What Is RLUSD? Ripple USD Stablecoin Explained

RLUSD (Ripple USD) is a US dollar stablecoin issued by Ripple through its subsidiary Standard Custody & Trust Company, a limited purpose trust company chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). It launched on 17 December 2024 on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, is backed by dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries and cash equivalents, and is aimed mainly at institutions. As of 8 October 2026 Ripple reported $2,460.7 million of RLUSD in circulation, making it one of the ten largest dollar stablecoins.

This guide explains who issues RLUSD, what backs it, how big it has grown, which chains it runs on, how institutions use it, where it stands with US and international regulators, and the risks to understand.

What is RLUSD?

RLUSD is a fiat-backed stablecoin: each token is meant to be backed by at least one dollar of reserves and redeemable for one US dollar. Ripple announced on 16 December 2024 that RLUSD would be available on global exchanges from the next day, starting with Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay, Archax and CoinMENA.

RLUSD is not XRP. As Ripple's RLUSD FAQ puts it, XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger with a market-set price, while RLUSD is a dollar-backed stablecoin meant to hold $1. Ripple positions RLUSD for payments, settlement, treasury and collateral use by businesses, more than for retail trading.

Who issues RLUSD: Standard Custody and the NYDFS charter

Ripple announced on 13 February 2024 that it had agreed to acquire Standard Custody & Trust Company, bringing a NYDFS limited purpose trust charter and money transmitter licenses into the group. According to Ripple's transparency page, Standard Custody & Trust Company, LLC is the issuer of RLUSD and is chartered and supervised by NYDFS as a limited purpose trust company, which requires RLUSD to be fully backed by highly liquid, short-term reserves.

Ripple is also seeking federal oversight. On 12 December 2025 the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved a de novo national trust bank charter for Ripple National Trust Bank. In its announcement, Ripple said a national trust bank managing RLUSD reserves would put the stablecoin under both state (NYDFS) and federal (OCC) oversight. Conditional approval is not final approval: the bank must meet the OCC's conditions before it can open.

RLUSD reserves and attestations

Under Ripple's RLUSD user terms, the issuer keeps a reserve worth at least the number of RLUSD outstanding, measured at 5 pm New York time on each business day, in segregated accounts. Eligible reserve assets are:

US Treasury bills with three months or less to maturity;
overnight reverse repurchase agreements fully collateralized by Treasuries;
US government money market funds; and
deposit accounts.

In July 2025 Ripple selected BNY as the primary custodian of RLUSD reserves. Ripple publishes monthly attestation reports by an independent US-licensed CPA firm under AICPA standards, no more than 30 days after month end. On 8 October 2026 its transparency page showed $2,460.7 million of RLUSD in circulation against $2,602.9 million of reserve funds, about 106% coverage.

Two details in the terms are worth knowing. RLUSD gives holders no direct property interest in the reserve, and Ripple may withdraw net returns earned on reserve assets beyond what is needed to keep the reserve at the required level. In other words, the interest on the reserves goes to Ripple, not to holders.

How big is RLUSD and which chains is it on?

RLUSD has grown steadily. Per DefiLlama's RLUSD data, circulating supply was about $58 million on 1 January 2025, $0.8 billion on 1 October 2025, $1.3 billion on 1 January 2026 and $2.4 billion on 1 October 2026, reaching a high of about $2.5 billion on 8 October 2026. On 9 October 2026 DefiLlama showed about $2.4 billion, ninth among the dollar-pegged tokens it tracks, and CoinGecko showed a market cap of about $2.44 billion.

RLUSD was issued first on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. By DefiLlama's count on 9 October 2026, about $1.3 billion sat on Ethereum and about $1.1 billion on the XRP Ledger. Ripple's FAQ now lists seven networks: XRP Ledger, Ethereum, Base, Optimism, Ink, Unichain and the XRPL EVM Sidechain, "as available". The layer-2 deployments use Wormhole's Native Token Transfers standard; Ripple began testing them in December 2025 and said launches on new chains are subject to testing and NYDFS approval.

How institutions use RLUSD

Cross-border payments. Ripple integrated RLUSD into Ripple Payments on 2 April 2025, its enterprise payments product.
Tokenized funds. On 23 September 2025 Ripple and Securitize announced a smart contract that lets holders of BlackRock's BUIDL and VanEck's VBILL tokenized Treasury funds exchange their shares for RLUSD, 24/7.
Collateral. Ripple said in December 2025 that RLUSD is used as collateral by prime brokers including its own Ripple Prime.
Exchanges and partners. Ripple's availability page listed 59 exchanges, payment firms, market makers, DeFi apps, infrastructure providers, banks and fintechs on 9 October 2026.

