Ripple Labs has officially launched its highly anticipated U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, entering the competitive stablecoin market currently dominated by Tether. The stablecoin became available on global exchanges starting today, following final regulatory approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) last week.
RLUSD distinguishes itself through its robust reserve backing, consisting of U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government bonds, and cash equivalents. To ensure transparency, Ripple has committed to monthly attestations of these reserve assets, conducted by an independent auditing firm. This move aims to address concerns surrounding reserve transparency that have plagued some existing stablecoin issuers.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized the company’s strategic decision to launch RLUSD under the NYDFS limited purpose trust company charter, highlighting it as a “premier regulatory standard worldwide.” Garlinghouse expressed optimism about increased stablecoin adoption as the U.S. moves towards clearer regulatory frameworks.
The launch positions RLUSD in direct competition with established players like Tether, Circle, and Paxos, as well as newer entrants like PayPal’s stablecoin. Tether currently holds the lion’s share of the market with a circulating supply exceeding $140 billion.
Ripple plans to integrate RLUSD into its Ripple Payments platform by early next year, facilitating transactions for its enterprise customers. The company boasts a substantial transaction volume on Ripple Payments, having processed $70 billion to date.
Initially, RLUSD will be accessible on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain, with plans to expand to other blockchains, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and applications. Several exchanges, including Uphold, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENA, have already listed RLUSD. Further listings on platforms such as Bitso, Bullish, Bitstamp, Mercado Bitcoin, Independent Reserve, and Zero Hash are expected in the coming weeks.
