Ripple USD (RLUSD)

Overview

Ripple USD (RLUSD) is a digital token designed to represent one U.S. dollar. It is a stablecoin: an asset whose issuer holds reserves to support a steady value. Ripple developed RLUSD for moving dollars through blockchain networks, especially in business payments and financial markets. It is issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a Ripple subsidiary supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). (ripple.com)

RLUSD brings a familiar unit of money to systems that can transfer tokens around the clock. A business can receive a dollar-denominated token, hold it in a compatible wallet, and send it onward without changing the payment into another cryptocurrency. Ripple presents it as a tool for payments, trading, treasury work, and settlement of tokenized assets. (ripple.com)

History & Team

From payments to a digital dollar

Ripple announced plans for a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin in April 2024. RLUSD became available on its first exchange and payment platforms on December 17, 2024, initially on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. The launch extended Ripple’s work in cross-border payments by adding a token with a dollar-based value. (ripple.com)

Standard Custody & Trust Company handles issuance under its New York limited-purpose trust charter. Ripple’s wider team builds the payment, custody, and trading connections around the token. In 2025, Ripple selected BNY to serve as a primary custodian of RLUSD reserves. Ripple also formed an advisory board that includes former financial regulators and central-bank officials. These roles reflect the project’s focus on institutional use. (ripple.com)

Technology & How It Works

One token across several networks

RLUSD uses existing blockchains rather than its own chain. On the XRP Ledger, it is an issued token: a token created by an issuer and held through the ledger’s built-in asset system. A wallet must establish a trust line to the RLUSD issuer before it can receive the token on that network. On Ethereum and other compatible networks, RLUSD uses the ERC-20 token format. (docs.ripple.com)

Ripple lists support for seven networks: the XRP Ledger, Ethereum, Base, Optimism, Ink, Unichain, and the XRPL EVM sidechain. This gives applications on different chains a way to use the same dollar-denominated asset. The network still matters in practice: an RLUSD balance on one chain must be handled through a service that supports that chain when it is moved elsewhere. (docs.ripple.com)

Issuance and redemption

New RLUSD enters circulation when an approved institutional customer sends U.S. dollars through Ripple’s issuance process. After the funds arrive and checks are complete, RLUSD is minted and delivered to the customer’s wallet. For redemption, an approved customer sends tokens to Ripple’s redemption wallet; the corresponding tokens are removed from circulation as dollars are returned under the customer agreement. Ripple Mint provides institutions with a dashboard and tools for managing these steps. (docs.ripple.com)

Blockchain records show token movements, while the reserve assets sit with financial institutions off-chain. Both parts are needed to understand the system: the ledger handles transfers, and the reserve supports the token’s link to the dollar. (docs.ripple.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

RLUSD’s supply changes with demand through minting and redemption. Its economic model aims to keep at least one dollar of reserve assets for each token outstanding. Permitted reserves include bank deposits, short-term U.S. Treasury bills, government money market funds, and certain overnight transactions backed by U.S. Treasuries. The reserves are held in accounts separate from the issuer’s other assets. (ripple.com)

Ripple publishes monthly reports in which an independent accounting firm checks statements about outstanding RLUSD and its reserve assets. The token itself is designed for payment and settlement, rather than to pay a return to holders. Ripple’s user terms allow the issuer to receive net returns earned on reserve assets, while maintaining the required backing. (ripple.com)

This design differs from XRP, the native asset used by the XRP Ledger. XRP pays network fees and can serve as a bridge between currencies. RLUSD provides a dollar-denominated amount for transactions in which the sender and recipient want to work in U.S. dollars. The two assets can therefore serve different purposes within the same ecosystem. (ripple.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Payments, markets, and business accounts

A payment provider can use RLUSD to move dollar value between platforms or across borders. Businesses can also use it to manage funds held for upcoming payments, often called treasury operations. Ripple has integrated RLUSD into Ripple Payments in certain jurisdictions. In 2026, it also introduced treasury tools that let businesses view and manage RLUSD alongside cash and other digital assets. (ripple.com)

