XRP and the Digital Asset Alliance (Part Two)

Forging the Future of Global Payments

The global payments landscape is at a crossroads. As the world’s financial arteries pulse with over $150 trillion in cross-border flows annually, the need for faster, more transparent, and cost-effective solutions is more urgent than ever. Ripple, with its native digital asset XRP and the newly launched RLUSD stablecoin, is not just responding to this call—it’s actively shaping the next era of financial connectivity. This article will take you deeper into the intricate partnerships, regulatory milestones, and the evolving symbiosis between XRP and RLUSD that are propelling Ripple’s vision onto the world stage.

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XRP and RLUSD: A Symbiotic Relationship, Not a Rivalry

Let’s address the elephant in the room: RLUSD is not here to replace XRP. Despite some early fears in the XRP community, the relationship between these two digital assets is fundamentally complementary. RLUSD brings price stability to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), making it ideal for institutions needing predictable settlement and treasury operations. XRP, meanwhile, remains the native bridge asset for the XRPL, dominating transaction routing and cross-currency payments due to its speed, liquidity, and cost efficiency.

Ripple CTO David Schwartz and CEO Brad Garlinghouse have both emphasized that RLUSD expands the ecosystem rather than diminishes XRP’s role. Only XRP can pay XRPL transaction fees, and its volatility is actually an asset for certain DeFi and liquidity use cases. RLUSD, on the other hand, is designed for institutions and enterprises that require the stability of a fiat-pegged token for settlements, pricing, and fund storage.

“RLUSD is a value-add, not a threat. Integrating a native stablecoin like RLUSD enhances the XRPL ecosystem and further reinforces XRP’s importance.”
— All Things XRP

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