Ripple has officially launched its stablecoin, RLUSD, pegged to the U.S. dollar, aiming to disrupt a market currently dominated by Tether and USD Coin (USDC), which together account for nearly 90% of the market capitalization. This development marks a significant milestone for Ripple, coming more than a year after its landmark legal victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The introduction of RLUSD presents a challenge for Ripple, as it enters a highly concentrated market where established players hold substantial influence. According to data from CoinGecko, the dominance of Tether and USDC poses an uphill battle for any new entrants.
Ripple has announced that RLUSD will be accessible globally on several platforms, including Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA, and Bullish. Stablecoins like RLUSD are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value by being backed by traditional currencies, such as the U.S. dollar or euro. This stability makes them more suitable for payments and for converting cryptocurrency into fiat, insulating them from the price volatility often seen with assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Each RLUSD token is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government bonds, and cash equivalents, according to Ripple. To lend further credibility to the venture, Ripple has appointed Sheila Bair, the former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to the advisory board of RLUSD. Bair has a distinguished background, having previously chaired the board at government-backed mortgage finance company Fannie Mae and served as the assistant secretary for financial institutions at the U.S. Treasury Department.
The advisory board for RLUSD also includes Ripple co-founder and executive chair Chris Larsen, as well as David Puth, the former CEO of CENTRE Consortium. CENTRE was previously responsible for overseeing USDC, a joint venture between crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and stablecoin issuer Circle, which dissolved last year, with Circle taking full control of USDC’s issuance and governance.
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