Ripple Prepares for RLUSD Stablecoin Rollout with Key Partnerships Announced at Swell 2024

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Ripple has announced its exchange and market maker partners for the forthcoming launch of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, during the Ripple Swell 2024 conference in Miami. In addition, the firm has appointed former FDIC chair Sheila Bair and David Puth, ex-CEO of Centre, to its advisory board. Ripple’s latest venture into the stablecoin market underscores its ambition to become a significant player in this rapidly expanding sector.

Ripple has partnered with several exchanges, including Bitstamp, Bitso, Bullish, CoinMENA, Independent Reserve, MoonPay, and Uphold, to facilitate the distribution of RLUSD. Crypto trading firms Keyrock and B2C2 will serve as market makers for the token. The public rollout of RLUSD is currently pending regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services, but Ripple Labs President Monica Long has expressed confidence in the company’s readiness, stating that they are operationally prepared.

Ripple’s plans for RLUSD were revealed earlier this year as the firm seeks to capture a portion of the $170 billion stablecoin market, which is crucial infrastructure within the digital asset economy. Stablecoins serve as a bridge between traditional fiat currencies and blockchain-based digital assets, gaining popularity for cross-border transactions and payments in emerging markets. Ripple aims to utilise RLUSD to build upon its established payment systems and act as a critical link in the tokenization of real-world assets, including securities, bonds, and real estate. Long emphasised the importance of having a stablecoin that is trusted, robust, and well-managed for enabling on and off-ramps in this process.

RLUSD’s value will be backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries, dollar deposits, and cash equivalents. The stablecoin is currently in its testing phase on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum networks, with monthly attestations of its reserves being independently prepared by the accounting firm BPM. Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, hinted at the possibility of RLUSD being launched in the coming weeks, as he mentioned during Korea Blockchain Week.

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