Rich by Coin

Two relatively small stablecoins are drawing attention as potential options in a market led by larger names like USDC and USDT.
PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Ripple USD (RLUSD) have market caps of about $3.4 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively, far smaller than USDC’s roughly $75.5 billion and Tether’s about $184.0 billion.
The coins reflect different design goals: one offers a yield today, while the other is built primarily for payments infrastructure.

PayPal USD earns 4% interest when held in PayPal accounts, while Ripple USD currently provides no yield-generating rewards.
PayPal notes the PayPal ecosystem supports seven cryptocurrencies, with PYUSD available for transfers within PayPal’s network.
In contrast, RLUSD is designed to support RippleNet transactions and XRP-based flows, rather than investment returns.

PayPal’s stablecoin is strongest when used within PayPal’s ecosystem, with free transfers to Venmo and PayPal and fee-free transfers on the Solana network.
Ripple’s stablecoin, by comparison, is positioned as a cross-border transfer tool; its liquidity and execution rely on RippleNet and the XRP network.
The RLUSD narrative centers on payments infrastructure rather than yield.

PYUSD features are similar in backing and redemption to a typical USD-pegged stablecoin, but it originated as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and has expanded to other networks.
Holding PYUSD in a PayPal wallet yields 4% annually, while transfers within PayPal’s ecosystem carry no fees; cross-network transfers on Solana are also fee-free.
RLUSD, meanwhile, is available on more than two dozen crypto exchanges and is intended to facilitate RippleNet-powered transactions rather than investment returns.
Ripple is reportedly working on a staking system that would enable yield, but that feature is not yet ready for prime time.