Jim Ferraioli, director of digital currencies research and strategy at Charles Schwab, said on the Thinking Crypto podcast that the XRP Ledger is evolving into a stablecoin network, with Ripple actively reallocating stablecoin supply away from Ethereum.
Ferraoli characterized Ethereum as the tokenization chain and Tron as a pure stablecoin play. Ripple has been minting Ripple USD (RLUSD) on the XRP Ledger while burning supply on Ethereum, according to the comments made on the podcast in August. The shift marks a deliberate allocation strategy by the stablecoin issuer across multiple blockchains.
RLUSD on the XRP Ledger exceeded Ethereum's outstanding balance in recent weeks, with the broader stablecoin market showing how issuers distribute across chains based on settlement needs and user demand. Ethereum continues to host the largest stablecoin market in absolute terms, but chain-specific deployments now follow issuer strategy rather than default network choice.
Ferraoli's framing places the XRP Ledger in a narrower category than Ethereum or Tron, defining its competitive position around cross-border payments and stablecoin settlement rather than general smart contract capability. Ripple has pushed payments use cases for the ledger since its founding, and the company's recent stablecoin issuance activity aligns with that focus.
The reallocation of stablecoin liquidity across blockchains has accelerated as issuers like Circle, Paxos, and Ripple mature their multi-chain strategies. Where stablecoin supply concentrates often determines where settlement volume and user deposits flow, making chain allocation a competitive lever for both issuers and networks.
Ferraoli holds one of the first senior crypto strategy roles at a major U.S. traditional finance firm, and his public comments carry weight in institutional discussions around blockchain infrastructure. Schwab has expanded crypto services for wealth management clients over the past two years, building out trading and custody capabilities.
Ripple has been minting RLUSD on the XRP Ledger while burning balances on Ethereum. The number of active stablecoin issuers now spans seven major blockchains, and concentrated liquidity on fewer chains typically improves execution for large transfers. If RLUSD volume on the XRP Ledger continues to grow while Ethereum balances shrink, other issuers may follow with their own reallocation.
