Ripple’s RLUSD Attracts Bids For 800 XRP. But Why?

Ripple’s upcoming RLUSD stablecoin is attracting bids upto 836 XRP ($2068) on onchain marketplaces ahead of its Tuesday release, a sign of frenzy among enthusiasts who may want to be the first to hold the token.

These bids range from 500 XRP ($1237) to as much as 836 XRP ($2068) as of Asian morning hours on Tuesday, CoinDesk viewed on the Xaman application. Each XRP exchanges hands for just under $2.5, data shows.

“There actually is someone willing to pay $1,200/RLUSD for a tiny fraction of one RLUSD.,” Ripple Labs CTO David Schwartz said in a Monday post. “Tools will show you the highest price anyone is willing to pay, even if it’s just for a tiny bit. Maybe someone wants the “honor” of buying the first bit of RLUSD on the DEX.”

“But rest assured, the price will come back to very close to $1 as soon as supply stabilizes. If it doesn’t, something is very seriously wrong,” Schwartz added.

Speculators often engage in high-priced transactions for small quantities of a new token or NFT to gain early access or to capitalize on the novelty of holding the first batch.

As such, RLUSD might not have enough liquidity to maintain its peg effectively in the first few hours after it goes live, meaning there may be some price discrepancies from the intended $1 peg. However, each token will be redeemed for only a dollar, and it is unlikely to remain depegged for an extended period.

RLUSD will go live on the XRP Ledger (XRP) on Tuesday, as CoinDesk reported, with initial listings on several exchanges and crypto platforms, including Uphold, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENA.