Ripple’s Big Moves: RLUSD Gains Momentum, XRP Defends $2 Support

Ripple’s Big Moves: RLUSD Gains Momentum, XRP Defends $2 Support

Ripple’s XRP has successfully held its ground above the critical $2 mark despite an 8.2% decline against the U.S. dollar over the past week. Over the weekend, significant on-chain transactions involving XRP drew widespread attention, while Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, achieved a market valuation of $53 million.

Whale Alerts Highlight Major Transactions

XRP has seen notable developments recently, bolstered by optimism surrounding a potentially more favorable U.S. regulatory landscape and the introduction of RLUSD trading on major exchanges. Despite these positive drivers, XRP mirrored the broader market downturn, trading at $2.18 per unit after an 8.2% weekly decline. However, it remains up by 50.4% over the last 30 days, demonstrating resilience.

On December 21, a massive withdrawal of 30 million XRP (worth $70.89 million) from South Korea’s Upbit exchange caught attention. South Korea contributes to 22% of XRP’s trading volume, highlighting the region’s pivotal role in its market dynamics.

Whale Alert, a blockchain monitoring system, flagged additional transactions by Ripple on the same day. Ripple moved 90 million XRP in two transactions: 50 million XRP (valued at $111.69 million) and 40 million XRP (valued at $89.67 million), with the funds transferred to unidentified wallets.

RLUSD’s Steady Growth

Ripple’s fiat-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, has emerged as a key player in the market. According to data from CoinMarketCap and Etherscan, RLUSD’s supply stands at 53 million tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Ripple’s Deployer wallet holds 73.87% of this supply (39,298,912.01 RLUSD).

The second-largest holder, institutional liquidity provider B2C2 Group, owns 3,039,391 RLUSD (5.71%), while an unknown wallet ranks third with 2,899,910 RLUSD. Uphold, a digital asset exchange, owns 2.28 million RLUSD across two wallets, making it the fourth-largest holder. Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitso completes the top five RLUSD holders.

RLUSD Adoption and Market Standing

Etherscan data shows that RLUSD has recorded 1,396 on-chain transfers on Ethereum. CoinMarketCap reveals that the majority of RLUSD’s trading activity comes from Bitso and Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest crypto exchange. With a market cap of $53 million, RLUSD ranks as the 37th-largest stablecoin, tied with USDF. It remains far behind PayPal’s PYUSD, which holds the tenth spot.

Conclusion

Despite the recent price dip, XRP’s ability to sustain its $2 support underscores its robust market presence. Meanwhile, RLUSD’s growing adoption and distribution suggest that Ripple’s ecosystem is gaining traction. Both developments indicate Ripple’s continued influence in the evolving crypto landscape.