Ripple's Dollar Crossed US$2 Billion — Most of It on Ethereum, Not the XRP Ledger
While the largest dollar tokens stood still, Ripple's RLUSD grew about 30% and crossed US$2 billion in supply on August 21 — the fastest of any major stablecoin. But four in five of those new dollars were minted on Ethereum, not the XRP Ledger the token is named for, tipping RLUSD to a first, slim Ethereum majority. And the supply sits in few hands: roughly 195 holders, with the top ten holding about 60% of the float.
- Ripple's RLUSD grew about 30% — from US$1.60B to US$2.08B — and crossed US$2 billion in supply on August 21, 2026, the fastest of any major dollar stablecoin over the window while USDT and USDC held essentially flat (both −0.4%). see data →
- About 81% of the ~US$482M in net new supply was minted on Ethereum (+US$390M) rather than the XRP Ledger (+US$92M), tipping RLUSD to a slim Ethereum majority (~52% vs ~46%) for the first time after months of sitting XRPL-heavy. The token grew fastest on the chain it is not named for.
- The accumulation is concentrated and institutional in shape: at US$2 billion, RLUSD has roughly 195 measured holders, with the top ten holding about 60% of the tradable float. It is a balance-sheet build, not a retail spread — and a supply story, not a usage one, as RLUSD's transfer volume fell about a quarter in July.
Among the largest dollar tokens, almost nothing moved this month. USDT and USDC — together more than US$250 billion of supply — sat within a fraction of a percent of where they began. Against that stillness, one name ran: Ripple's RLUSD grew about 30%, from US$1.6 billion to US$2.1 billion, and crossed US$2 billion in supply on August 21. No other major stablecoin grew faster over the same weeks.
The growth did not follow the token's name. RLUSD is a creature of the XRP Ledger by identity, and for most of the summer that is where its supply lived. Yet of the roughly US$482 million minted into existence between late July and late August, about four in five dollars appeared on Ethereum. That was enough to push RLUSD past a threshold it had never crossed: for the first time, a little more than half of its supply sits on Ethereum rather than on the ledger it was built for.
The fastest grower while the giants stood still
Measured on the same window, the contrast is stark. RLUSD's roughly 30% gain compares with 7% for PayPal's PYUSD, under 2% for Ethena's USDe, and small declines for both USDC and USDT. This is a period in which the stablecoin market was debating the new federal rulebook and which tokens would clear it; the token that actually accumulated was a smaller, compliant-tier dollar, not one of the incumbents. Growth of this shape — one name pulling far ahead of a flat field — is the kind of divergence a market-cap ranking flattens into a single line.
Fig 1 — Stablecoin supply growth, Jul 24 – Aug 24, 2026
One name ran; the field stood still
Supply growth over the same window for the major dollar stablecoins above US$1 billion. RLUSD grew about 30% — several times faster than the next-fastest, and against flat-to-negative readings for the two giants. The comparison uses a matched window with both endpoints present for every token.
Named for one chain, minted on another
The sourced reasons for RLUSD's demand point at the XRP Ledger. In August, Ripple backed a credit fund that issues working-capital loans in RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, and in late July it launched Ripple Mint for institutional minting. Yet the supply landed elsewhere. Over the run, RLUSD on Ethereum rose from about US$699 million to US$1.09 billion — an increase of US$390 million — while its supply on the XRP Ledger rose only about US$92 million. One driver in the same window points the other way: a US$280 million lending pool that lets XRP holders borrow RLUSD on Ethereum. Whatever the mix of causes, the money followed the deeper pool of onchain dollar liquidity, which is on Ethereum.
Fig 2 — RLUSD supply, Ethereum vs XRP Ledger · Jul 24 – Aug 24, 2026
The lines cross late in the run
RLUSD supply on Ethereum (green) and the XRP Ledger (grey), in millions. The XRP Ledger led for most of the window; Ethereum overtook it only in the final days, as the surge to US$2 billion minted new supply almost entirely on Ethereum. The stock split is now roughly 52% Ethereum, 46% XRP Ledger — a narrow, recent majority, not a decisive one.
