On August 9, Ripple Labs announced the first tests of its US dollar-pegged stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum mainnet, with plans to deploy the fiat-pegged token on additional blockchain networks in the future.
According to Ripple Labs, the upcoming stablecoin will be over-collateralized, meaning each unit of RLUSD will be backed by USD reserves or short-term cash equivalents from banks at a 1:1 ratio to the US dollar. To ensure transparency and accountability, Ripple has also committed to third-party audits of the underlying cash assets and monthly reports on reserves.
The cryptocurrency company also reiterated its intention to serve the market using both XRP (XRP) and RLUSD, quelling rumors that the company would abandon XRP and focus on a new stablecoin.
Ripple Labs emphasized in the announcement that the stablecoin is undergoing beta testing with corporate partners and warned users to be wary of scammers claiming to sell or provide early access to RLUSD, which is currently unavailable for purchase or live trading.
Ripple fined $125 million in SEC lawsuit
RLUSD’s mainnet test follows the August 7 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres that imposed a $125 million fine on Ripple Labs in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit first filed in 2020.
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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse hailed the penalty as a “victory” against the SEC, which had asked the court to impose a massive $2 billion fine on Ripple Labs for alleged securities law violations outlined in the lawsuit.
As expected, the XRP price responded with positive price momentum, surging 26% to reach a high of $0.64 on the same day the ruling was handed down.
XRP Ledger Trading Volumes Plummet
According to Ripple Labs’ Q2 2024 XRP Markets Report, despite Ripple’s positive developments, XRPL saw a 65.6% decline in trading volume in Q2 2024.
According to Ripple’s report, the number of transactions dropped sharply from 251,397,881 in Q1 to 88,388,029 in Q2, and the average cost per transaction on the ledger increased significantly.
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