A new discussion in the XRP Ledger community has brought the relationship between stablecoins, payment systems and XRP back to the agenda. As the network’s presence in decentralized finance, tokenization and cross-border payments expands, developers and researchers are debating XRP’s position within this structure.
Stablecoin usage came to the fore in payment flows
The discussion began when XRPL researcher Eri highlighted that Ripple uses major stablecoins such as Tether and USD Coin in its ODL payment flows, known as On-Demand Liquidity. Eri noted that stablecoins are becoming more visible in the payment infrastructure, but liquidity on XRPL remains a core element of the system.
According to Eri, XRP’s usage area is not limited to payments. Arguing that digital assets can be used as collateral in financial applications, the researcher stated that XRP can play a broader role in decentralized finance products developed on XRPL.
According to Eri’s assessment, the liquidity structure in XRPL remains important and XRP is a tool that can be used as collateral in financial applications beyond its payment function.
The view that XRP and stablecoins do not compete
The discussion attracted further attention with the statements of Vet, who contributes to the XRPL Foundation and serves as an XRPL dUNL validator. Vet argued that XRP and stablecoins were designed as complementary tools, not competitors.
According to Vet, a stablecoin-dominated payment model looks more like a standard payment flow than a classic cross-money transfer. In this structure, money conversions can take place on the sending and receiving side; Additional clearing may not be required on XRPL’s decentralized exchange.
Despite this, Vet stated that reliable payment systems need strong assets and stablecoin-backed liquidity for efficient transactions. According to him, as more issued assets enter the XRPL ecosystem, the need for a common bridge asset will continue.
Mini dictionary: dUNL refers to the list of validators considered trusted in XRPL. This structure is one of the key components that determines which validators will reach consensus on transactions on the network.
Bridge asset and liquidity efficiency are discussed
Without a common bridge asset, liquidity could be dispersed among multiple trading pairs, making transactions less efficient, Vet said. He argued that XRP is well-positioned for this role when the most efficient way is to bridge different assets.
He also stated that bridge assets used in decentralized networks should be as neutral as possible and should not be tied to a single issuer. This approach is at the center of the debate over which asset will emerge as the primary gateway on XRPL.
Ripple’s stablecoin move and the expanding usage area of XRPL
This discussion comes as Ripple continues to expand its stablecoin strategy. The company’s RLUSD stablecoin recently expanded to 40 blockchain networks. This expansion has increased access to payment systems, institutional liquidity, and tokenized assets.
During the same period, XRPL’s usage area also expanded beyond payments. While tokenization, lending and decentralized finance applications are among the prominent topics of the network, recent proposals to add StableSwap and concentrated liquidity features to the automatic market maker infrastructure are expected to increase pricing efficiency for stablecoins and real-world assets.
There is no consensus within the community on whether stablecoins will reduce demand for XRP. However, the latest discussion has shown that the view is gaining ground among XRPL developers that XRP and stablecoins serve different functions in the network’s evolving financial ecosystem.
