XRP price drops 46% from yearly high as Ripple tests RLUSD on Ethereum L2s

Ripple said it has started testing RLUSD on four Ethereum layer-2 networks: Base, Ink, Unichain and Optimism. The pilot uses Wormhole’s Native Token Transfer standard to move RLUSD between chains.

The company plans to run RLUSD as a native asset on each of the four networks while keeping issuance, collateral and risk management centralized with the issuer. This approach is designed to keep reserves and compliance in one place while enabling transfers and liquidity on lower-fee, higher-throughput execution layers that settle to Ethereum.

Wormhole’s Native Token Transfer aims to let a token exist natively on multiple chains instead of relying on wrapped versions. The pilot centers on routing RLUSD across networks while minting and redemption remain under a single framework. Ripple positions RLUSD for institutional use and backs it with cash and U.S. Treasuries.

Two days before outlining the layer-2 pilot, Ripple received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form Ripple National Trust Bank. According to the company, the charter would allow migration of RLUSD balances from BNY Mellon to a federally supervised entity as assets scale, which could lower custody and settlement costs over time.

In a company statement, Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, called RLUSD “the definitive standard where compliance and on-chain efficiency converge.”

Ripple reports RLUSD supply has reached about $1.3 billion across networks since launch, with Ethereum surpassing $1 billion in late November. Expansion to Base, Ink, Unichain and Optimism brings the token closer to decentralized finance, gaming and payments activity on those layer-2 networks.

Despite price weakness, investor interest in listed products tied to XRP continues. Cumulative inflows into XRP exchange-traded funds are nearing $1 billion, with the Canary XRP ETF around $342 million and a newer 21Shares product about $240 million.

On price charts, XRP trades below a descending trendline from the October 7 high. Traders are watching an inverse head-and-shoulders setup that would require a clear break above the trendline and the eight-hour 50-period moving average to refocus the $2.50 area. A failure would put support near $1.81, the October low, back in view.