Ripple has announced the upcoming launch of Ripple USD (RLUSD), a stablecoin designed to facilitate enterprise use cases, specifically in cross-border payments. The new stablecoin aims to enhance Ripple’s payment solutions, focusing on stability, efficiency, and transparency to meet rising demand for USD-denominated transactions.
RLUSD is expected to streamline cross-border transactions by bridging traditional financial systems with blockchain technology, catering to banks, crypto exchanges, and fintechs. In a recent interview, Ripple President Monica Long, shared that RLUSD aligns with Ripple’s mission to integrate blockchain into modern financial solutions.
Long highlighted that RLUSD responds to global demand, particularly from markets in APAC, the EU, and Australia, where USD-backed stablecoins are increasingly essential. With the stablecoin market projected to approach $3 trillion in value over the next five years, RLUSD positions Ripple to serve the evolving needs of its global customer base.
In Ripple’s payments infrastructure, RLUSD will complement XRP, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, to streamline currency flows in lower-liquidity markets. With both RLUSD and XRP available, customers gain more options to optimize costs and transaction speed across high-liquidity corridors or when XRP isn’t necessary.
The official statement wrote, “This combination of RLUSD for dollar-denominated transactions and XRP for cross-currency settlements ensures Ripple Payments customers can utilize the most efficient and cost-effective path no matter the circumstances.”
RLUSD will also be natively issued on both the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum, benefiting developers working on decentralized finance (DeFi) applications by providing a stable and accessible USD on-ramp.
Spelling on the success of stablecoins, Long noted that RLUSD is structured to ensure transparency, backed by U.S. dollar reserves and audited monthly by third parties. Ripple plans to issue RLUSD through its New York Trust license, to maintain high standards of oversight in line with NYDFS guidance on stablecoin issuance.
“The NY DFS’ guidance on stablecoin issuance requires issuers like Ripple to maintain reserves of at least 100% of the nominal value of outstanding stablecoins in low-risk, highly liquid assets”, according to the statement.