Ripple’s CEO Confirms NYDFS Approval for RLUSD Launch

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has confirmed that the company has received final approval from the New York Department of Financial Services for its new stablecoin, RLUSD.

This just in…we have final approval from @NYDFS for $RLUSD! Exchange and partner listings will be live soon – and reminder: when RLUSD is live, you’ll hear it from @Ripple first.

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) December 10, 2024

The stablecoin is backed 1:1 by US dollars, with assets such as US dollar deposits, short-term US government treasuries, and other cash equivalents, similar to the structure of Tether’s backing. Garlinghouse stated that RLUSD will primarily serve large institutional clients and will soon be listed on major cryptocurrency exchanges.

XRP Rises 10% Following RLUSD Approval

Following RLUSD’s approval, Ripple’s XRP rose 10% to $2.38, maintaining its strong performance. Since the US elections, XRP has surged 400%, overtaking Solana and USDT to become the third-largest crypto asset by market cap.

Ripple intends to use RLUSD to strengthen its cross-border payment offerings. The new stablecoin and XRP will facilitate real-time global payments, bridge fiat, and cryptocurrency for on/off ramps, and enable tokenizing real-world assets like commodities and securities.

RLUSD will be launched on Ripple’s XRP Ledger and Ethereum and issued under a New York Trust Company Charter. Ripple describes it as a reliable, compliant, and liquid USD-backed stablecoin designed for both developers and users.

Stablecoin Market Growth

In October, Ripple announced its initial partners for the upcoming US dollar-pegged stablecoin launch, including Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA, and Bullish. Market makers B2C2 and Keyrock will provide liquidity support once RLUSD goes live. 

The move comes as the stablecoin market continues to grow. On December 8, it reached a record supply of $193.6 billion, with Tether’s USDT accounting for almost $141 billion of the total supply.

Despite the market’s heavy competition, Ripple enters the scene amidst challenges others face, such as PayPal’s PYUSD, which saw its market cap decline by around 50% since late August. Conversely, Ethena’s stablecoin, USDe, has gained traction, reaching a market size of over $5.6 billion thanks to its incentive programs.

Meanwhile, PYUSD briefly surpassed $1 billion in market cap when its incentive program was active on Solana, but its value has since shrunk.