Ripple made two moves on Thursday to support its dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, which has seen a 25% drop in monthly transfer volume. The first is a new platform called Ripple Mint, designed to make it easier for institutional customers to create and redeem RLUSD tokens. The second is a strategic investment in Notabene, a compliance network that will integrate RLUSD into its business-payments platform.
Ripple Mint: Automating Token Issuance
Previously, minting RLUSD meant going through a manual process with Ripple. You’d deposit dollars, then wait for the tokens to be issued. Ripple Mint changes that by providing a web dashboard and API access. Institutions can now trigger minting and redemption directly from their own systems. The platform also tracks each transaction from dollar transfer to onchain settlement. The goal is to reduce friction for big players who want to use RLUSD without administrative delays.
Expanding to More Networks
Ripple is also pushing RLUSD onto additional blockchains. Beyond the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, the stablecoin is now available on the XRPL EVM sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink, and Unichain. This widens the number of networks where RLUSD can circulate, which might help boost its usage. The token currently has a market cap of about $1.5 billion, according to RWA.xyz. That makes it a decent-sized regulated stablecoin, though still far behind Tether and USDC.
Notabene Investment and Compliance
The investment in Notabene puts RLUSD inside a compliance network used by institutions for business payments. Notabene’s platform is already positioned to handle payment flows, so adding RLUSD means those institutions can now send and receive the token through existing rails. This isn’t about making RLUSD easier to create—that’s the Mint’s job. It’s about getting the token moving through established payment channels.
Mixed Signals in the Metrics
The data shows a curious situation. RLUSD’s holder count rose 6% in the past month, and active addresses jumped 70%. That suggests the user base is expanding quickly. But its market cap slipped almost 5%, and monthly transfer volume dropped from roughly $14.6 billion to $11 billion. More people are holding RLUSD, but less money is moving. It seems the token is being treated more as an asset to own than something to spend. That’s a gap Ripple hopes to close with these two initiatives. RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust, which holds a limited-purpose trust charter from New York’s financial regulator—a key credential for courting banks in a market where regulatory clarity is everything.
