Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin hit a record $2.49 billion in supply, closing the gap with PayPal's PYUSD to roughly $248 million. The surge came after RLUSD gained $82.1 million in a single day, according to data from DeFi tracking platforms.
RLUSD has grown 86% since the start of 2026, starting the year at $1.336 billion and crossing the $2 billion milestone in late August. PayPal's PYUSD, by contrast, has declined 22% over the same period despite opening 2026 at $3.531 billion. PYUSD peaked at $4.214 billion on March 5 but has since lost approximately $1.5 billion in supply.
Supply Growth Across Networks
The two stablecoins dominated daily supply growth metrics this week. PYUSD led with $82.7 million in new supply, with RLUSD close behind at $82.1 million. Both significantly outpaced Tether's USDT at $69.4 million and other competitors including Sky's USDS and Ethena's USDe.
Over the past week, RLUSD gained $112 million in total supply while PYUSD declined $61 million. Much of PYUSD's weekly drop originated from the Arbitrum network, where its supply fell from $320 million to $229 million.
XRP Ledger's Growing Share
A significant shift occurred in where RLUSD's supply is held across blockchains. Between September 21 and 28, the XRP Ledger's share of RLUSD supply increased from approximately 43% to 44%, while Ethereum's share declined to 56%. The XRP Ledger added $63 million in RLUSD during this period compared to Ethereum's $49 million.
Ripple has been developing use cases for RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, including an institutional lending market developed in partnership with Clearpool and Cicada Partners.
Market Context
Despite stablecoin growth, RLUSD remains a small player in the $306 billion stablecoin market, dominated by Tether and USDC at $75.3 billion. The broader cryptocurrency market has seen limited price appreciation this year, with XRP trading near $1.49, down 19% since January 1, and Bitcoin near $83,000, approximately 5% below its year-opening price.
