets. Simply, the higher the level of open interest, the more funds will flood into XRP positions.
RLUSD launches to add another high-profile stablecoin to the growing tokenization trend
Positive trends aside, the most important news is the launch of RLUSD scheduled for tomorrow morning.
The on-chain stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar, runs on Ethereum and the XRP Ledger.
The company's announcement today also revealed how each token will maintain its peg.
The RLUSD token is fully backed by US dollar deposits, US Treasury securities, and cash equivalents, and is designed to ensure its stability, reliability, and liquidity.
Statement from Team Ripple
The coin will initially launch on Uphold, MoonPay, and will eventually be expanded to other platforms such as Bitstamp and Mercado Bitcoin.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was excited about the coin’s potential in the evolving legislative environment.
As the US moves towards clearer regulation, we can expect to see increased adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD that offer real-world utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse
While some are concerned about how long it will take for RLUSD to reach (and maintain) $1, analyst David Schwartz says people trying to “FOMO” into stablecoins may is warning against.
Once RLUSD goes live, there could be a very early supply shortage before the market stabilizes. In fact, there are people who are willing to pay $1,200/RLUSD for a fraction of 1 RLUSD. The tool shows the highest price anyone is willing to pay, even if it's just a price. https://t.co/LOx4rGiiiJ
— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) December 15, 2024
