Prominent crypto lawyer and advocate John E. Deaton has weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding the potential for Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin to replace the utility of XRP. Deaton has dismissed the speculation, clarifying that the two digital assets serve entirely different, yet complementary, purposes. He explained that mixing up their roles is a common source of misinformation and can lead to poor investment decisions. In his view, while Ripple as a company may compete with other fintech firms like Circle (issuer of USDC), the assets themselves—XRP and RLUSD—are not direct rivals.
A Clear Distinction of Roles
Deaton’s explanation clarifies that RLUSD is a stablecoin, acting as a digital representation of the U.S. dollar for transactions within a single currency. He notes that RLUSD is a digital version of cash, pegged 1:1 to a real dollar, designed for sending and receiving money in U.S. dollars. In contrast, XRP is designed as a bridge currency to facilitate fast and inexpensive value transfers between different currencies and systems. For example, if a cross-border payment needs to be made from U.S. dollars to Japanese yen, XRP acts as the intermediary, converting the dollars into XRP, which is then sent and converted into yen on the other side. Deaton’s analogy positions RLUSD as the "digital cash" and XRP as the "global courier" that makes international transfers seamless. He concludes that rather than being competitors, the two tokens work together to fulfill different roles in the global payments ecosystem.
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Crypto Lawyer Addresses RLUSD vs. XRP Speculation
Prominent crypto lawyer and advocate John E. Deaton has weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding the potential for Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin to replace the utility of XRP. Deaton has dismissed the speculation, clarifying that the two digital assets serve entirely different, yet complementary, purposes. He explained that mixing up their roles is a common source of misinformation and can lead to poor investment decisions. In his view, while Ripple as a company may compete with other fintech firms like Circle (issuer of USDC), the assets themselves—XRP and RLUSD—are not direct rivals.
A Clear Distinction of Roles
Deaton’s explanation clarifies that RLUSD is a stablecoin, acting as a digital representation of the U.S. dollar for transactions within a single currency. He notes that RLUSD is a digital version of cash, pegged 1:1 to a real dollar, designed for sending and receiving money in U.S. dollars. In contrast, XRP is designed as a bridge currency to facilitate fast and inexpensive value transfers between different currencies and systems. For example, if a cross-border payment needs to be made from U.S. dollars to Japanese yen, XRP acts as the intermediary, converting the dollars into XRP, which is then sent and converted into yen on the other side. Deaton’s analogy positions RLUSD as the "digital cash" and XRP as the "global courier" that makes international transfers seamless. He concludes that rather than being competitors, the two tokens work together to fulfill different roles in the global payments ecosystem.