The token has uses in digital-asset markets as well. Exchanges can offer it as a dollar-based asset, while applications can use it in transactions involving tokenized funds or other assets represented on a blockchain. Ripple and Chainlink introduced an RLUSD price feed on Ethereum to help applications use token price data. Ripple has also announced work with DBS and Franklin Templeton on trading and lending services involving RLUSD and tokenized money market funds. (ripple.com)

These examples show why the token was built for more than transfers between individual wallets. Its usefulness also depends on exchanges, payment companies, custodians, and financial applications being able to receive and use it. (ripple.com)

Advantages & Challenges

RLUSD combines dollar-based accounting with blockchain transfers. Its defined reserve approach, monthly attestations, and New York-supervised issuer give businesses information they can use when assessing the token for their operations. Support across several networks also lets developers build with RLUSD in different blockchain environments. (ripple.com)

The design has practical demands. Each supported chain has its own wallet setup and transaction fees; the XRP Ledger also requires a trust line to receive RLUSD. Direct minting and redemption are built around approved institutional customers, so many other users obtain or exchange the token through platforms. The issuer maintains compliance controls over issuance and token use. These features shape how RLUSD fits into a payment or application workflow. (docs.ripple.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

Ripple USD can be purchased on Kraken and is available through platforms including Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, and MoonPay. In Japan, SBI VC Trade offers RLUSD through its VCTRADE platform. Platform access and supported deposit networks vary by location and service. Institutions approved for direct access can obtain newly issued RLUSD through Ripple Mint. (kraken.com)

Wallet choices depend on the blockchain holding the tokens. Ripple’s wallet documentation lists Xaman and Girin Wallet for XRP Ledger RLUSD, MetaMask for Ethereum RLUSD, and Ledger and Trust Wallet for both networks. It also lists business custody options such as Ripple Custody, BitGo, and Fireblocks. The wallet and the receiving platform must support the particular RLUSD network being used. (docs.ripple.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Standard Custody’s New York trust charter places RLUSD issuance under NYDFS supervision. New York’s guidance for supervised dollar-backed stablecoins covers reserve backing, separation of reserve assets, redemption, and independent review. Ripple states that direct institutional customers undergo identity, anti-money-laundering, and sanctions checks. (ripple.com)

RLUSD has also gained standing in specific markets outside the United States. The Dubai Financial Services Authority recognized it for use within the Dubai International Financial Centre in June 2025. Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator recognized it for use within the ADGM later that year. In June 2026, Ripple and SBI Group announced its launch in Japan through SBI VC Trade under Japan’s electronic-payment-instrument framework. These are jurisdiction-specific arrangements; local rules and provider permissions determine how the token is offered. (dfsa.ae)

Shariah compliance calls for a separate assessment of the token and the financial arrangements behind it. RLUSD’s permitted reserves include Treasury bills and government money market funds, and its terms address returns earned on reserve assets. These details are relevant to Islamic finance review because of rules concerning interest. A token-specific Shariah certification for RLUSD has not been publicly established. (docs.ripple.com)

Future Outlook

Ripple is building RLUSD into a broader set of payment, custody, and treasury services. Its multichain approach gives developers more places to use the token, while partnerships in Japan and institutional markets show ways it can reach financial users. Announced work on tokenized-asset settlement points to a further role: using RLUSD as the dollar side of an exchange carried out on a blockchain. (ripple.com)

The longer-term picture will be shaped by how smoothly institutions can connect issuance, wallets, payments, and redemption. For a stablecoin built around business use, those connections are as important as the token format itself. (docs.ripple.com)

Summary

Ripple USD is a reserve-backed digital dollar issued under New York supervision and used across several blockchains. Its main purpose is to move dollar-denominated value through payments, trading, treasury systems, and tokenized-asset markets. RLUSD’s place in the crypto ecosystem comes from that combination of a familiar unit of money, on-chain transfers, and institutional financial infrastructure. (ripple.com)