Ripple launched a self-service platform for institutions to issue and redeem its dollar-backed stablecoin on Thursday, and separately took a stake in compliance network Notabene, two moves aimed at a problem its own numbers made visible. RLUSD carries a market value near $1.5 billion, but monthly transfer volume across the token fell about 25% over the past 30 days, from roughly $14.6 billion to $10.95 billion, according to data assessed by CoinDesk. Holder counts went the other way. Wallets holding RLUSD rose 6% and active addresses jumped 70% over the same period. More people own the token. Less money moves through it.
Minting is the process a stablecoin issuer uses to create new tokens when a customer deposits dollars, and redemption is the reverse. Until this week, institutions wanting to mint RLUSD arranged it directly with Ripple and waited on a manual issuance process.
Key takeaways
- Ripple Mint gives approved institutional customers a dashboard and API to mint, redeem, bridge and track RLUSD without manual coordination with Ripple.
- Ripple made a strategic investment in Notabene and integrated RLUSD into its payments compliance network, which connects more than 2,300 institutions across over 100 jurisdictions.
- RLUSD monthly transfer volume dropped roughly 25% to $10.95 billion while market cap slipped nearly 5% to about $1.5 billion.
- Supply is split between the XRP Ledger at roughly $877 million and Ethereum at about $643 million, with the token now live on Base, Optimism, Ink, Unichain and the XRPL EVM sidechain.
Published: July 25, 2026, 09:00 UTC
What Ripple Mint changes for treasury desks
Ripple Mint replaces a phone-and-email issuance workflow with programmatic access. Approved customers can trigger minting and redemption from their own systems through APIs, then follow each transaction from the initial dollar transfer through to onchain settlement in a single view.
That matters for corporate treasurers and payment firms because manual issuance imposes a timing cost. A firm that needs $50 million of a stablecoin on a Friday afternoon cannot wait for a counterparty to process paperwork. Automated minting turns the token into something a treasury system can call on demand, which is the baseline banks already expect from their existing dollar rails.
Ripple has also widened where the token circulates. RLUSD started on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum and now runs on the XRPL EVM sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain. Each additional network adds venues where the token can settle without a manual bridge step.
Why the Notabene stake matters
The Notabene investment addresses the other half of the gap. Notabene runs a compliance network that handles counterparty identity checks and transaction authorization between regulated firms, the plumbing that lets a bank confirm who sits on the other side of a transfer before funds move.
Placing RLUSD inside that network puts the token in front of institutions already wired for compliant settlement. Ripple is betting that distribution through an existing compliance layer converts faster than direct sales, because the firms on Notabene have already cleared the internal hurdles that stop most stablecoin pilots.
The volume problem behind both launches
A stablecoin accumulating holders while shedding transaction volume is being treated as an asset to park rather than a rail to move money through. That distinction decides whether RLUSD becomes payments infrastructure or stays a balance-sheet instrument.
RLUSD remains a fraction of Tether and Circle’s USDC, which together dominate stablecoin settlement. Its regulatory position is the differentiator. The token is issued by Standard Custody & Trust, which holds a limited-purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services, the credential Ripple points to when courting banks. Ripple also secured a full MiCA license covering all 30 EEA countries earlier this month, extending the same compliance argument into Europe.
What comes next
The test is whether transfer volume recovers over the next two quarters. Ripple faces competition from card networks moving into the same territory, including Visa’s stablecoin platform built on Open USD, and from bank-issued tokens such as Crédit Agricole’s euro stablecoin EURXT. Neither Ripple nor Notabene disclosed the size of the investment.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ripple Mint?
Ripple Mint is a platform that lets approved institutional customers create, redeem, bridge and track RLUSD through a web dashboard or direct API integration. It replaces the manual process where firms arranged each issuance directly with Ripple.
Why did RLUSD transfer volume fall?
Monthly transfer volume dropped about 25%, from roughly $14.6 billion to $10.95 billion, while holder counts rose. The pattern suggests wallets are holding RLUSD as a dollar position rather than using it to settle payments.
Which networks support RLUSD?
RLUSD circulates on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, which hold roughly $877 million and $643 million of supply respectively, plus the XRPL EVM sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain.
