Over $100 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD) has been issued since April 1, among the highest levels in recent months, as demand for the relatively new stablecoin heats up.

A $50 million tranche of RLUSD was issued earlier this week on Tuesday, with another $50 million late Wednesday. That came as Ripple added the stablecoin to its official payments product, with payment providers BKK Forex and iSend already said to be using the stablecoin.

Industry leaders expect RLUSD to further shift crypto market dynamics, where upstarts tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) could see competition from Ripple’s product.

XRP Ledger-based decentralized financial (DeFi) applications could be a cohort to watch for as RLUSD gains traction on various platforms, boosting XRP token demand.

RLUSD is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, offered on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain. It is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents.

To maintain its peg, RLUSD relies on a 1:1 reserve system—each token matches an equivalent fiat value.

Users can mint RLUSD by depositing dollars with authorized partners, who issue tokens, or burn RLUSD to redeem cash. Market arbitrage helps stabilize its price: if RLUSD trades below $1, traders buy it to redeem at par, raising demand; if above $1, they mint more, increasing supply.

Security features make RLUSD appealing to institutional users. An XRP Ledger amendment in January saw a “clawback” feature go live on the network, allowing the issuer to reclaim or «claw back» certain tokens, such as RLUSD, from users’ wallets under specific conditions.

This feature is typically implemented for regulatory compliance, to recover assets in cases of fraud, illegal activities, or when tokens are sent to unintended addresses.

Higher-than-usual market volatility affected bulls and bears alike as crypto futures racked up $450 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours as U.S. tariffs went into play.

President Donald Trump officially levied a 25% tariff on auto imports and a minimum 10% tariff on all exporters to the U.S. Additional duties were imposed on the nation’s biggest trading partners in Asia and the European Union, with China facing a 50% hike on several goods and a 26% fee on some Indian goods.

Turmoil in markets ensued with gains from the past three days wiped out in U.S. indices and cryptocurrencies. Asian markets tumbled early Thursday and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields slumped to the lowest level in more than five months. Gold set yet another record high.

Bitcoin inched above $87,000 as investors hoped for leaner long-term effects of the economic changes, with signs of a risk-on environment emerging at the start of the week. Majors ether (ETH) and xrp (XRP) traded above $1,900 and $2.15, respectively, with technical analysis suggesting higher moves in the near term.

But the euphoria was short-lived as crypto majors dipped as much as 5% from Wednesday’s highs before gradually stabilizing.

In Asian morning hours on Thursday, bitcoin traded just above $83,500 while ether traded slightly over $1,800 — effectively reversing all gains from Tuesday after a sudden drop following the Tokyo open.

That caused over $230 million in liquidations on both bullish and bearish bets, data shows, in an unusual move. BTC-tracked futures registered over $172 million in long and short liquidations alone, followed by ETH futures at $120 million and smaller altcoins at $50 million.

Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open).

Single-sided large liquidations can signal the local top or bottom of a steep price move, which may allow traders to position themselves accordingly. However, Thursday’s liquidations can be considered a sign of market uncertainty.

Tariffs-led risk-off has payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP trading close to the support zone near $2, a crucial level for confirming a significant topping pattern and renewed downtrend.

We are referring to the head-and-shoulders pattern, comprising three peaks, with the middle being the highest. A horizontal line drawn from the base of the three peaks, the neckline, marks the key demand zone.

In XRP’s case, the $1.90-$2 range has been that demand zone since January. So, a price move below the same would trigger the H&S breakdown, confirming a bullish-to-bearish trend change.

A potential breakdown could see prices nearly halve to $1.07, according to veteran analyst and trader Peter Brandt. Chart analysts identify targets using the measure move method, which involves determining the distance from the top of the head to the neckline and subtracting that distance from the breakdown point, in this case, $2.

On the higher side, $3, or the lower high created in early March, is the level to beat for the bulls.