Ripple’s RLUSD scheduled for Dec. 17 launch

Ripple’s US dollar stablecoin will be available on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain starting Tuesday, December 17.

Digital payment giant Ripple (XRP) announced December 17 as the launch date of the US dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD in the Americas, UK, Middle East and Asia-Pacific markets.

The launch of RLUSD follows final regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services last week. The green light from NYDFS has taken the stablecoin from the testing phase to wide availability on various platforms such as Uphold, MoonPay, Bitso, Bullish, Mercado and CoinMENA.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the XRP company deliberately launched the RLUSD stablecoin “under the NYDFS limited purpose trust company agreement,” which is considered the regulatory gold standard globally.

As the US moves towards clearer regulations, we expect greater adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD that offer real utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry.

Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO

Stablecoins serve as an important liquidity and transaction bridge between digital asset markets and traditional finance. They provide a stable priced blockchain asset used for payment in both web3 native and real world contexts.

Driven by the worldwide shift towards regulatory clarity and policy standardization for the industry, institutions are turning to stablecoins for cheaper cross-border transactions. US policymakers in the federal Senate and Wyoming State Assembly are mulling stablecoin frameworks.

While US stablecoin rules may benefit RLUSD, the tokens will not be available for days, or even months, in their early days. The startup has not yet received the necessary licenses and approvals required by the EU’s MiCA.

Its launch in the US could pit the XRP operator against stablecoin giants in the $200 billion industry. Tether leads the industry with a market cap of $140 billion (USDT) and is issued by Circle (USDC), boasting the existing presence of US platforms such as Coinbase.

Ripple CTO DVID Schwartz warned investors about RLUSD’s demand-driven price fluctuations. Schwartz said there may be a supply shortage in the days following the launch.

“Please don’t FOMO on a stablecoin. “This is not an opportunity to get rich,” Schwartz warned speculators willing to spend $1,200 for a portion of RLUSD supply in the hope of making a profit.

The company also named two new stablecoin advisory board members in former Federal Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan and former COO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Kenneth Montgomery. Rajan and Montgomery join the likes of Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and former FDIC chief Sheila Bair.