A 38% price surge in XRP stemmed from market confusion around its supposed competition with Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), clarified blockchain firm Ripple in recent communications.
The company emphasized that XRP functions exclusively as a digital asset facilitating cross-border payments on the XRP Ledger, contrasting with stablecoins like USDC which peg value to fiat currencies. This misconception reportedly contributed to investor uncertainty, notably prompting entrepreneur Dave Portnoy’s recent mistaken liquidation of XRP positions after conflating the assets.
Ripple attributes the volatility to misinterpretations about its recently launched Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin. The firm positions RLUSD as its strategic entry into the stablecoin sector, operating independently from XRP’s established infrastructure.
RLUSD aims to challenge USDC by providing a regulated, dollar-pegged alternative for decentralized finance and payments without overlapping with XRP’s transaction-settlement use cases. Market observers recommend monitoring RLUSD’s adoption trajectory and regulatory developments as Ripple advances its dual-token strategy.