Ripple USD (RLUSD)

What Ripple USD is

Ripple USD (RLUSD) is a US dollar stablecoin issued by Ripple through "a limited purpose trust chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services" (source: Ripple stablecoin page, September 2026). Each token is backed one-to-one by cash deposits, US Treasuries and cash equivalents held in segregated accounts, and holders can exchange tokens for dollars at par. It is issued natively on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum.

RLUSD is a separate asset from XRP. XRP is the XRP Ledger's native asset with a fixed supply; RLUSD is a dollar liability issued by a Ripple entity. Confusing the two is the most common mistake people make with this token.

How it works

The mechanics are the standard fiat-backed stablecoin design. Approved counterparties deposit dollars with the issuer, the issuer mints RLUSD, and redemption reverses the process, burning tokens and returning dollars. Ripple states that redemption at par persists "as long as outstanding tokens are in circulation," even if it stopped issuing new ones.

Reserves are held in segregated accounts rather than commingled with operating funds. As of July 2025, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation serves as primary custodian of the reserves (source: Ripple, July 2025). Custody by a large regulated bank is a meaningfully different arrangement from reserves held at a crypto-native institution, and it is one of the details Ripple emphasises.

Verification comes through monthly third-party attestations of the reserve assets, which Ripple publishes. Attestations confirm what the reserves held at a point in time; they are not a continuous proof of reserves feed and they are not a full audit.

The dual-chain issuance matters more than it sounds. On the XRP Ledger, RLUSD is a native issued asset that settles in a few seconds and integrates with the ledger's built-in dex and payment paths. On Ethereum it is a standard fungible token usable in defi applications and by any wallet that already handles ERC-20 assets. Ripple has said additional networks may follow. The same caution applies as with any multi-chain token: a balance on one chain is not automatically spendable on another, and moving between them depends on whatever bridge or issuer process is available.

Regulatory approvals cover more than one jurisdiction. Alongside the New York State Department of Financial Services, RLUSD has approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, which allows it to be used within the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Supply and tokenomics

RLUSD has no cap and no schedule. Supply is demand-driven: it grows when institutions mint against dollar deposits and shrinks when they redeem. There is no staking, no burn tied to network activity, and no governance token.

Holders do not earn the reserve yield. Interest on the Treasuries and deposits backing RLUSD accrues to the issuer. This is the norm for payment stablecoins and is what distinguishes them from tokenized money-market products such as Ondo US Dollar Yield, which pass yield through but restrict who may hold the token.

Because RLUSD exists on more than one chain, published circulating supply is the aggregate. Ripple's attestations cover total reserves against total tokens outstanding across chains rather than per chain.

History

Ripple announced its intention to issue a dollar stablecoin in 2024 and brought RLUSD to market under a New York trust charter, positioning it as an enterprise settlement asset rather than a retail product. Ripple's own published launch date is not stated on the pages reviewed for this entry, so this page does not assert one.

The strategic logic is visible in the product design. Ripple's cross-border payments business needs a stable settlement instrument, and a bank-custodied, NYDFS-supervised token issued natively on the XRP Ledger gives its institutional customers something they can hold on a balance sheet. The Dubai Financial Services Authority approval extended that reach into the Middle East, and the appointment of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation as primary custodian in 2025 was aimed at the same audience.

Risks and what to watch

Issuer risk comes first. RLUSD is a claim on a Ripple trust entity, not a bank deposit, and it is not covered by deposit insurance. The protections are the trust charter, segregated reserve accounts and a bank custodian. Those are real, but they are legal arrangements that must hold up under stress rather than automatic guarantees.

Second, control. A regulated stablecoin issuer can freeze or seize tokens under legal process. Anyone treating RLUSD as censorship-resistant money is misreading the product.

Third, regulatory dependence. RLUSD's value proposition rests on specific approvals from specific regulators. Rules on reserve composition, permitted issuers and disclosure continue to change in the United States and elsewhere. Re-check the supervisory position rather than assuming the description here still holds.

Fourth, the usual stablecoin market mechanics. Price on any given venue reflects that venue's liquidity and spread, not the redemption value at the issuer. Small deviations, especially on thinner exchanges, say more about the order book than about the reserves.

Finally, watch concentration of use. A stablecoin closely tied to one company's payment corridors has its adoption tied to that company's commercial success, which is a different risk profile from a stablecoin used broadly across defi.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ripple USD the same as XRP?

No. XRP is the XRP Ledger's native asset with a fixed supply and a floating price. Ripple USD is a dollar-denominated stablecoin issued by a Ripple trust entity and backed by reserves. They are different assets with different risks.

What backs RLUSD?

Cash deposits, US Treasuries and cash equivalents, held one-to-one against outstanding tokens in segregated accounts, with The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation as primary custodian as of July 2025 (source: Ripple).

Which blockchains is RLUSD issued on?

The XRP Ledger and Ethereum, natively on both. Ripple has indicated further networks are possible.

Who regulates Ripple USD?

It is issued through a limited purpose trust chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services, and it also holds approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (source: Ripple, September 2026).

Where can I buy Ripple USD?

RLUSD is listed on a range of centralized venues and trades on the XRP Ledger's native exchange. See where to buy Ripple USD for availability where you live, and Exchanges for how those venues compare.