Ripple’s RLUSD gets a boost from Binance’s zero-fee strategy

Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has listed Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on its platform.

On Jan. 21, the exchange announced that it would open spot trading pairs, including RLUSD/USDT, RLUSD/U, and XRP/RLUSD, on Jan. 22 by 8 AM UTC.

Critically, Binance will initiate trading on the RLUSD/USDT and RLUSD/U pairs with zero fees until further notice.

To a casual trader, this reads like a straightforward listing announcement. However, industry experts noted that the move could fundamentally alter the market hierarchy and cement RLUSD’s rapid growth over the past year.

The logic here is not that Binance magically creates value, but that the exchange can change how the market routes value. If that routing translates into sustained net issuance, RLUSD could plausibly jump into the top three stablecoins in a rapidly expanding market.

Engineering a liquidity event

The specific mechanics of the Binance listing suggest a push for dominance rather than mere participation.

By waiving fees, Binance is not merely adding trading pairs; it is subsidizing adoption. Zero-fee stablecoin pairs have a history of changing market share on centralized exchanges by redirecting where trades clear.

Kaiko’s analysis of stablecoin dynamics on Binance offers a precedent for disrupting these numbers. After the exchange re-listed USDC in March 2023, the token’s market share on centralized exchanges reportedly surged from roughly 60% to above 90%.

This shift did not necessarily mean USDC instantly became the superior asset. It meant Binance made it the cheapest and most convenient rail, and the market followed the incentives.

Kaiko has also documented how zero-fee regimes can dominate exchange volume and reshape market structure.

This presents both a promise and a warning for Ripple’s stablecoin. Incentives can create deep liquidity quickly, but they can also inflate activity that evaporates when the subsidy ends.

For RLUSD to move toward the top three, two distinct “flywheels” must spin in sequence.

The first is routing adoption. Zero fees encourage market makers and high-frequency desks to quote tighter spreads and push more flows through RLUSD pairs.

This improves the experience for all participants by deepening the order book, reducing slippage, and ensuring more reliable execution. In stablecoin markets, where product differentiation is often thin, the preferred asset is frequently the one that trades most efficiently.

The second flywheel is balance-sheet adoption. Market cap grows only when RLUSD is actually held, whether as exchange collateral, in DeFi lending markets, or in treasury allocations.

Binance creates the environment for this by expanding RLUSD utility. The listing announcement confirmed that portfolio margin eligibility will be added, increasing the token’s utility in leveraged trading strategies.

Furthermore, inclusion in Binance Earn is planned. This would give users yield-bearing incentives to hold the asset rather than simply trade it.

The math behind the climb

Despite this strategic setup, the numerical gap RLUSD must close to reach the top three is substantial.

Data from CryptoSlate shows that RLUSD has a circulating supply of around $1.4 billion. This places it among the top 10-largest stablecoins by market cap but significantly behind market leaders Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.

To breach the “top 3 stablecoin,” RLUSD would need roughly $5.1 billion in new circulation to displace Ethena’s USDe, whose supply sits around $6.47 billion.

Over a 12-month period, reaching that benchmark would require approximately $424 million in net new RLUSD issuance per month

These are large numbers that would require RLUSD to grow four to seven times from its current base within a relatively tight window.

However, macro tailwinds may assist this ascent.

The US Treasury has publicly argued that the stablecoin market, currently valued at around $300 billion, could grow tenfold by the end of the decade. That would imply that the market could reach $3 trillion by 2030.

Meanwhile, US banking giant JPMorgan is more optimistic, projecting that stablecoins could reach $2 trillion within two years under a bullish adoption scenario.

If those trajectories materialize, RLUSD reaching the top three will not only be about stealing market share from incumbents but also about riding a rising tide.

Institutional plumbing over retail hype

While the Binance listing provides the liquidity spark, Ripple’s best case for the top three relies on institutional plumbing.

Over the past two years, Ripple has assembled a stack that resembles that of a payments and capital markets infrastructure provider more than that of a typical crypto issuer.

The foundation of any potential growth is a regulatory posture that has resulted in RLUSD being issued under a New York DFS Limited Purpose Trust Company Charter. At the same time, Ripple has received conditional approval for an OCC charter.

This dual layer of state and federal oversight sets a bar for transparency and compliance that few other issuers can claim.

For corporate treasurers and bank compliance officers, this regulatory perimeter often matters more than brand recognition.

Perhaps the most direct catalyst for sticky institutional adoption is that Ripple has quietly positioned itself at the center of the global payment network as a platform that settles, secures, and moves digital money.

Last year, Ripple had a $4 billion acquisition spree that included the purchase of prime broker Hidden Road, custody firm Palisade, treasury-management platform GTreasury, and stablecoin payments provider Rail.

These firms form the foundation of a vertically integrated enterprise spanning trading, custody, payments, and liquidity management.

This move essentially expands RLUSD’s growth runway beyond crypto exchange wallets. It moves the asset into multi-asset margin and financing workflows where stablecoin balances can scale rapidly.

A stress test

The risk remains that while trading volume can be manufactured, adoption cannot.

Binance’s own spot market has cooled recently, with CoinDesk Data reporting spot volume fell to $367 billion in December 2025, the lowest since September 2024.

Yet even at these reduced levels, Binance remains large enough that a fee subsidy can reshape liquidity routing.

So, the ultimate danger in this move is that RLUSD could become a “cheap rail” but not a “held asset.”

If trading volume explodes but circulating supply barely grows, the market will have its answer: Binance can create liquidity, but not necessarily durable adoption.

For RLUSD to credibly challenge for the top three, the story must evolve from “listed and traded” to “used and held.”