Ripple is tying its stablecoin strategy to a sharp rise in institutional demand. On March 10, Reece Merrick, Ripple’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa, said on X that stablecoins processed $33 trillion in transaction volume in 2025, roughly twice Visa’s annual payment volume. Ripple is using that backdrop to present RLUSD as a dollar-backed stablecoin built for institutional use.
Merrick said Ripple had been preparing for this moment for years. He described RLUSD as dollar-backed, enterprise-grade, and aimed at institutions that are now entering the market. He also said the infrastructure is ready and demand is already present. The message was clear: Ripple wants a larger role as stablecoins move deeper into regulated financial workflows.
Transaction activity, user growth, and market cap all moved higher
According to the figures Merrick shared, stablecoin transaction volume rose 72% year over year in 2025. Active users increased 146% across 106 countries, while total market capitalization reached $320 billion. Those numbers point to wider participation from both institutions and retail users as stablecoins take on a bigger place in digital asset markets.
The data also suggests the sector’s expansion is not limited to crypto-native trading activity. Stablecoins are being used more often for actual money movement, from settlement to operational finance. That shift matters. It changes the market from one centered on exchange liquidity to one tied more closely to payment and treasury functions.
Turkey, Nigeria, and the UAE stand out in regional adoption
Merrick highlighted several markets where adoption is gaining speed. He said Turkey has become the largest digital asset market in the Middle East and North Africa, driven by currency volatility and demand for dollar-denominated assets. In that setting, stablecoins are being used as a practical channel for preserving value and moving capital.
He also pointed to Africa, where Nigeria handles about $59 billion in annual remittances. Stablecoins, he said, are increasingly replacing traditional transfer rails. In the United Arab Emirates, a dirham-backed stablecoin called DDSC has been approved for institutional settlements, with a stated target of a $170 billion global market.
Cross-border B2B payments rose 733%
Ripple’s list of use cases includes cross-border B2B payments, remittances, payroll automation, treasury management, and inflation protection in emerging markets. The fastest growth came from cross-border B2B stablecoin payments. Merrick said those flows climbed 733% to $226 billion globally in 2025.
He linked that increase to demand from companies seeking faster settlement and lower foreign exchange costs. His conclusion was simple: the use cases are real and growing fast. For Ripple, that is the core argument behind RLUSD and its push into enterprise financial infrastructure.