Ripple’s RLUSD Surpasses $1.5 Billion, Threatening Tether and Circle’s Dominance

▲ RLUSD, Binance / ChatGPT-generated image

The stablecoin market has been shaken by an $8 billion decline in market capitalization, yet Ripple’s RLUSD is rapidly expanding its presence through integration with Binance, creating cracks in the existing “big three” structure.

According to crypto-focused outlet AMB Crypto on February 13 (local time), overall stablecoin market capitalization recently fell by approximately $8 billion amid market volatility, raising concerns about shrinking liquidity. This suggests a potential reduction in “dry powder” as risk appetite weakens. Nonetheless, major issuers view this as a temporary correction and are continuing their aggressive expansion strategies.

Tether, through Bo Hines, CEO of its U.S. entity, announced plans to enter the top 10 holders of U.S. Treasuries. Currently, 83.11% of Tether’s reserves are invested in short-term U.S. Treasury bills, and expanding these holdings is seen as preparation for future demand growth. Circle is also pushing to expand its payment infrastructure by issuing USDC on the Solana (SOL) network. The market interprets this as a strategic move aimed at evolving into a Visa-level payment layer.

Amid this trend, Ripple’s RLUSD is also rapidly gaining ground. Earlier this year, RLUSD reached a record market capitalization of $1.5 billion in just two months. After surging 2,300% throughout 2025, its supply on the Ethereum (ETH) network climbed to $1.2 billion, marking a roughly tenfold increase year over year. While USDT declined by 1.5%, RLUSD rose 14%, underscoring its growing presence.

Crucially, Binance integrated RLUSD into the XRP Ledger (XRPL), which is based on XRP (Ripple), significantly expanding accessibility and liquidity. As a result, RLUSD has accelerated its multi-chain strategy spanning both Ethereum and XRPL. Ripple is pursuing a strategy of deploying its stablecoin across major Layer 1 blockchains to broaden its user base.

Ultimately, the stablecoin market appears to be shifting from a dual structure dominated by Tether and Circle to a three-way competition with the addition of RLUSD. The simultaneous expansion of reserves and network reach by leading issuers is seen as a strategic move to capture the next adoption cycle. Even amid market volatility, the stablecoin battle is intensifying.

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