Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin Gets Approved by NY Regulators

Digital payment network Ripple’s long-awaited RLUSD stablecoin has finally been approved by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) after months of review.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the launch of RLUSD in a post on X on Dec. 10, stating that exchange and partner listings for the stablecoin would be available soon.

Following the announcement, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, XRP, surged roughly 10% in the past 24 hours and is currently trading at $2.40, according to CoinGecko data. This latest rally brings XRP’s year-to-date (YTD) gains to 283%.

The stablecoin’s approval marks Ripple's official entry into the regulated U.S. market, and it is one of the first stablecoins to gain formal recognition under U.S. regulations. This not only strengthens Ripple’s blockchain ecosystem but also signals a broader trend toward the increasing legitimacy of digital assets in the financial sector.

Stablecoins are a category of cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a consistent value by being pegged to a stable asset, such as a fiat currency or gold. RLUSD is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term government bonds, and cash equivalents. Linkage to the U.S. dollar helps to minimize volatility, making stablecoins ideal for payments.

RLUSD will initially operate on the Ethereum network and Ripple's XRP Ledger. Ripple also plans to list RLUSD on several exchanges, including Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA, and Bullish, according to an Oct. 15 statement.

A Long Road

Prior to launching, the stablecoin had been in beta testing on Ripple’s decentralized blockchain platform, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and the Ethereum mainnet since August.

At the time, Ripple called it a “significant milestone and a step closer to bringing more high-quality assets to the XRP Ledger, driving new opportunities, liquidity, and institutional use cases for users, developers, and applications.”