Millions Of RLUSD Are Gone Forever After This Major Ripple Burn

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-03-14Last updated on 2026-03-14

Abstract

Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD has undergone significant supply reductions through a series of major burn transactions. A total of 25 million tokens were recently burned in a single transaction, following earlier burns of 8 million, 3 million, and multiple 15 million and 10 million token removals across both the Ethereum and XRP Ledger blockchains. These burns permanently reduce circulation by sending tokens to inaccessible addresses. However, this activity is part of RLUSD's reserve-backed model, where tokens are burned upon redemption to ensure the circulating supply never exceeds dollar reserves. Despite the burns, larger minting events—including recent issuances of 29 million, 14.9 million, 6 million, and 3 million RLUSD—have supported the stablecoin's growth. RLUSD's market cap now exceeds $1.56 billion, reflecting its expanding adoption since launch.

Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD is seeing a period of supply reductions, with millions of tokens permanently removed from circulation in a series of burn transactions tied to Ripple’s treasury activity. Blockchain trackers monitoring RLUSD activity show that multiple large burns have taken place recently, eliminating tens of millions of tokens from supply. The most recent burn alone accounted for 25 million tokens in one move, but that figure only tells part of the story.

Latest Burn Eliminates 25 Million RLUSD

The most recent transaction flagged by the Ripple Stablecoin Tracker on X saw 25 million RLUSD burned at the RLUSD treasury, the headline figure in what has been a multi-step reduction of the stablecoin’s circulating supply in recent days. Stablecoin burns permanently remove tokens from circulation by sending them to an inaccessible address, making them impossible to recover or spend again. In the case of RLUSD, the transaction effectively wiped out 25 million tokens from the total supply. That alone would have been notable, but multiple additional burns preceded it.

Before the latest 25 million token burn, Ripple had already destroyed several million RLUSD in separate transactions. These burns were carried out on both the Ethereum blockchain and the XRP Ledger, which are the two blockchains that RLUSD runs on.

Ripple Stablecoin Tracker on X recorded a transaction in which 8 million RLUSD were permanently removed from circulation. That burn did not occur in isolation. It followed another earlier transaction that destroyed 3 million RLUSD, continuing the pattern of supply reductions tied to Ripple’s treasury activity.

Looking further back, the sequence becomes even more notable. Prior to those two burns, the tracker had already flagged a 15 million RLUSD burn, followed by another 15 million RLUSD removal on the Ethereum blockchain. Before that, a separate transaction that eliminated 10 million RLUSD from circulation on the XRP Ledger.

Why These Burns Keep Happening

The volume of burns in recent days is not a red flag but a feature. RLUSD operates under a reserve-backed model in which every token in circulation corresponds to a dollar held in reserve. Ripple burns the tokens to guarantee the circulating supply never exceeds what is backed when holders redeem their RLUSD.

Burns of this scale would only become a concern if they consistently outweighed the number of tokens being created. That does not appear to be the case with RLUSD. Updates from the Ripple Stablecoin Tracker account show that the recent burns have been accompanied by even larger minting activity. In the past few days alone, the RLUSD treasury minted 3 million RLUSD, 6 million RLUSD, 29 million RLUSD, and 14.9 million RLUSD, all of which entered circulation on the Ethereum network.

RLUSD itself has continued growing since its launch and has steadily climbed in size, with the stablecoin now holding a market capitalization of more than $1.56 billion.

Price recovers again | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com

Related Questions

QWhat is the total amount of RLUSD tokens burned in the most recent transaction mentioned in the article?

AThe most recent transaction burned 25 million RLUSD tokens.

QOn which two blockchains does the RLUSD stablecoin operate?

ARLUSD operates on both the Ethereum blockchain and the XRP Ledger.

QAccording to the article, why are these large-scale burns of RLUSD not a cause for concern?

AThe burns are not a concern because they are a feature of the reserve-backed model to ensure the circulating supply is always backed by dollars in reserve, and recent minting activity has been even larger than the burns.

QWhat is the current market capitalization of the RLUSD stablecoin as stated in the article?

AThe RLUSD stablecoin currently has a market capitalization of more than $1.56 billion.

QWhat mechanism is used to permanently remove RLUSD tokens from circulation?

ATokens are permanently removed from circulation by sending them to an inaccessible address in a process called burning, making them impossible to recover or spend again.

