Ripple’s Plot Twist: RLUSD Enters, Is XRP Out? According to BitGo’s CEO

📜 A Quick Crypto Story Before We Dive In…

It was a rainy day in Silicon Valley. The kind where coffee shops are filled with hoodie-wearing developers whispering about “decentralization” and “moonshots.” Ripple Labs had been unusually quiet—until the bomb dropped.

🚨 A new stablecoin was born: RLUSD.
The crypto streets lit up. Whispers turned into tweets. And then came the brutal jab…

“Ripple created RLUSD because XRP failed.”
— Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo

Oof. Shots fired. 🔫💥

🪙 What Is RLUSD, and Why Should You Care?

RLUSD is Ripple’s new USD-backed stablecoin. Think USDC or USDT, but Ripple-branded. It's designed to bridge the traditional finance (TradFi) world with crypto, boasting:

• 100% backed by USD deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents.

• Monthly audits (yes, they’re trying the whole "trust us" angle again).

• Runs on XRPL and Ethereum networks.

So far, so good, right?

💔 But... What About XRP?

XRP holders, gather ‘round. This part stings.

Ripple, once XRP’s loudest hype machine, seems to be slowly pushing it aside. BitGo CEO Mike Belshe thinks RLUSD is Ripple’s silent confession that XRP never really made it as a true payments solution.

His exact words:

“Ripple created a stablecoin because XRP failed.”

Translation: XRP couldn’t deliver as a bridge currency, so they went with the safer, more "bank-friendly" stablecoin play.

🤔 Is Mike Right or Just Salty?

Let’s break it down.

✅ Argument for RLUSD:

• Stablecoins are the lifeblood of DeFi. RLUSD might give Ripple a legit use case in the payments world that regulators and TradFi players can embrace.

• RLUSD could act as a neutral, non-volatile bridge, something XRP struggled with due to price swings.

❌ Argument against RLUSD:

• XRP was supposed to be the bridge currency. Replacing it with RLUSD makes XRP look like a failed prototype.

• Ripple seems to be rebranding its strategy without publicly admitting XRP didn’t deliver.

📊 XRP vs. RLUSD — Battle of the Ripple Assets

🎭 Cooked-Up Office Drama (Just for Fun)

Scene: Ripple HQ, Boardroom
Brad Garlinghouse walks in with a whiteboard.

🧔‍♂️ Brad: “Folks, XRP is amazing, but banks want something stable. Like… really stable.”
👩‍💻 Dev: “You mean like a stablecoin?”
🧔‍♂️ Brad: “Exactly. We'll call it RLUSD!”
🧓 Legal Guy: “Wait… does this mean we’re admitting XRP failed?”
🧔‍♂️ Brad: “No, no. We're just... diversifying.” (winks)

🔮 The Ripple Effect – What Happens Next?

This move signals that Ripple is pivoting—less XRP cheerleading, more real-world adoption through RLUSD.

But for XRP holders, this shift feels like being in a relationship where your partner says, “I still love you,” but is secretly dating someone else (RLUSD 👀).

Still, this could also help XRP in the long run by boosting network usage and bringing attention back to Ripple’s tech stack.

📢 Final Thoughts: Stay Woke, XRP Army

The crypto world isn’t black and white—it’s full of pivots, rebrands, and spicy Twitter feuds.

So whether you're an XRP maximalist or just here for the drama, one thing’s clear: Ripple’s next chapter is going to be very different.

And hey, if RLUSD succeeds, we might all be thanking them later.