Liquidity has become a major driver in today’s market.
The logic is simple: as TradFi continues to integrate with DeFi, stablecoins are now at the heart of this shift. For this reason, the stablecoin market reaching $320 billion highlights where real capital is concentrated.
In this context, it is worth asking whether layer 1s with native stablecoins have a structural advantage. In Ripple’s case, RLUSD on XRPL makes this point, recently reinforced by a key development.
Stablecoins Drive XRPL Growth Despite XRP Price Drop
The year 2025 has proven optimistic in one key aspect: fundamentals.
Notably, Ripple has clearly shown this divergence. The consecutive crashes of the fourth quarter did not spare XRP, which closed the year down 11.56%. It broke its $2 support despite several attempts to expand into the growing DeFi space.
However, beneath the surface, XRPL continued to grow. The driver? Stable coins. On XRPL, the stablecoin’s market cap surged nearly 300% by the end of the year – a sign suggesting that XRP’s fundamentals were stronger than the price.
Source: DeFilLama
Additionally, the market capitalization of RLUSD has exceeded $1 billion.
In fact, Binance highlighted it as one of six stablecoins to reach this milestone in 2025. The result? Strong capital flows, as evidenced by the total value of XRPL’s token assets, which soared 4,160%, closing at $213 million.
Overall, it is clear that despite XRP’s technical weakness in 2025, its on-chain ecosystem attracted significant capital, with RLUSD acting as the primary liquidity driver while Ripple strengthened its fundamentals.
Naturally, the question is: will XRP finally reflect this growth in 2026?
Ripple gets permission to operate in the UK
Ripple launched 2026, demonstrating the impact of its 2025 FUD.
Recently, it received official approval to operate in the UK, allowing it to expand its payment services. In other words, Ripple has gained legitimacy to work with banks, further strengthening its L1 positioning.
At the same time, XRPL’s stablecoin market cap reached a record $405 million, up 11.5% in just 7 days. This update highlights how stablecoins continue to remain at the heart of the growing integration between TradFi and DeFi.
Source: CoinGecko
In this context, the $40 million RLUSD issued on XRPL is not random.
As the chart shows, the market cap of RLUSD reached $1.38 billion, reflecting massive growth in liquidity on the network. It is no surprise that this liquidity is now attracting major players, including the UK, in their bid for approval.
The logic is simple: the more liquidity an L1 has, the deeper its capital deployment. Therefore, this leads to faster transactions and higher throughput, which is part of the reason for Ripple’s endorsement.
In short, native stablecoins are reshaping Ripple’s institutional game. With 2026 off to a strong start and XRP already up 14%, this momentum could just be the start of its next growth cycle.
Final Thoughts
- Despite XRP price declines in 2025, RLUSD and other stablecoins have fueled massive on-chain liquidity.
- The official UK approval and market cap of RLUSD highlights how native stablecoins are accelerating transactions.
