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After a delay earlier this month, Ripple has launched its much-anticipated U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), signaling its intent to raise the bar for utility, compliance, and transparency within the growing stablecoin sector.
Ripple said In an announcement on Tuesday that RLUSD will be backed entirely by U.S. dollar deposits, government bonds, and cash equivalents, a move designed to ensure its stability and liquidity.
RLUSD is issued under the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) limited-purpose trust charter, a framework recognized as one of the most stringent regulatory standards. This adds a layer of confidence for institutional investors and enterprise users, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noting:
“As the U.S. moves toward clearer regulations, we expect to see greater adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD, which offer real utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry.”
Garlinghouse described the launch as a natural evolution of the company’s work at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets, adding that clearer regulatory frameworks in the U.S. are driving greater adoption of stablecoins that offer utility and compliance.
Global Expansion and Market Adoption
Ripple also laid out a global roadmap for RLUSD, securing partnerships with exchanges, payment providers, and market makers that will accelerate adoption across key financial markets, including the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the UK, and the Middle East. The company emphasized RLUSD’s role as a solution for institutional-grade use cases, such as enabling faster cross-border settlements, optimizing remittance and treasury liquidity, and providing collateral for on-chain tokenized assets.
To further integrate RLUSD into its ecosystem, Ripple's payments platform will adopt the stablecoin early next year to facilitate real-time cross-border transactions for enterprise clients. Ripple Payments, which has processed over $70 billion in payments volume, serves more than 90 payout markets, accounting for over 90% of the daily global foreign exchange market, the company said.
The launch will see RLUSD operate on two blockchain networks, the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, offering institutions and developers scalability and interoperability for a variety of decentralized finance applications. Ripple’s efforts to bridge traditional fiat systems and digital finance mark its strategic pivot toward positioning RLUSD as a viable alternative to existing stablecoins, such as USDC and USDT.
High-Profile Advisors Join RLUSD’s Board
Ripple also announced that its RLUSD advisory board will include two prominent financial leaders: Raghuram Rajan, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and Kenneth Montgomery, the former first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Rajan noted that stablecoins could become the foundation for private payment systems, praising RLUSD’s focus on regulatory compliance and operational reliability. Montgomery echoed the sentiment, stating that RLUSD addresses inefficiencies in traditional financial systems and has the potential to modernize global payments.
These appointments further strengthen the advisory board, which already includes former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair and former CENTRE Consortium CEO David Puth. Ripple’s leadership emphasized that combining regulatory rigor with real-world use cases positions RLUSD to set new industry standards, particularly as institutions increasingly seek stable and compliant digital assets.
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