Large-scale issuance and burning of Ripple's dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD occurred in succession. On Ethereum, $38.6 million worth of RLUSD was newly issued, while $50.6 million was burned on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), reducing the total circulating supply by $12 million.

According to overseas crypto media outlet CoinGate (CoinGabbar), these movements coincided with the launch of RLUSD institutional custody services by global bank Standard Chartered, and analysts suggest this was not a simple supply change but a liquidity rebalancing to meet institutional demand.

◆ Two Issuances on Ethereum, Three Burns on XRP Ledger

According to on-chain data from a Ripple stablecoin tracker cited by CoinGate, the Ripple treasury issued a total of 38.6 million RLUSD on the Ethereum network in two transactions: 19.6 million in the first transaction and 19 million in the second.

Meanwhile, on the XRP Ledger, a total of 50.6 million RLUSD was burned across three transactions of 13 million, 18 million, and 19.6 million. Combining issuance and burning across the two networks, the total circulating supply decreased by 12 million.

CoinGate explained that Ripple treasury issuance typically occurs in response to actual customer dollar deposits, meaning the new issuance should be interpreted not merely as a signal of supply increase but as a process of responding to newly arising liquidity demand.

In particular, these transactions may represent a rebalancing process moving liquidity from the XRP Ledger to Ethereum. Analysts suggest it could be a move to satisfy demand for Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) or to meet the needs of institutional counterparties using the Ethereum network.

◆ Market Cap of $2.42 Billion... Dollar Peg Maintained

As of the time of reporting, RLUSD's market capitalization stood at approximately $2.42 billion, and according to CoinGate, it maintained its dollar peg throughout the process.

Previously, RLUSD's market cap approached roughly $2.5 billion this year, setting a new record high. At the time, the XRP Ledger-based stablecoin market also grew by 6%. Since launching in 2024 under the regulation of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), RLUSD has rapidly expanded in scale.

It is also noteworthy that Ripple previously expanded RLUSD support to Ethereum layer-2 networks and XRP Ledger sidechains via Wormhole. CoinGate explained that this laid the groundwork for RLUSD to be utilized across multiple DeFi ecosystems.

◆ Standard Chartered Launches RLUSD Institutional Custody Service on October 12

According to CoinGate, Standard Chartered launched its RLUSD institutional custody service on October 12 (local time). The service is provided through Standard Chartered's branch located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

Regarding the service, Ripple's Stablecoin Senior Vice President Jack McDonald stated, "RLUSD was built exactly for these kinds of institutional use cases."

◆ Collateral Integration with LMAX Underway... Counterparty Risk Reduction Expected

CoinGate highlighted the collateral integration structure being pursued with LMAX Group as a key point of the announcement. Under the planned structure, institutions can hold RLUSD with Standard Chartered while reflecting the value of those assets in LMAX's trading system. In this process, the RLUSD tokens themselves never leave the custodian.

CoinGate explained that this approach helps reduce counterparty risk that can arise during asset transfers, and could be a significant change particularly for institutions handling large-scale digital asset transactions. Luke Doney, Head of Custody at LMAX Group, evaluated RLUSD, saying it is "becoming an increasingly important component of the institutional digital asset market."

However, the collateral integration with LMAX has not yet been finalized. According to CoinGate, the service must undergo final documentation, testing, and regulatory approval.

◆ Privy Partnership, Issuance Platform, Turkey Expansion... Infrastructure Buildout Underway

CoinGate reported that Ripple is building related infrastructure across multiple areas to expand institutional use of RLUSD.

Ripple partnered with Privy to expand XRP Ledger accessibility for XRP and RLUSD payments. It also plans to support the use of RLUSD in autonomous AI agents and artificial intelligence-based payment processes.

Separately, Ripple unveiled a new issuance platform that allows institutions to more easily issue and redeem RLUSD. According to CoinGate, this platform provides a channel for qualified institutions to directly handle large-scale RLUSD issuance and redemption.

The expansion of banking custody services is not limited to Dubai. Ripple has eyed Turkey as a digital asset hub, building on Garanti BBVA's custody services and RLUSD-related infrastructure. CoinGate linked this to a broader trend of bank-based digital asset custody foundations expanding in emerging markets.

◆ X402 AI Payments Exceed 10 Million, Doppler XRP Vault Reaches $125 Million

Payment utilization of the XRP Ledger itself is also increasing. According to the report, X402-based AI payments on the XRP Ledger have surpassed 10 million transactions. CoinGate analyzed that this growing payment activity raises the strategic importance of RLUSD liquidity supplied to the XRP Ledger.

Demand for on-chain yield products was also mentioned. Doppler's XRP vault has reached $125 million, which CoinGate cited as evidence that capital seeking yield is flowing into the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

It is also worth noting that BNY Mellon is reviewing around-the-clock settlement solutions for tokenized U.S. Treasuries. CoinGate forecast that amid these trends, RLUSD could potentially be used as settlement infrastructure for tokenized traditional financial assets in the future.

◆ "Not a Price Surge Signal... Treasury Management Activity"

CoinGate emphasized that this RLUSD issuance and burning should not be interpreted as a signal of an imminent price surge. Rather, it explained that these are infrastructure-related signals arising from the process of allocating and managing funds to meet institutional demand.

According to CoinGate's analysis, the issuance and burning represent treasury management activities responding to actual institutional demand, and Standard Chartered's custody service launch serves as the foundation enabling this demand to be sustained at scale.

Accordingly, CoinGate projected that in the future RLUSD market, not only circulating supply changes but also the progress of collateral integration between Standard Chartered and LMAX, as well as announcements of additional banking custody services, will be key items to watch.

[This article is by no means investment advice. The content may only reflect opinions, so please do not use it as a reference or material for investment decisions. All investments are made at the investor's own discretion, and the final responsibility lies with the investor. This publication assumes no responsibility whatsoever.]