About
Ripple USD (RLUSD) is a fully regulated, enterprise-grade stablecoin designed by Ripple to provide a secure and transparent bridge between traditional fiat currencies and the digital asset economy. Issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a subsidiary of Ripple Labs, RLUSD is built to meet the rigorous compliance standards required by financial institutions and global corporations. By integrating a dollar-pegged asset directly into its payment ecosystem, Ripple aims to complement its existing XRP-based liquidity solutions, providing a stable alternative for settlement and treasury management that avoids the volatility typically associated with unpegged digital assets.
The stablecoin operates on a strict 1:1 backing model, where every token in circulation is supported by a segregated reserve of high-quality liquid assets. These reserves consist exclusively of U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasury bills, and cash equivalents. To ensure maximum transparency and trust, Ripple has committed to undergoing monthly third-party audits and attestations conducted by independent accounting firms. Furthermore, as an entity regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) under a Trust Charter, RLUSD adheres to some of the most stringent consumer protection and anti-money laundering frameworks in the global cryptocurrency industry.
Technically, RLUSD is a multi-chain asset, natively issued on both the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and the Ethereum blockchain. This dual-issuance strategy allows the protocol to leverage the distinct advantages of both networks: the high-speed, low-cost transaction environment of the XRPL for real-time payments, and the deep liquidity and extensive smart contract programmability of the Ethereum ecosystem for DeFi integration. The use of a unified reserve across multiple chains ensures that the stablecoin remains fungible and easily accessible for developers and institutions regardless of their preferred blockchain environment.
Within the Ripple Payments network, RLUSD serves as a critical tool for on-demand liquidity and cross-border remittances. While XRP is often used as a bridge currency for rapid currency conversion, RLUSD provides a stable terminal for value storage, allowing businesses to hedge against market swings during long-duration settlement processes. Its design specifically targets high-volume enterprise tasks, such as merchant settlements, corporate payroll, and institutional foreign exchange markets, where price certainty and regulatory clarity are the primary requirements for adoption.
As the stablecoin market matures, RLUSD positions itself as a direct competitor to established assets like USDC and USDT, emphasizing its "compliance-first" pedigree. The project is a core component of Ripple's broader "Endgame" strategy to create a comprehensive digital financial stack that includes custody, payments, and stablecoin issuance. By fostering deep integration with global banking partners and ensuring that all issuance is strictly monitored by U.S. regulators, Ripple seeks to solidify RLUSD as a primary vehicle for the institutionalization of decentralized finance.
