Frenzied Demand for 800 XRP as Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin Prepares for Release.

Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is generating a buzz ahead of its official release on Tuesday, with bids as high as 836 XRP ($2,068) on onchain marketplaces. The surge in bids reflects a frenzy among collectors eager to secure the token as soon as it goes live.

As of Tuesday morning in Asia, bids for RLUSD range from 500 XRP ($1,237) to as much as 836 XRP ($2,068), with each XRP priced just under $2.50, according to data from the Xaman platform. This price surge is indicative of the strong demand from early buyers who wish to be the first to hold the newly launched stablecoin.

Ripple Labs CTO David Schwartz weighed in on the situation, noting that some bidders are willing to pay an inflated price for a fraction of an RLUSD token. “There actually is someone willing to pay $1,200 for a tiny fraction of one RLUSD,” Schwartz said in a Monday post. He speculated that some buyers are eager to be the first to acquire the token, adding, “Maybe someone wants the ‘honor’ of buying the first bit of RLUSD on the DEX.”

Despite the early price fluctuations, Schwartz reassured the market that RLUSD will stabilize once liquidity increases. “Rest assured, the price will come back to very close to $1 as soon as supply stabilizes,” he explained. “If it doesn’t, something is very seriously wrong.”

Such high-priced transactions are not uncommon in the crypto world, particularly for new tokens or NFTs, as speculators seek to capitalize on the novelty of early ownership. Although RLUSD may experience some temporary price discrepancies from its intended $1 peg in the initial hours after launch due to liquidity constraints, each token will always be redeemable for $1, ensuring that any price deviations will be short-lived.

RLUSD is set to launch on the XRP Ledger (XRP) on Tuesday, with initial listings on various exchanges and platforms, including Uphold, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENA, as previously reported by CoinDesk.