what's Ripple USD?
Ripple USD (RLUSD) is a stablecoin issued by Ripple Labs, designed to maintain a 1:1 peg to the US dollar through reserves held in cash equivalents and short-term US Treasuries. It operates on both the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum blockchains, enabling seamless cross-chain transfers and compatibility with DeFi ecosystems. RLUSD emphasizes institutional-grade compliance, with reserves audited monthly and custodied by regulated entities like BNY Mellon, ensuring transparency and trust for payments, trading, and yield-generating applications. As a USD-backed asset, RLUSD facilitates real-time cross-border payments via Ripple Payments and serves as collateral in derivatives trading on platforms like BitMEX, where it supports multi-asset margining alongside assets like XRP and BTC. Its integration into exchanges, RWAs (real-world assets), and protocols like Aave highlights its role in bridging traditional finance with blockchain, offering stability amid crypto volatility without reliance on algorithmic mechanisms. RLUSD's launch in late 2024 marked Ripple's entry into the stablecoin market, competing with USDT and USDC by leveraging XRPL's speed (3-5 second settlements) and low fees, while Ethereum support broadens DeFi accessibility. Governance and upgrades are managed through Ripple's ecosystem, with ongoing expansions into regulated markets like Dubai.
Ripple USD's XRP Ledger integrated with EPIC Chain for settlements in August 2025.
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Integrated with EPIC Chain for settlements as part of EPIC's migration to XRP Ledger in August 2025.
Expanded payments operations in Singapore following license approval.
Adopted Wormhole's NTT (Native Token Transfer) standard to enable multichain expansion.
RLUSD expansion to Ethereum Layer-2 networks (Optimism, Base, Ink, Unichain) uses Wormhole protocol as the bridge mechanism, with testing currently underway and official launch planned for 2026 pending New York regulatory approval. The stablecoin generates $32M in daily trading volume.
RLUSD stablecoin expands to Ethereum Layer-2 networks with current market cap at $1.3 billion.
Ripple receives conditional approval from the OCC to charter Ripple National Trust Bank, placing RLUSD under both federal (OCC) and state (NYDFS) regulatory oversight.
Gemini adds support for RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, enabling near-instant settlement and lower fees.
RLUSD market cap closes in on $1.3 billion according to Coingecko data.
More than 80% of supply is issued on Ethereum with most tokens in Aave for yield, growth boosted by Ripple's Rail acquisition.
Weekly transfer volume on Ethereum averages $1B, up from $66M at the start of the year.
Circulating supply reaches $1.2B, up from $1B milestone on 2025-11-26, ranking as 10th-largest stablecoin by market cap.
RLUSD receives recognition as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token by Abu Dhabi's FSRA, enabling its use by authorized entities within the ADGM.
RLUSD reaches $1B market cap milestone, ranking #3 among all stablecoins behind USDT ($181B) and USDC ($74B).
UK plans to adopt proportionate, growth-friendly crypto regulations that allow overseas stablecoins including RLUSD to be used locally, according to Ripple's UK & Europe Policy Director Matt Osborne.
Market cap on Ethereum increases by 21.2% over the past month, with approximately 10x growth needed to reach the #3 spot among stablecoin issuers.
RLUSD deposits into Aave's Horizon RWA Market increase by approximately 100% in the past month.
RLUSD ranks 8th among the fastest growing Real World Assets based on 30-day market cap growth percentage.
Bybit's RLUSD HODLverse campaign airdrops 250K $XRP (~$557K value) to MNT holders with rates of ~150% APY on Day 1, ~50% on Day 2, ending Nov 11.
Ripple announces $500 million strategic investment led by Fortress and Citadel Securities.
Partnership with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini launches RLUSD settlement for credit card payments on XRP Ledger, starting with Gemini XRP Credit Card.
Supply surpasses $1 billion for the first time, marking steady growth through 2025.
Trading fees removed on RLUSD/USD pair to increase accessibility for swapping and holding.
Bitnomial launches the first-ever stablecoin margin collateral using RLUSD.
Over 60% of the stablecoin's supply is deposited into Aave.
Ripple acquires wallet technology firm Palisade to expand institutional custody services, bringing total 2025 crypto investments to $4 billion.
Ripple's U.S. prime brokerage launch follows a $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road to bridge traditional and crypto markets.
RLUSD surpasses $1 billion market cap and announces partnerships with GTreasury and Rail for settlement services.
Ripple launches Digital Asset Spot Prime Brokerage in the U.S. as part of Ripple Prime, supporting OTC trading for RLUSD and other major digital assets.
RLUSD ranks as the 7th largest stablecoin issuer on Ethereum with over $800 million issued on the chain.
RLUSD is listed as one of the fastest growing RWAs measured by 30-day TVL growth.
World Central Kitchen, Water.org, Mercy Corps, and GiveDirectly partner to use RLUSD for humanitarian aid delivery and blockchain-based payment solutions.
First RLUSD redemption occurs via Ubyx network with 1:1 Euro conversion, expanding RLUSD integration with regulated payment institutions and stablecoin settlement network including Monerium's EURe.
Visa adds RLUSD to its official Stablecoin Dashboard, enabling tracking of RLUSD activity across multiple blockchain ecosystems including HyperEVM, zkSync, and Aptos.
UBRI (University Blockchain Research Initiative) launches Advisory Council and deploys over $1.5M in renewed grants funded entirely in RLUSD, while adding University of San Francisco as partner to explore blockchain applications in public service and law.
Grove Finance will supply RLUSD to Aave's Horizon RWA market to add liquidity depth for RWA-backed borrowing.
BitMEX adds $RLUSD as margin collateral for derivatives trading, becoming first exchange to offer this feature.