XRP's price rebound and a $1.1 billion stablecoin supply on the XRP Ledger are putting the network's liquidity and value-capture claims under scrutiny as decentralized exchange activity accelerates.
Stablecoin issuance on the XRP Ledger has climbed sharply, putting new pressure on XRP's role as a bridge asset. While decentralized exchange activity is picking up, the amount of XRP available for trading remains limited. Recent figures show stablecoins on XRPL have reached $1.126 billion. XRP's price has rebounded nearly 30% in the past month, but it's still unclear whether this momentum will translate into lasting demand for the token itself.
Stablecoin expansion
On-chain data shows Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin supply on XRPL topped $1.05 billion by September 12, 2026. In the previous week, $45.6 million RLUSD was minted and $22.8 million was burned. After September 6, Ripple moved 1,363,614.85 RLUSD from XRPL to Ethereum, removing it from XRPL and issuing the same amount on Ethereum. This didn't increase the total RLUSD supply, but it did shift liquidity between chains, reflecting the growing trend of stablecoins operating across multiple blockchains.
By September 7, 2026, Ethereum surpassed XRPL in RLUSD stablecoin supply, holding about $1.38 billion versus $1.03 billion on XRPL-a $350 million lead for Ethereum.
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Even with the jump in stablecoin supply, the amount of XRP in automated market maker pools is still small. The largest XRP/RLUSD pool held about 1.7 million XRP and 2.3 million RLUSD-roughly $4.6 million in total, less than half a percent of the daily XRPL stablecoin supply. Decentralized exchange (DEX) volume on XRPL reached $253.1 million over the last 30 days, more than double the previous month. But weekly DEX volume dropped 25% in the most recent week, showing how quickly on-chain trading can swing.
Bridge asset mechanics
XRPL's auto-bridging system is meant to route trades through XRP if it offers a better price than direct stablecoin pairs. In theory, this should create demand for XRP as a bridge asset. In practice, it's hard to tell how much of the new stablecoin and DEX activity actually uses XRP, or how long liquidity providers are willing to hold it. Transaction fees on XRPL are minimal-just 10 drops per transaction before scaling-so fee burn alone is unlikely to drive much demand.
Value capture uncertainty
The main question for XRP holders is whether the growth in stablecoins and DEX trading will lead to steady demand for XRP itself. For that to happen, market makers would need to hold larger XRP balances for longer, or most trading would need to route through XRP. So far, the data doesn't show either trend. There's still a wide gap between the amount of stablecoins issued and the XRP locked in liquidity pools, and the network's value-capture case remains unproven.
Ripple continues its monthly escrow unlocks, with 1 billion XRP released on September 1, 2026, reducing the escrow balance to 31.28 billion tokens. This ongoing process is a key factor in assessing XRP's circulating supply and potential market impact.
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This challenge-turning technical upgrades or increased capacity into real economic demand-isn't unique to XRPL. Cardano's recent Leios upgrade, for example, increased network throughput but left open whether user activity would fill the new blockspace, as reported earlier.
At the September 11 snapshot, XRP traded near $1.32 after a 29.7% monthly rebound, but had dropped 8.7% over the previous week. XRPL DEX volume for the latest 30 days reached $253.1 million, up 152% from the prior period. The largest visible liquidity pool held about $4.6 million in combined XRP and RLUSD. On-chain trackers show RLUSD supply on XRPL made up about 43% of Ripple's reported total RLUSD in circulation, with the rest now mostly on Ethereum.
XRP's future as a bridge asset depends on more than just headline growth in stablecoin supply or DEX volume. Without clear evidence that these flows are routed through XRP and that market makers are willing to hold the token, the network's value-capture story is still unproven. For now, XRPL has shown it can attract dollar liquidity and trading activity, but whether that will turn into real, lasting demand for XRP remains to be seen.
Auto-bridging lets a blockchain network connect two different tokens by routing trades through a third asset-often the network's native token-if it results in a better exchange rate. On XRPL, this means trades between two stablecoins or issued tokens may go through XRP if that route is more efficient than a direct swap. While this can, in theory, increase demand for the bridge asset, the actual impact depends on market conditions, liquidity, and user behavior. If most trades skip the bridge or liquidity providers quickly rotate out of the native token, the effect on long-term token demand may be limited. Understanding these mechanics is key to judging whether a network's design can deliver on its value-capture promises.
