Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin to Expand Listings
Ripple president Monica Long has confirmed that Ripple USD, its stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, is set to be listed on additional major crypto exchanges “imminently.” Speaking to Bloomberg on Jan. 7, Long said, “You can expect to see more availability, more announcements coming soon… imminently.”
Although Long did not mention the particular exchanges, RLUSD is currently listed in several exchanges including but not limited to Bitso, MoonPay, Mercado Bitcoin, and Bullish. Since its launch on Dec. 17, 2024, RLUSD has been doing relatively well and changes hands at a market capitalization of 71.8 million, according to CoinGecko.
Ripple’s Payments Business Drive RLUSD Demand
The increasing demand for RLUSD is supplied by Ripple’s fast-growing payments business that actually doubled in 2024. Long emphasized that RLUSD plays a key role in Ripple’s growth trajectory. “Our payments business doubled last year, and Ripple USD will have a premium role as we continue to scale,” she said.
The market for stablecoins also grew by 55% from the previous year to $206.2 billion, according to data aggregator DefiLlama. Ripple expects that trend to continue since the need for the digital asset class remains imperative for crypto transactions and an important seamless on-ramp and off-ramp solutions for all over the world.
XRP ETF Approval “Very Soon”
Long has long been optimistic that XRP will soon have its own spot exchange-traded fund, or ETF, after Bitcoin and Ethereum. “I think we will see one very soon […] XRP is likely to be next in line,” she said.
Several companies, including WisdomTree and Bitwise, have filed for XRP ETFs with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Long expects that regulatory green lights speed up with the new U.S. administration in 2025 and open more avenues for crypto investments.
Partnership with Chainlink Enhances RLUSD Utility
Ripple is also continuing to expand the utility for RLUSD thanks to a partnership with Chainlink announced on Jan. 7. The collaboration will integrate Chainlink’s tamper-proof price feeds on Ethereum and the XRP Ledger for accurately and reliably pricing RLUSD.
This move further fuels DeFi applications, reducing many risks, among which is that of price manipulation, hence increasing RLUSD’s role within the crypto atmosphere. By this, Ripple wants to increase RLUSD’s traction on centralized and decentralized chains.
Ripple has an aggressive expansion strategy, which indicates it is fully committing to increasing stablecoin adoption at a faster rate and crypto in 2025.
