TrustLinq Payment Network Expands RLUSD’s Potential Reach

TrustLinq’s crypto-to-fiat payment network now covers more than 190 countries and more than 80 currencies, expanding Ripple USD’s potential payment reach without showing measurable new demand for XRP.

The network supports Ripple USD (RLUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT) and EURC. It uses local banking rails where available and SWIFT for other corridors, with recipients receiving funds in local currency through a bank account. Coverage and settlement speed vary by destination and currency.

TrustLinq identifies RLUSD as an ERC-20 asset and describes itself as a Swiss-regulated payment service operating under SO-FIT, a self-regulatory organization recognized by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

“TrustLinq exists to make crypto function as real money for real payments,” TrustLinq co-founder Lili Metodieva said.

RLUSD is a dollar-pegged stablecoin separate from XRP. It is available on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, among other networks, and is backed one-to-one by cash deposits, U.S. Treasuries and cash equivalents.

That distinction limits what TrustLinq’s coverage means for XRP. Support for RLUSD does not establish that payments will use the XRP Ledger; they may use Ethereum instead. The available figures also do not show TrustLinq’s RLUSD transaction count, payment volume, settlement volume or share of payments by blockchain.

Any benefit to XRP would therefore be indirect. Greater RLUSD activity on the XRP Ledger could increase network use and generate XRP-denominated transaction fees, but no such outcome has been established for TrustLinq’s network. The XRP Ledger’s standard minimum transaction cost is 10 drops of XRP, with fees potentially rising as network load increases. Transaction fees are destroyed rather than paid to a recipient.

RLUSD had a market capitalization of $2.42 billion and trading volume of $166.2 million for Oct. 13, based on historical data using UTC dates. Those figures do not establish TrustLinq usage, institutional adoption or increased demand for XRP.

“Integrating Ripple Payments strengthens the infrastructure behind that promise and extends our reach across corridors that matter to our users,” Metodieva said.