Related Reads

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

**Summary: The Value Distribution of Stablecoins** The article argues that stablecoins are evolving from mere trading tools into broader channels for dollar access. It divides the stablecoin ecosystem into four layers to analyze how value is distributed: 1. **Issuance Layer:** Mints stablecoins, holds reserve assets, and captures the spread between reserve yield and user costs (e.g., Tether, Circle). This layer currently earns the largest profit margin. 2. **Infrastructure Layer:** Connects stablecoins to the traditional financial system, handling fiat on/off-ramps, banking integration, compliance (KYC/AML), and asset management (e.g., Bridge, BVNK). This is the "unglamorous" but critical work, building the essential bridges between crypto and real-world finance. 3. **Acquiring/Distribution Layer:** Integrates stablecoins into merchant systems, manages payment flows, and provides enterprise financial software (e.g., Stripe, Coinbase). They act as the access point for businesses. 4. **Application Layer:** The end-users and businesses that ultimately use stablecoins for payments, settlements, or as a store of value. They benefit from convenience but have little pricing power. The core thesis is that while the issuance layer currently dominates profits, the often-overlooked **infrastructure layer holds significant long-term potential**. The real challenge and barrier to mass adoption is not the on-chain transfer of stablecoins (which is simple), but the complex "last mile" integration into existing business workflows, banking systems, and regulatory frameworks across different countries. Companies in this layer are currently in a "land grab" phase, investing heavily to build networks, secure bank partnerships, and establish compliance pathways. While their position is currently pressured by the profitable issuers above and distribution platforms below, the article suggests that if stablecoins become a default financial rail for businesses, the infrastructure providers who have done the hard work of integration will ultimately gain strong pricing power and become entrenched, essential players.

marsbit14m ago

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

marsbit14m ago

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins The article argues that stablecoins are evolving from a mere trading tool into a broad "dollar channel." It analyzes the industry's value chain through four layers: 1. **Issuance Layer (e.g., Tether, Circle):** The top layer that mints stablecoins, holds reserve assets, and captures the thickest interest rate spread. 2. **Infrastructure Layer (e.g., Bridge, BVNK):** Connects stablecoins to the traditional financial system, handling critical but complex "dirty work" like fiat on/off-ramps, banking integration, compliance (KYC/AML), and cross-border settlement. 3. **Acquiring/Distribution Layer (e.g., Stripe, Coinbase):** Embeds stablecoins into merchant systems, manages payment flows, and integrates with enterprise software. 4. **Application Layer:** End-users and businesses that ultimately use stablecoins for payments, settlement, or storing value. The author posits that while the issuance layer currently captures the most profit, the most overlooked and potentially critical layer is infrastructure. The core challenge for stablecoin adoption isn't the on-chain transfer (which is simple), but bridging the gap between blockchain and the real-world financial system. This involves solving practical problems for businesses: fiat conversion, reconciliation, tax handling, and user onboarding. Infrastructure companies are currently in a difficult "land-grab" phase—building networks, securing banking relationships, and achieving compliance country-by-country. They face pressure from both the profitable issuance layer above and distribution platforms below. However, the author suggests this layer is building a crucial moat. Once stablecoins become a default business rail, the infrastructure players who have done the hard work of integration may gain significant, durable value and pricing power.

链捕手18m ago

The Value Distribution of Stablecoins

链捕手18m ago

How to Do Research Well: Deliberately Practice the Real Skills That Matter

No one truly teaches you how to do research. You're often given a desk, a pre-selected problem, and vague instructions to "create something new." Consequently, many people reverse-engineer the job based on visible outputs—papers, posts, announcements—learning only how to *appear* like a researcher rather than how to *become* one. True research capability is built from stacking small, trainable skills, nearly all of which can be developed through deliberate practice. **Pick Your Own Problem:** Most researchers absorb problems from advisors or trends, lacking the underlying reasoning. Choosing a problem you genuinely care about, as John Schulman advises, leads to original work. Develop "taste" like a muscle: predict experiment outcomes, guess paper results from methods, and track which findings remain important over time. **Upgrade Your Inputs:** Relying on shared reading lists (arXiv hot lists, filtered group chats) leads to unoriginal conclusions. Undervalued old literature often holds crucial insights (e.g., MoE, LSTM, backpropagation). Richard Sutton's "The Bitter Lesson" or Claude Shannon's 1952 talk on creative thinking are more predictive than lengthy modern surveys. Breadth matters as much as depth: draw from neuroscience, mechanism design, hardware knowledge, and honest statistics. Read papers directly, especially appendices and limitations sections. **Write Everything Down:** As Paul Graham noted, writing exposes flaws in seemingly mature ideas. Writing is the cheapest defense against self-deception. Following Feynman's principle, Darwin programmatically wrote down facts contradicting his theory to combat memory bias. Maintain a detailed log of hypotheses, setups, predictions, results, and updated understandings. Reviewing past logs fosters essential humility.

marsbit2h ago

How to Do Research Well: Deliberately Practice the Real Skills That Matter

marsbit2h ago

Trading

Spot
Futures
活动图片