Ripple has burned another 10 million RLUSD tokens, bringing the circulating supply of its dollar-backed stablecoin down roughly 20% from its late-May peak, according to blockchain data from July 14. The latest burn is part of a series of treasury operations that have removed at least 80 million RLUSD from circulation since July 6, while only 20 million tokens were minted in the same period. RLUSD's market capitalization now stands near $1.52 billion, down from about $1.9 billion in May.
Repeated Burns and Supply Management
The July 14 burn saw tokens moved from the RLUSD Treasury to a null address, permanently destroying them. This followed similar 10 million-token burns on July 13, twice on July 10, and once each on July 9, July 8, July 7, and July 6, according to the Ripple Stablecoin Tracker. On July 6, Ripple also minted 20 million RLUSD, showing active supply management. While a lower stablecoin supply might raise concerns, it does not automatically indicate weaker adoption. Fiat-backed stablecoins expand when new dollar deposits back token issuance and contract when holders redeem tokens for cash, so burns reflect the removal of redeemed supply rather than a drop in transaction demand or user growth.
Expanding Use Cases Beyond Payments
Despite the supply contraction, Ripple continues to develop new applications for RLUSD. The company joined the x402 Foundation as a Premier Member, a Linux Foundation initiative that formalizes governance for the open payment standard. This effort focuses on machine-to-machine payments, where XRP and RLUSD can settle transactions for AI agents on the XRP Ledger. Ripple also launched the XRPL AI Starter Kit in June, enabling developers to build software agents that send and receive payments. These moves position RLUSD as a settlement asset for emerging AI-driven payment systems, beyond its traditional roles in exchange trading and cross-border transfers.
RLUSD Activity on XRP Ledger
RLUSD remains active on the XRP Ledger despite the supply decline. Evernorth reported that RLUSD pairs generated over $2.5 billion in trading volume on the XRP Ledger since launch, including about $900 million from the RLUSD/XRP pair over six months. As of late June, the XRP Ledger held slightly more than half of RLUSD's circulating supply. This distribution can shift with minting, burning, and cross-chain transfers, but the figures indicate that RLUSD continues to support trading and settlement markets. The market will watch whether the current burn cycle persists or new minting resumes as demand evolves.