A Bitquery review found 7.82 million RLUSD payments on the XRP Ledger between September 19 and October 18. But about 7.79 million of those payments came from a group of 110 wallets sending very small transfers to three collectors. Together, those transactions moved only 7,722 RLUSD.
The findings do not show that RLUSD has no meaningful activity on the network. Bitquery also identified 14,600 payments worth at least one RLUSD, with a combined value of about $7.33 billion. The analysis instead demonstrates why payment counts should be assessed alongside transaction value, wallet concentration and the type of activity being measured.
How a small wallet cluster drove payment counts
Bitquery’s investigation covered a 30-day period and counted 7,821,066 payments. Of these, 7,806,466 were below one RLUSD. The 110-wallet cluster sent 7,789,341 of the small payments to three collector wallets, averaging roughly one-tenth of a cent per transfer.
Bitquery reported that the sender wallets received RLUSD from a Binance-labelled address and XRP from six other Binance-labelled wallets. The collector addresses then forwarded tokens along a route ending at a Binance-labelled deposit wallet. The pattern is consistent with exchange deposit routing, but public ledger records do not identify the customers behind the addresses. Bitquery said it could not establish who operated the cluster.
The value behind the transaction count
After excluding transfers below one RLUSD, Bitquery counted 14,600 payments worth about $7.33 billion. It reported that ten wallets sent 82% of that value. The larger flows included issuer-related minting and redemption activity, which can be substantial but do not necessarily represent payments between independent customers.
Bitquery identified about $728 million across 97 payments from the issuer to a mint wallet and about $734 million across 67 payments moving from a redemption wallet back to the issuer. These flows form part of stablecoin supply management. Counting both directions as separate transfers can increase gross volume without representing an equivalent amount of net economic activity.
The investigation also estimated that the cluster paid about 495 XRP in transaction fees during the period. Low transaction costs can make repeated transfers inexpensive, allowing automated activity to account for a large share of transaction counts without moving much value.
Why the banking integration does not settle the question
Ripple announced on October 15 that Cross River Bank would integrate RLUSD on the XRP Ledger into its core banking platform, giving eligible fintech customers access through an API alongside conventional payment rails. The announcement is evidence of a planned infrastructure integration, but it does not show how many transactions the service has processed.
Cross River said availability was limited to certain U.S. states. Neither the bank nor Ripple has published customer-level transaction figures that connect the partnership to a measurable change in ledger activity. The integration and Bitquery’s findings can both be true: a stablecoin may be integrated into banking infrastructure while a large share of its on-chain transaction count comes from low-value or operational transfers.
What on-chain data can and cannot prove
Public ledger data can show transaction amounts, timestamps, sender and receiver addresses, and repeated movement patterns. It cannot, on its own, establish the legal identity or intent of an address owner. Exchange-labelled wallets may serve many customers, and a single business may control several addresses.
XRPL Dashboard’s October 24 snapshot showed RLUSD supply up $27.8 million over its latest 24-hour window. That is a separate measure from payment counts and should not be treated as proof of increased adoption. For related data, see BlockBriefing’s report on RLUSD supply growth and new XRP Ledger accounts.
Which metrics deserve attention?
A more complete assessment should compare transaction counts with value, separate issuer minting and redemption from customer transfers, measure activity concentration and examine patterns across several weeks. Data from payment providers could also help establish whether on-chain transfers correspond to completed commercial payments.
For now, Bitquery’s data shows that transaction count and economic value tell different stories. Nearly all payments in the sample were tiny transfers within a limited wallet cluster, while a much smaller group of transactions moved billions of dollars. Neither measure alone is a complete measure of adoption.
Sources
- Bitquery — RLUSD on XRPL investigation
- XRPL Dashboard — live ledger metrics
- Cross River — banking integration announcement
This analysis is based on public ledger data and published company statements. It is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.
