RLUSD transfer volume on the XRP Ledger surpassed Ethereum in October, but Ethereum still holds substantially more of the stablecoin. The contrast between transaction activity and circulating supply raises a question for Ripple’s dollar-pegged token: is XRPL becoming a major settlement network, or do headline figures make adoption look stronger than it is?
October figures show XRPL processed approximately $20.056 billion in RLUSD transfers, compared with $15.449 billion on Ethereum. XRPL accounted for 57% of the combined $35.506 billion in reported transfers. The monthly reversal was notable, but it does not mean XRPL has the larger RLUSD economy.
Transfer volume leads, but Ethereum holds more supply
DefiLlama’s November 13 data shows approximately $1.855 billion in RLUSD on Ethereum and $818.57 million on XRPL. Ethereum therefore holds more than twice the RLUSD supply currently recorded on XRPL.
The figures measure different things. Transfer volume tracks the value moved during a period, while circulating supply measures tokens present on a chain at a particular point in time. A smaller pool of tokens can generate higher transfer volume if those tokens change hands repeatedly. That activity may reflect exchange movements, internal transfers or settlement flows, not necessarily more customers or real-world payments.
Payment counts draw scrutiny
Bitquery examined RLUSD payments between September 19 and October 18 and identified 7.82 million payments. About 99.6% were sent by a cluster of 110 wallets to three collector addresses, carrying just 7,722 RLUSD in total.
That statistic concerns payment count, not dollar value. Looking separately at payments worth at least 1 RLUSD, Bitquery measured $7.33 billion in value. The ten largest sending wallets accounted for $6.05 billion, or roughly 82%. The issuer’s minting and redemption activity also represented a significant portion of the measured flows.
The findings do not prove that all large transfers were artificial. Exchanges, custodians and payment processors can legitimately move substantial sums through a small number of wallets. But they show why raw transaction counts are a poor shortcut for measuring adoption.
Cross River adds infrastructure
Cross River Bank announced on October 15 that it had integrated RLUSD into its core banking system, enabling eligible businesses and fintechs to access dollar and RLUSD payment services through one API. The announcement was a meaningful infrastructure development, although it did not disclose actual RLUSD payment volumes.
What the contrast shows
The bigger story is not simply that XRPL beat Ethereum in October. RLUSD transfer volume was higher on XRPL, while Ethereum still held more supply. Whether that gap signals lasting institutional adoption will depend on transparent evidence of sustained, meaningful payment activity, not just another volume headline.
