Ripple’s XRP has managed to maintain its position above $2, despite an 8.2% dip against the U.S. dollar this week. Over the weekend, massive onchain XRP transactions caught attention, and the network’s stablecoin, RLUSD, reached a market valuation of $53 million.
Whale Alerts Pop
Recent weeks have seen XRP make substantial strides, fueled by speculation about a friendlier U.S. regulatory environment and the debut of RLUSD trading on major exchanges. However, the crypto asset has mirrored the market’s general decline, sitting at $2.18 per unit after this week’s 8.2% slide.
Even with this pullback, XRP is still up 50.4% compared to 30 days ago. Since Dec. 17, the asset has shed approximately $0.50 per coin. On Saturday, Dec. 21, 30 million XRP, valued at $70.89 million, was withdrawn from South Korea-based exchange Upbit. Notably, South Korea accounts for 22% of XRP’s trading volume.
The transfer was detected by Whale Alert’s blockchain monitoring system, which also flagged two substantial transactions initiated by Ripple itself the same day. The company moved 90 million XRP in two parts: 50 million XRP worth $111.69 million and 40 million XRP worth $89.67 million, with funds directed to unidentified wallets.
Ripple’s RLUSD Ranks 37th
Another focal point for enthusiasts is Ripple’s fiat-backed crypto token, RLUSD. Data from coinmarketcap.com and etherscan.io indicates that there are currently 53 million RLUSD tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The Ripple Deployer wallet holds the lion’s share, with 39,298,912.01 RLUSD, or 73.87% of the supply.
The second-largest holder is B2C2 Group, an institutional liquidity provider, which owns 3,039,391 RLUSD (5.71%). An unknown wallet ranks third with 2,899,910 RLUSD, followed by Uphold, which holds 2.28 million RLUSD and an additional 305,295 RLUSD in another wallet, making it the fourth-largest holder. Mexico-based exchange Bitso rounds out the top five RLUSD holders.
RLUSD has seen 1,396 onchain transfers to date on the Ethereum blockchain. Coinmarketcap data reveals that most trading activity comes from Bitso and Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. With a $53 million market cap, RLUSD ranks 37th among stablecoins, tied with the yield-bearing stablecoin astherus (USDF). It still has a long climb ahead to reach the top 10, where Paypal’s PYUSD holds the tenth spot.
