Ripple’s USD stablecoin, RLUSD, officially launches today, Dec. 17, marking a major entry for the company into what may become a $2.8 trillion market in the near future. Monica Long, President of Ripple, described the launch as a milestone for both Ripple and XRP Ledger, as the stablecoin is set to play a key role in Ripple’s payments ecosystem.

RLUSD builds on Ripple's experience in the payments industry, where the company handles over $70 billion in flows annually, said Long. She noted that RLUSD is credible, useful and compliant, and it is focused on meeting the growing demand for stable digital assets. 

This launch, backed by regulatory approval and an experienced advisory board, shows that Ripple is committed to delivering a stable and trusted product from day one, which is the most important part in such an environment as the stablecoin market.

Ripple has made it clear that each RLUSD token is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government bonds and cash equivalents. This backing is designed to ensure reliability, stability and liquidity. To make things even more transparent, Ripple will provide monthly attestations of the stablecoin's reserves through independent third-party audits.

RLUSD will be available on a bunch of different platforms when it launches, including Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay, Archax and CoinMENA. We will be adding more listings in the coming weeks on platforms like Bullish, Bitstamp, Mercado Bitcoin, Independent Reserve and Zero Hash, which will give users even more access.

Ripple USD is licensed by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which means it has to meet some pretty strict standards. The stablecoin is part of Ripple's plan to grow its range of products and become a bigger player in the financial tech space.

Financial analyst, trader and crypto enthusiast.

Gamza graduated with a degree in finance and credit with a specialization in securities and financial derivatives. He then also completed a master's program in banking and asset management.

He wants to have a hand in covering economic and fintech topics, as well as educate more people about cryptocurrencies and blockchain.