Ripple Expands in Singapore as XRP Slips and RLUSD Takes Center Stage

Ripple is pleased to have received authorization as a payment institution in Singapore. This is intended to strengthen its cryptocurrency XRP and the stablecoin RLUSD in the region. However, XRP is struggling with a falling price.

XRP is currently trading around $2, a psychologically important level. In mid-July, XRP had climbed to $3.65, reaching a new all-time high. Since then, however, XRP has entered a downward trend; a drop of around 45 percent from its all-time high is a clear signal. But Ripple is trying to counter this with positive news.

The latest example is Ripple’s press release regarding its expansion into Singapore, which is to be made possible by a license as a “Major Payment Institution.”

Ripple plans to provide banking services for customers in Singapore

Ripple is now one of the few blockchain companies worldwide to hold a Singapore license, the statement continues. This license allows the company to establish its payment services, including XRP and the Ripple stablecoin RLUSD, in the city-state and surrounding region.

Ripple board member Monica Long praises the Singaporean financial authority’s approach, which she says fosters innovation in the crypto sector with clear regulations. Long and her colleagues point to the new opportunities for regional customers to make payments with XRP and/or RLUSD within minutes. Furthermore, they note that Ripple offers a wide range of financial services from a single source, essentially eliminating the need for a traditional bank.

Long had already outlined Ripple’s transformation from an XRP company to a broadly diversified financial services provider back in the summer of 2024. CEO Brad Garlinghouse made it clear a few weeks ago thatteh company is also targeting traditional financial institutions on Wall Street. Several costly acquisitions are intended to facilitate this; the asset manager GTreasury recently became part of Ripple, and the prime broker Hidden Road was acquired back in April.

Will XRP find a place of monetary value in the new Ripple concept?

However, Ripple’s realignment has not yet had a lasting impact on XRP’s price performance; on the contrary, it is becoming clearer than ever that XRP is losing importance within the Ripple ecosystem, while the relatively new stablecoin RLUSD is moving into the spotlight.

RLUSD is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, allowing customers to avoid the currency fluctuations associated with XRP. But even RLUSD, almost a year after its launch , has only reached a market capitalization of just over $1 billion – leaving Ripple playing only a minor role compared to major stablecoins like Tether (USDT) or Circle’s USDC.

Conclusion: Ripple is moving away from its XRP roots

Ripple regularly touts its international expansion; before the recent announcement about Singapore, for example, Africa was the focus in October. XRP is only mentioned in passing in such announcements, and this should alarm investors.

Realistically, XRP has primarily become a means of payment for fees on the Ripple XRPL network, which seems rather meager for an altcoin with a current market capitalization of over $120 billion. Even with an IPO , which is repeatedly speculated about, XRP would not represent any company shares for investors. Don’t be misled when Ripple talks about future opportunities if, in reality, no use cases for XRP are materializing.

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(Featured image by Daniel Welsh via Unsplash)

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