Blockchain data reveals extensive RLUSD transaction activity as Ripple awaits the New York Department of Financial Services' (NYDFS) crucial decision on its proposed dollar-pegged stablecoin.

Ripple said in an update on X that regulatory approval from NYDFS, initially slated for December 4, is still pending. Speaking at The Block's Emergence conference in Prague last Friday, Ripple CTO David Schwartz indicated RLUSD could still launch before year-end.

Transaction records on the Ethereum blockchain show large transfers over the past 24 hours, with individual movements ranging from 1.6 to 2.9 million RLUSD. Over 41.7 million RLUSD have been minted in preparations for the stablecoin's rollout.

Ripple's stablecoin will operate through Standard Custody & Trust Company, which the blockchain giant acquired in June 2024 to secure an NYDFS charter for regulated digital asset services in New York. RLUSD's planned structure includes full backing by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term government Treasuries, and cash equivalents.

Beta testing has been running since August across two major blockchain networks, the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, with plans to expand to additional blockchains and DeFi protocols. Several major payment providers, including Bitstamp, MoonPay, and Uphold, have already positioned themselves for integration.

"For another well-capitalized, highly regulated player to enter into the global stablecoin marketplace – especially as MiCA regulation in Europe is about to be implemented – is a win-win," Keith Grossman, MoonPay's Enterprise President, told Fox Business.

The launch would place Ripple in direct competition with established stablecoin issuers in a market currently valued at $192 billion.

XRP Claims 3rd Place, Thanks to ETFs and Memecoins

Ripple's XRP token surged past both Tether and Solana to become the world's third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization Monday, reaching over $137 billion amid a rush of institutional ETF filings and a boom in meme-coin activity.

The token pushed past Tether's USDT at $135 billion and Solana at $107.9 billion, now trailing only Bitcoin and Ethereum's respective $1,88 trillion and $456 billion valuation. XRP currently trades at around $2.40, recording a 370% surge since early November. Solana trades at around $227, while USDT maintains its $1.00 peg, according to CoinGecko data.

WisdomTree filed an S-1 form for an XRP spot ETF earlier this week, joining Bitwise and Canary Capital in a wave of applications this month. Bank of New York Mellon will serve as administrator for WisdomTree's proposed fund. These filings follow 21Shares' November 1st application as asset managers race to launch the first XRP exchange-traded product following January's record-breaking Bitcoin ETF debuts.

The push comes as Ripple's long-running legal battle with the SEC appears to be fizzing out, with Chairman Gary Gensler stepping down in January and a restructuring of the agency under the Trump administration.

XRP's rally coincides with an explosion of meme-coin launches on its network, similar to the recent token proliferation on Solana. The platform's EVM compatibility and MetaMask integration enabled rapid development, though Compound founder Robert Leshner noted that these new tokens "trail far behind Solana et al. in adoption" after testing the network's DeFi infrastructure.

Whale tracking data shows large holders moving substantial XRP to exchanges as the price approached $2.30. "Historically, significant spikes in whale-to-exchange transactions align closely with XRP price peaks," a CryptoQuant analyst noted, monitoring increased whale activity across major platforms.

XRP's 24-hour trading volume exceeded $20 billion in spot markets, with derivatives activity intensifying across all major exchanges. The surge in trading activity pushed XRP past its previous year's highs, marking the first time since 2021 that XRP has ranked among the top three cryptocurrencies by market value.

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