XRP News Today: Ripple's $1B Stablecoin Drives Crypto-Traditional Finance Bridge

Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin has surged past a $1 billion market capitalization, marking a pivotal milestone for the company as it expands into institutional brokerage services, positioning itself at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets. The achievement, announced on November 3, 2025, follows the recent launch of Ripple Prime, a prime brokerage platform enabling U.S. institutions to trade XRP and RLUSD through over-the-counter (OTC) spot transactions, according to TradingView. The stablecoin's growth underscores growing institutional confidence in Ripple's ecosystem, particularly as the company integrates its blockchain infrastructure with traditional financial services, according to Coinotag.

The $1 billion threshold for RLUSD reflects rapid adoption since its December 2024 launch, with the stablecoin now circulating across Ethereum and the XRP Ledger. A recent 50 million RLUSD mint contributed to the milestone, signaling strong demand for dollar-pegged tokens in institutional settings, the TradingView report noted. Ripple President Monica Long emphasized that RLUSD's compliance with New York Trust Company regulations and its dual-chain deployment enhance its utility for cross-border payments, treasury management, and DeFi applications, according to WebProNews. The stablecoin's success also complements XRP's role in Ripple's broader strategy, with the native token serving as a liquidity bridge for settlements and derivatives, according to ZyCrypto.

Ripple's entry into institutional brokerage is anchored by its acquisition of Hidden Road, rebranded as Ripple Prime. The $1.25 billion purchase, finalized in October 2025, transformed Ripple into the first crypto firm to operate a global multi-asset prime broker, according to ZyCrypto. Ripple Prime now offers institutions cross-margin trading capabilities, allowing them to manage OTC spot positions alongside swaps, CME futures, and fixed-income products, according to CoinDesk. By embedding XRP Ledger technology and RLUSD into its services, Ripple aims to streamline liquidity and settlement for institutional clients, with CEO Brad Garlinghouse calling the acquisition a "logical next step" in its mission to build an "Internet of Value," as ZyCrypto describes.

The expansion aligns with broader regulatory clarity for Ripple, following its resolution of a long-standing SEC dispute. This legal clarity has spurred institutional adoption, with Ripple's stablecoin and payment solutions now integrated into partnerships with major financial players. For example, Ripple Prime enables 24/7 cross-margin trading using RLUSD, while the company's GTreasury and Rail acquisitions further solidify its role in global payment networks, according to Coinotag. Analysts note that Ripple's strategy contrasts with short-term partnerships like Solana's deal with Western Union, emphasizing long-term infrastructure over speculative alliances, per a Timestabloid report.

Despite XRP's recent price volatility—trading around $2.425 as of November 3—Ripple's liquidity management system, including its monthly XRP escrow releases, aims to mitigate supply shocks, according to BeInCrypto. The company unlocks 1 billion XRP monthly but typically re-locks 70–80%, limiting market impact, the BeInCrypto analysis notes. Institutional investors, however, remain focused on RLUSD's utility, with its market cap projected to grow as adoption in treasury management and climate insurance pilots expands, according to WebProNews.

Ripple's trajectory reflects a broader maturation of the crypto industry, as highlighted by Timestabloid's characterization of its reinvention as a "$180 billion" transformation in a recent piece, according to Timestabloid. By merging blockchain innovation with regulatory compliance, Ripple is positioning XRP and RLUSD as foundational assets in a tokenized financial future.