The flip is real but fresh, and worth stating precisely. For most of the summer RLUSD sat XRPL-heavy — public trackers as recently as early August showed roughly US$877 million on the XRP Ledger against about US$643 million on Ethereum. Ethereum took a durable lead only in the final week of the run, and by a slim margin: about 52% of supply against 46% on the XRP Ledger. The direction is clear; the dominance is not. What changed decisively is not where RLUSD lives but where it grew.
A US$2 billion token in a few hundred hands
The other half of the picture is who holds it. At US$2 billion, RLUSD has roughly 195 measured holders across both chains, and the top ten of them hold about 60% of the tradable float. A stablecoin that clears US$2 billion on the strength of a few hundred addresses is not a retail-adoption story; it is an institutional balance-sheet build, the kind of position a treasury or a lending desk takes, sized in the tens or hundreds of millions. That reading fits the drivers — a credit fund, an institutional mint, a lending vault — better than the picture of a token spreading across many small wallets.
One caveat keeps the story honest: this is supply, not use. Even as RLUSD's balance grew, its transfer volume fell about a quarter in July. Dollars are being parked in RLUSD faster than they are being moved through it — accumulation ahead of activity. Whether the activity follows is the open question. If a compliant-tier dollar can gather US$2 billion onto Ethereum in a month, in institutional size, the next thing worth watching is whether those balances start to circulate — or whether they sit, a reserve waiting for a rulebook.
RLUSD supply rose from US$1.60B (Jul 24) to US$2.08B (Aug 24), +30.2% / ~US$482M net new, crossing US$2.0B on Aug 21. Measured on a matched window, no other major dollar stablecoin above US$1B grew faster: PYUSD +7.3%, USDe +1.7%, USDC −0.4%, USDT −0.4%. Figures are all-chains aggregate supply.
Verified Aug 25, 2026 · onchainbenchmark.com/instruments/rlusdOf the ~US$482M net new supply, Ethereum took +US$390M (US$699M → US$1.09B) and the XRP Ledger +US$92M (US$897M → US$988M) — about 81% of the growth on Ethereum. This tipped RLUSD from XRPL-majority to a slim Ethereum majority (~52% vs ~46%) in the final days of the run. No other chain holds a material balance.
Coverage notes · onchainbenchmark.com/methodologyThis is a supply-accumulation story, not a usage one: RLUSD's transfer volume fell ~25% in July even as its balance grew. Holder concentration (~195 holders; top ten ≈60% of float) is a measured input made legible, not a judgment of the issuer. The US$2B crossing (Aug 21) is our onchain read; public trackers, updated less often, still described RLUSD as approaching US$2B and XRPL-leaning.
Ripple RLUSD coverage · CoinDesk- How much did RLUSD grow, and did it really cross US$2 billion?
- RLUSD's supply grew about 30%, from roughly US$1.60 billion on July 24 to US$2.08 billion on August 24, 2026, crossing the US$2 billion mark on August 21 (our onchain read). Over the same window, no other major dollar stablecoin above US$1 billion grew faster: PYUSD rose about 7%, USDe under 2%, and both USDC and USDT edged down slightly.
- Why does the report say RLUSD grew on Ethereum, not the XRP Ledger?
- Of the roughly US$482 million of net new RLUSD supply, about 81% was minted on Ethereum (+US$390 million) versus about US$92 million on the XRP Ledger. That growth tipped RLUSD to a slim Ethereum majority — roughly 52% of supply on Ethereum against 46% on the XRP Ledger — for the first time, after it had sat XRPL-heavy for most of the summer. The dominance is narrow and recent; what changed decisively is where RLUSD grew, not where it lives.
- Is RLUSD's US$2 billion widely held?
- No. At US$2 billion, RLUSD has roughly 195 measured holders across both chains, and the top ten hold about 60% of the tradable float. That is the shape of an institutional balance-sheet position, not broad retail distribution. It is also a supply figure, not a usage one — RLUSD's transfer volume fell about a quarter in July even as its balance grew.