At the Miami Ripple Swell 2024 conference, Ripple revealed new exchange partners and market makers for RLUSD, its impending dollar-pegged stablecoin.
Former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair and former CENTRE Consortium CEO David Puth are appointed to the RLUSD advisory board. Ripple’s president said the stablecoin was “operationally ready” and are waiting for regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Exchanges and Market Makers Help Ripple Launch RLUSD
some of Ripple’s multiple partners to support RLUSD distribution include Bitstamp, Bitso, Bullish, CoinMENA, MoonPay, Uphold, and Independent Reserve.
However, the firm also partnered with B2C2 and Keyrock as market makers to facilitate the creation of liquidity and adoption across global markets.
These partnerships aim to offer RLUSD to institutions and users worldwide on trusted exchanges.
Initially, the stablecoin will be launched on the XRP Ledger and the Ethereum network to facilitate real-time transactions and convert between fiat and digital currencies.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO, said the company seeks to make RLUSD a gold-standard stablecoin for enterprise use cases. Garlinghouse added that customers need stablecoins to settle cross-border payments, asset tokenization, and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Ripple’s move to stablecoin reflects a broader strategy to link traditional financial markets with blockchain technology. However, the firm’s payment network already covers more than 90 markets, having processed more than 37 million transactions totalling $70 billion to date.
In another news development, Garlinghouse stated that Ripple has already bought Standard Custody, which proves its compliance.
RLUSD Designed for Payments, On-Ramps, and Asset Tokenization
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin will focus on cross-border payments, crypto-to-fiat and vice versa on ramps, and tokenizing real-world assets.
With RLUSD, Ripple’s existing cross-border payment solutions, including XRP, will be further optimized for speed and cost. This integration will provide liquidity and allow institutions to effortlessly transact globally.
RLUSD will link traditional and digital finance and offer a secure gateway to trade in and out of crypto markets without worries about price volatility. Moreover, it attempts to foster faster acceptance of digital money by providing an efficient on-ramp to the blockchain ecosystem.
The advisory board members of Ripple emphasized the need for compliance and stability in the aborning digital economy. “Stablecoins will play a key role in modernizing financial infrastructure,” said Sheila Bair. As the digital assets industry grows, responsible innovation will be paramount to their adoption, prioritizing both consumer protection and financial stability.” She added
Regulatory Compliance and Market Positioning
Based in New York, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is issued under a New York Trust Company Charter and fully complies with rigorous regulatory processes. According to Monica Long, Ripple’s president, the public launch of RLUSD will follow regulatory approval from NYDFS. “We are operationally ready,” Long said, hinting that the rollout could come in the coming weeks.
Dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents will back the RLUSD. Ripple will provide transparency to investors and users by releasing independent third-party attestations of RLUSD’s reserves each month.
Furthermore, accounting firm BPM will conduct these audits to ensure that RLUSD is entirely backed up by collateral.
