Key Takeaways
- Ripple’s RLUSD, now circulating at $1.73 billion, went live across 40+ chains on June 4 via Wormhole’s Native Token Transfers, reaching Base, Optimism, Ink, Unichain, and the XRPL EVM sidechain.
- Wormhole NTT is architecturally distinct from the bridge that was exploited for $320 million in 2022, preserving issuer control, native token properties, and supply accounting without relying on liquidity pools.
- RLUSD’s rapid growth puts it on a collision course with XRP as Ripple’s primary institutional liquidity instrument, with the stablecoin designed to follow wherever XRP demand exists.
On June 4, Ripple confirmed that its dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD is now accessible across more than 40 blockchain networks through Wormhole’s Native Token Transfers (NTT) framework, a move that in a single announcement doubles down on both multichain expansion and an infrastructure provider whose name still carries baggage from one of DeFi’s worst security disasters.
The practical scope of the rollout is significant. RLUSD is now reachable on Ethereum layer-2 networks, including Base, Optimism, Ink, and Unichain, as well as on the XRP Ledger EVM sidechain, giving developers and institutions Ethereum-compatible tooling while maintaining a direct line to the XRPL ecosystem.
Wormhole says its NTT standard is now trusted by more than 100 assets across those 40-plus chains, and RLUSD is the latest and most prominent addition to that list.
Why the 2022 Wormhole Hack Matters and Why It Is Not the Whole Story
Any institution evaluating this integration will run straight into February 2022, when an attacker exploited a flaw in Wormhole’s Ethereum-Solana bridge and minted 120,000 wrapped ETH without legitimate collateral backing, draining roughly $320 million in what remains one of the largest single exploits in crypto history. Jump Trading, which backed Wormhole at the time, covered the losses entirely and made users whole, and the protocol underwent extensive security audits before reopening.
The architectural point that matters here is that Wormhole NTT and that bridge are fundamentally different products. The 2022 exploit targeted a lock-and-mint mechanism that held pooled assets in smart contracts, exactly the design that creates concentrated attack surfaces. NTT works differently.
Token issuers like Ripple retain direct control over minting and burning across chains, with no third-party liquidity pool involved. Rate limits, access controls, and supply accounting are baked into the framework at the issuer level, not bolted on afterward. There is no pool to drain because there is no pool.
That distinction is not a technicality, but it is the entire security thesis. The 2022 hack and NTT do share a brand name and an underlying messaging layer, but their risk profiles are materially different. Institutions doing due diligence on RLUSD should understand both sides of that sentence.
| Features |
Wormhole NTT |
Traditional Bridge (2022 exploit target) |
| Token structure |
Native canonical token on every chain |
Wrapped/synthetic representation |
| Asset custody |
Issuer retains mint/burn control |
Locked in third-party smart contract pool |
| Attack surface |
No pooled assets to drain |
Concentrated liquidity pool vulnerable to exploit |
| Supply model |
Unified cross-chain supply accounting |
Fragmented, pool-dependent balances |
| Rate limits |
Issuer-configurable at protocol level |
Not natively available |
| Access controls |
Granular, set by token issuer |
Limited or absent |
| Liquidity fragmentation |
None, single canonical token |
High, wrapped tokens fragment liquidity |
| Trust assumption |
Issuer-controlled, verifiable |
Relies on bridge contract integrity |
| Institutional suitability |
High, issuer sovereignty intact |
Lower, counterparty risk on the bridge contract |
RLUSD and XRP: Ripple’s Internal Tension
The more strategically interesting question is what RLUSD’s expansion means for XRP. Ripple has been deliberate about framing the two assets as complementary, issuing RLUSD in markets wherever XRP liquidity already exists and designing them to trade as a pair.
The logic is that XRP handles volatility-tolerant corridors and speculative flows while RLUSD handles settlement-sensitive institutional use cases where dollar stability is non-negotiable.
In practice, that framing is getting harder to maintain cleanly. RLUSD is backed one-to-one to the dollar, issued under the oversight of the New York Department of Financial Services through Standard Custody, subject to monthly independent reserve attestations, and now available on more than 40 chains. That is a competitive profile for institutional payments that XRP, for all its speed advantages, simply cannot match in terms of stability.
As Ripple pushes into Turkey through local partners BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo, targeting a market with nearly $200 billion in annual crypto transaction volume, RLUSD is increasingly the product leading that conversation, with XRP following behind.
With $1.74 billion in circulation against $1.85 billion in reserves per Ripple’s latest independent attestation, RLUSD’s coverage ratio and regulatory standing are already institutional-grade.
The multichain expansion via Wormhole NTT is the distribution layer that the asset needed to turn that credibility into reach.
Whether XRP benefits from that reach or quietly competes with it is a question Ripple has not yet answered on the record.
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Dr. Guneet Kaur is a senior editor at CCN.com and a Science Fellow at Exponential Science. She is a fintech and blockchain expert with extensive experience in digital finance education, blockchain ecosystems, and cryptocurrency markets. She has worked with global media such as Cointelegraph, as well as education and blockchain platforms, to design and lead strategic content and learning initiatives. As an educator and assessor for top-tier executive programs, she bridges real-world fintech trends with academic insight.
Dr. Kaur is also a published researcher and peer reviewer across fintech and data science journals, including Financial Innovation Journal and International Journal of Big Data Intelligence and Applications. Her work spans data-driven analysis, Web3 innovation, and technical content development. With a strong foundation in both industry and academia, she translates complex financial technologies into practical applications, empowering learners, professionals, and institutions across the rapidly evolving digital finance landscape.
