Ripple, a blockchain company specializing in payment solutions and closely associated with the XRP Ledger (XRP), is set to expand its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD ($0.9997), onto Ethereum layer-2 (L2) networks such as Optimism, Coinbase’s Base, Kraken’s Ink, and Uniswap’s Unichain. This initiative aims to deepen the integration of the $1.3 billion token within a multichain ecosystem.
The announcement made on Monday indicates that Ripple is initiating a testing phase before launching more broadly next year, contingent upon receiving regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
This pilot program utilizes Wormhole’s Native Token Transfers (NTT) standard, enabling RLUSD to transfer natively across different blockchains without requiring wrapping or synthetic assets. This approach enhances liquidity and regulatory compliance while facilitating various decentralized finance (DeFi) applications across networks designed for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Stablecoins are increasingly recognized as essential components of digital finance infrastructure that bridges traditional financial systems with the cryptocurrency market. Valued at approximately $300 billion, these cryptocurrencies maintain their prices relative to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar.
Initially launched on Ethereum and XRP Ledger platforms, RLUSD operates under a Trust Charter from NYDFS. Recently, Ripple received preliminary approval for a federal trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), positioning RLUSD as potentially the first stablecoin subject to both state and federal regulations.
“Stablecoins serve as an entry point into DeFi and facilitate institutional adoption,” stated Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoin at Ripple. “By introducing RLUSD — which is poised to be the first U.S.-regulated Trust stablecoin on these L2 networks — we are not only enhancing its utility but also establishing a benchmark where compliance meets on-chain efficiency.”
The rollout will also feature a wrapped version of XRP known as wXRP; this will simplify transactions for users wishing to utilize XRP alongside RLUSD for swaps, lending activities, and payments across supported chains. For instance, retail crypto users may soon have the ability to convert wXRP into RLUSD seamlessly within DeFi applications operating on Optimism or Base without needing to switch chains.