Our guides to stablecoin payments and tokenized deposits vs stablecoins put these uses in context.

International approvals

Outside the US, RLUSD has been approved for use in several financial centers:

Dubai. On 3 June 2025 the Dubai Financial Services Authority approved RLUSD as a recognised crypto token for use in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Abu Dhabi. On 27 November 2025 Abu Dhabi's Financial Services Regulatory Authority recognized RLUSD as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token for use in ADGM.
Japan. On 24 June 2026 Ripple and SBI Group launched RLUSD in Japan through SBI VC Trade, following approval from Japan's Financial Services Agency, for institutional and retail users.

For stablecoins authorised in the EU, see our guide to MiCA-compliant stablecoins.

RLUSD and the GENIUS Act

The GENIUS Act, signed on 18 July 2025, sets federal rules for US payment stablecoins, including at least 1:1 reserves in cash, deposits, short-dated Treasuries and similar assets, and a ban on issuers paying holders interest or yield solely for holding the coin. RLUSD's terms already say it "is not designed to increase in value, generate returns, or otherwise create profit or gain" for users. On 10 April 2026 FinCEN and OFAC proposed AML and sanctions program rules for permitted payment stablecoin issuers; they were still proposals when checked on 9 October 2026. Our GENIUS Act guide covers the timeline.

How to get RLUSD and the risks

Only approved Ripple customers who sign the RLUSD Customer Agreement can buy RLUSD from, or redeem it with, Ripple directly. Everyone else uses exchanges and partners from the availability list, all of which run identity checks; see what is KYC in crypto. The main risks to weigh:

Market price. Ripple's terms say it does not guarantee RLUSD will equal $1 on third-party platforms. A depeg can happen on thin markets even with full reserves; our guide to stablecoin depegs explains how.
Freezes. The terms allow Ripple to freeze RLUSD by blacklisting an address, with or without notice, where required by law or its compliance policies, and to burn tokens in certain cases.
Redemption access. Retail holders rely on exchanges and partners for exit, not on direct redemption.
Network and bridge risk. Holding RLUSD on an L2 adds reliance on that chain and the cross-chain messaging layer.
Regulatory transition. The national trust bank charter is conditional, and GENIUS Act rules are still being written.

Where JewelSwap fits: JewelSwap does not issue RLUSD. If you are comparing dollar stablecoins, our overview of stablecoin issuers in 2026 is a good next step.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues RLUSD?

RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, LLC, a Ripple subsidiary chartered and supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services as a limited purpose trust company.

Is RLUSD the same as XRP?

No. XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger and its price is set by the market. RLUSD is a dollar-backed stablecoin designed to stay at $1.

What backs RLUSD?

Under Ripple's terms, RLUSD is backed by a segregated reserve of short-term US Treasury bills, overnight reverse repos collateralized by Treasuries, US government money market funds and deposits. BNY is the primary reserve custodian, and monthly attestations are published.

What is the RLUSD market cap?

Ripple reported $2,460.7 million of RLUSD in circulation and $2,602.9 million of reserves on 8 October 2026. DefiLlama and CoinGecko showed about $2.4 billion on 9 October 2026.

Which blockchains is RLUSD on?

RLUSD launched on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. Ripple now lists seven networks: XRP Ledger, Ethereum, Base, Optimism, Ink, Unichain and the XRPL EVM Sidechain, as available.

Does RLUSD pay interest?

No. Ripple's terms say RLUSD is not designed to generate returns for holders, and Ripple may keep the net returns earned on reserve assets. The GENIUS Act also bars payment stablecoin issuers from paying holders interest or yield.

Keep reading

This article is educational and isn't financial advice. Circulation and reserve figures are from Ripple's transparency page as of 8 October 2026; supply history and chain split are from DefiLlama and market cap from CoinGecko as of 9 October 2026, and change daily. Issuer, reserve, approval and partnership details are from Ripple, the OCC, the Federal Register and the GENIUS Act text, checked on 9 October 2026.

Viktor Vostrikov

Co-Founder

About the author.

Co-Founder at JewelSwap & Chief Strategy Officer at iDenfy. Viktor brings his successful track record of superb development & project management.