Ripple President Bares All: Witty Stablecoin Confessions That Might Change Your Wallet

by

Dawn. You stand at the riverbank of the financial world—shivering, not from cold, but for anticipation of the storm. 🏞️ Monica Long, the president of Ripple, descended upon the digital town square like Dr. Zhivago, only with fewer balalaikas and more blockchains, stirring talk of stablecoins and fate.

A single tweet, tossed onto the ice like a skipping stone, followed her heroic charge onto the stage at Stripe Sessions. Was she there to serenade? No! To warn businesses: ignore stablecoins, and you risk being left behind like a teacup on a speeding locomotive.

It was great to join @stablecoin, @tryramp, and @airtminc on stage at @Stripe Sessions today discussing why businesses can’t ignore stablecoins.

A few lessons we’ve learned over the years – 1/ blockchain payments need connectivity to local rails, and connectivity depends on bank…

— Monica Long (@MonicaLongSF) May 9, 2025

There are three revelations, blooming in the frost. First: Blockchain payments yearn for roots—local rails to nourish them, banks to shield them, regulations to stop everyone running naked into uncertainty (though, surely, some wish they could). “Things are less catastrophic now than two winters past,” Monica said, hinting that regulators today wield fewer axes.

And, as the wind howls, a longing for simplicity, to be only a software poet—no borders, no licenses. Alas! The dream is beautiful, but the lawman always knocks eventually. Ripple has pocketed over 60 licenses because paperwork is apparently sexier than orange jumpsuits.

Now, as if life wasn’t complicated enough, stablecoins must gather liquidity from every corner of the map—seeking to tango with traditional FX markets. Long calls this the “next industry challenge,” because the last thing this plot needs is simplicity.

RLUSD gains traction as stablecoin market expands

Meanwhile, the stablecoin market’s heart beats louder—its capitalization leaping past $240 billion, with all the commotion of springtime on the steppes.

Enter RLUSD, Ripple’s own digital ruble—but less tsarist, more Silicon Valley caffeine. Launched into the snowdrifts of December 2024, RLUSD now gallops across Ripple Payments and gallantly crossed swords with traditional finance after Hidden Road took it as collateral. There’s nothing like putting your money where your meme is.

RLUSD found new homes on glamorous exchanges—Kraken, Gemini—only pausing to flirt with DeFi pools like Aave and Curve.

And the numbers—they intoxicate: RLUSD market value surging past $300 million, per CoinMarketCap. And in the last 24 hours, Ripple USD volumes leapt 109% to an eye-watering $186 million. Because if there’s anything Russians, Ripple, or revolutionaries love, it’s a dramatic plot twist.

Thus, dawn breaks again. The river flows. And somewhere in the distance, a stablecoin winks. 😉

Read More

2025-05-09 17:19