An unlucky trader has lost $27,000 by FOMOing into the recently-launched Ripple stablecoin RLUSD with his XRP holdings.
The trade occurred yesterday, Dec. 17 shortly after Ripple confirmed the launch of the much-anticipated stablecoin. For context, RLUSD launched on Dec. 17, a few days after reports indicated that the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) had granted its regulatory approval.
Details of the XRP-RLUSD Trade
However, it appears the excitement behind the launch resulted in the unfortunate trade. Notably, data from leading XRPL explorer Bithomp indicates that the trade began when a network participant placed an order to sell his 10,000 XRP tokens for 100 RLUSD.
The order was fulfilled on Dec. 17 at exactly 13:00 UTC, with the trader receiving the 100 RLUSD in his wallet. Notably, XRP was already witnessing an impressive rally during this period, as bullish sentiments followed the launch of the stablecoin.
As a result of this uptrend, XRP was changing hands at the $2.71 mark when the transaction occurred. This indicates that the trader’s 10,000 XRP tokens were worth a whopping $27,100 or 27,000 RLUSD at the time the system fulfilled the order.
With the market participant receiving only 100 RLUSD in this transaction, this confirms that he lost $27,000. However, this move cannot be regarded as an investment choice with hopes of future returns, as the Ripple stablecoin would always maintain its peg to the dollar, leaving the trader with $100.
RLUSD is Not an Opportunity to Get Rich
The recent transaction highlights the mistakes certain network participants could make as a result of the euphoria surrounding the RLUSD launch. Before the launch, Ripple CTO David Schwartz warned investors not to consider the stablecoin as an investment opportunity, as its value would always remain at $1.
Schwartz noted this while commenting on a disclosure that Xaman (formerly Xumm), a leading XRPL non-custodial wallet, showed a rate of $1,200 for 1 RLUSD. This triggered speculations that XRP’s price could adjust to this value, fueling the hope of a price surge for XRP.
Schwartz dismissed these speculations, explaining that Xaman shows this rate because someone already placed an order to buy a small fraction of RLUSD for $1,200. He cautioned that investors should not regard RLUSD as a potential avenue to get rich.
It bears mentioning that the order referenced by Schwartz is similar to the latest one involving the 10,000 XRP trade. However, in this trade, the investor placed his order to purchase 1 RLUSD for 100 XRP or $271, leading to the massive loss.
It is imperative that investors see RLUSD as just another stablecoin, like Tether (USDT), and not an opportunity to rake in gains. XRPL validator Vet noted in a previous report that RLUSD will always maintain a $1 price. Schwartz also suggested that the stablecoin’s benefit would be to improve liquidity, not to effect prices.
