Crypto Gloss

Ripple USD (RLUSD)

Ripple USD (RLUSD) is a U.S. dollar-referenced stablecoin issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, LLC, a Ripple subsidiary. Ripple’s terms say its reserves must be worth at least one U.S. dollar for each token outstanding and that eligible Ripple customers may redeem RLUSD under a customer agreement; a market price near $1 is not guaranteed on every platform.

Market Data Snapshot

Stat Value
Ticker RLUSD
Price $1.00
Market Cap $2.396B
24h Change 0.00%
Circulating Supply 2.396 billion RLUSD
Total Supply 2.396 billion RLUSD
Maximum Supply No fixed maximum; supply can expand or contract

CoinGecko data reviewed on 2026-10-23. Market prices and supply estimates update over time. Ripple separately reported $2.4058 billion in circulating RLUSD and $2.5345 billion in reserve funds as of 2026-10-15; those figures are from a different source and date, so they are not a same-time comparison.

What RLUSD Is and How It Differs from XRP

RLUSD is designed to track the U.S. dollar using an issuer-held reserve and a redemption process. It is not the same asset as XRP: XRP is the freely traded native asset of the XRP Ledger, while RLUSD is a dollar-referenced token issued by a company. RLUSD does not represent shares in Ripple, does not pay holders a share of reserve income, and is not designed to produce investment returns.

The issuer is Standard Custody & Trust Company, LLC, a Ripple subsidiary chartered by the New York State Department of Financial Services as a limited purpose trust company. NYDFS lists RLUSD among stablecoins approved for issuance by regulated virtual-currency entities. This describes regulatory oversight; it does not make RLUSD U.S. legal tender or an insured bank deposit.

Issuance, Networks, and Transfers

RLUSD is currently issued on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum. Ripple’s current product information also lists Base, Optimism, Ink, Unichain, and the XRPL EVM Sidechain as supported networks, subject to availability. RLUSD on Ethereum uses the ERC-20 token standard; on XRPL it is an issued currency rather than XRP.

Network versions use different addresses, transfer rules, and fee assets. For example, the XRPL EVM supported-token registry records RLUSD there as a Wormhole Native Token Transfer (NTT) deployment using burn-and-mint, connected to Ethereum, Base, Optimism, and Unichain as of its August 2026 registry snapshot. A token with the RLUSD name on another network is not automatically an issuer-supported version. Before transferring, confirm the network and contract or issuer address with the official documentation and the receiving platform.

Tokenomics and Supply

RLUSD has no fixed maximum supply. Its circulating amount can grow when the issuer issues tokens against customer funds and shrink when tokens are redeemed and burned. Ripple’s user terms state that the reserve is maintained at a value at least equal to outstanding RLUSD, using specified liquid asset categories. Ripple says it publishes monthly independent CPA attestations; an attestation is a scoped check of management’s reserve and circulation assertions, not a guarantee that the token will always trade at exactly $1 or a full audit of the entire Ripple group.

CoinGecko’s 2026-10-23 estimate of 2.396 billion RLUSD differs from Ripple’s 2026-10-15 circulation disclosure of $2.4058 billion. The figures are close but should be read with their source dates and definitions. RLUSD is not mined, and its supply is not a fixed allocation like XRP’s maximum supply.

Redemption, Oversight, and Uses

Ripple describes RLUSD as a payment token for transfers, remittances, treasury activity, and settlement, and says it is integrated into Ripple Payments in some jurisdictions. The network and partner platforms determine where users can actually access or use it; a supported technical network does not mean every exchange or payment provider offers it.

Direct redemption with Ripple is subject to customer eligibility and the RLUSD Customer Agreement. Ripple’s published user terms say that users without a Ripple customer account cannot redeem directly with Ripple. A person holding RLUSD through an exchange or wallet therefore depends on that service’s access, liquidity, and withdrawal terms as well as the issuer’s reserve and redemption process.

Risks and Limitations

  • Price and redemption risk: RLUSD can trade above or below $1 on third-party markets. Redemption with Ripple is limited to eligible customers and can be affected by legal, operational, or access conditions.
  • Issuer and reserve risk: Holders depend on Standard Custody, its reserve assets and custodians, and the terms governing redemption. Monthly attestations provide information but do not remove counterparty or liquidity risk.
  • Administrative controls: Ripple’s terms allow it to blacklist an address and freeze or burn tokens in certain legal or compliance circumstances. That control can prevent a holder from transferring RLUSD and, under the terms, can result in a loss.
  • Network and platform risk: Sending RLUSD to the wrong network or address may be irreversible. Third-party bridges, smart contracts, exchanges, and wallets can add separate technical or custody risks.
  • Legal status: Ripple’s terms say RLUSD is not legal tender and is not covered by deposit-insurance schemes such as FDIC or SIPC protection.

Social Media Sentiment

Two discussions in r/XRP reviewed on 2026-10-23 debate whether growing use of RLUSD and other stablecoins complements XRP or reduces the need to hold XRP for payment activity. Replies take both positions: some describe XRP as a possible bridge asset alongside dollar tokens, while others question whether stablecoin settlement creates meaningful XRP demand. These are investor-community discussions, not evidence about RLUSD’s reserves, actual payment adoption, or broad public opinion; claims in the threads are not treated as verified facts: October discussion about stablecoins and XRP’s role in bank payments and Q2 discussion about stablecoin activity and XRP demand.

Last updated: 2026-10

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