Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has stepped directly into the growing debate over whether Ripple USD could reduce XRP’s role, arguing that RLUSD is competing with other stablecoins—not with XRP.
The clarification comes as sections of the XRP community question how increasing institutional use of RLUSD translates into demand for XRP, particularly when some transactions can settle directly in the dollar-backed asset.
“RLUSD isn’t competing with XRP. It’s competing with other stablecoins. Use case matters, and I want those use cases running on the XRPL,” Garlinghouse said in a Nov. 3 response on X.
Agreed!
RLUSD isn’t competing with XRP. It’s competing with other stablecoins. Use case matters, and I want those use cases running on the XRPL.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 3, 2026
XRP trades around $1.28, keeping the debate particularly relevant as Ripple continues announcing institutional adoption while XRP remains well below its historical high.
RLUSD Growth Raises a Different Question for XRP
Garlinghouse was responding to XRP community researcher WrathofKahneman, who argued that increasing RLUSD liquidity is ultimately positive for XRP because deeper XRP Ledger liquidity can make XRP easier to use.
However, the post also highlighted an important distinction: if XRP is not directly involved in a transaction, any effect on XRP price would be secondary rather than direct.
This creates a broader question for XRP’s future—whether it becomes a highly specialized institutional liquidity asset or achieves much wider use across payments and financial applications.
That concern has become increasingly visible across the XRP community as Ripple expands RLUSD into institutional settlement, collateral, treasury and payments use cases.
Ripple’s own product documentation confirms that the two assets are designed for different purposes. XRP is the native asset of the XRP Ledger and is designed to provide bridge liquidity, while RLUSD is a dollar-backed stablecoin aimed at transactions where price stability is important.
Can RLUSD Bypass XRP?
This is where the XRP Army debate becomes more nuanced.
An institution can settle a dollar-denominated transaction directly in RLUSD without routing the principal amount through XRP. That means every new RLUSD payment does not automatically translate into equivalent XRP buying demand.
Garlinghouse has acknowledged this distinction before. In September, he said a stablecoin could solve some payment problems better than XRP, stressing that Ripple should choose the asset that best meets customer requirements.
But that does not mean RLUSD removes XRP from the XRP Ledger.
XRP remains the native asset used for network fees, while XRPL’s decentralized exchange can route transactions through XRP when doing so provides a more efficient path between two assets. Recent data showed XRP acting as a bridge asset across 11,009 XRPL DEX trades.
Ripple similarly says XRP remains particularly useful for providing liquidity between assets and currencies where direct liquidity is limited.
More RLUSD Does Not Automatically Mean Higher XRP Price
The distinction between network benefit and price impact is central to the dispute.
More RLUSD activity on XRPL can increase transactions, liquidity and trading opportunities without requiring every dollar of RLUSD volume to purchase XRP first.
On-chain data has previously supported the view that RLUSD growth is increasing XRP Ledger activity rather than simply replacing XRP. Separately, an XRPL validator recently emphasized that RLUSD remains optional while XRP performs native functions on the ledger.
Still, neither greater XRPL activity nor higher stablecoin liquidity establishes a proportional increase in XRP price.
That leaves the more important long-term question unresolved: how frequently will growing institutional activity on XRPL require XRP directly for liquidity, bridging, and settlement rather than using XRP only for the ledger’s native functions?
Garlinghouse’s latest statement makes Ripple’s position clear—RLUSD is intended to win stablecoin use cases and bring those use cases onto XRPL. Whether that expansion also produces substantially greater direct demand for XRP will depend on how institutions ultimately use the network.