Ripple Labs is broadening the reach of its US dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD to Ethereum layer-2 blockchains as part of a pilot program, pending regulatory approval for a comprehensive release next year.
Teaming up with Wormhole, a crosschain interoperability protocol that facilitates asset movement across different blockchains, the pilot aims to test RLUSD on Optimism, Base, Ink (an Ethereum layer 2 created by Kraken), and Unichain, as stated by Ripple on Monday.
Initially launched on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, Ripple noted that this new expansion is “vital for a scalable, efficient, and interoperable future.”
“The future of crypto is undeniably multichain, and to truly serve both institutional finance and the growing onchain economy, stablecoins must exist wherever demand and utility are.”
“As chains continue to be developed for real-world applications, the demand for a highly regulated stablecoin has never been stronger,” the Ripple team emphasized.
RLUSD will not use wrapped copies across blockchains
The Wormhole team shared in a post on X that its Native Token Transfers standard will enable RLUSD to traverse blockchains as the actual token rather than a synthetic or wrapped version, aiding in liquidity retention.
In various multichain scenarios, when a token transfers, it is locked on its native blockchain while a wrapped version is minted on another.
“With NTT, token issuers remove the complications of fragmented liquidity or wrapped assets, resulting in a single, canonical version of RLUSD existing natively on each blockchain, with Ripple controlling the contracts,” added the Wormhole team.
More chains to come next year
RLUSD will debut on additional chains next year, though the launch is contingent on final regulatory clearance, as per Ripple’s statement.
RLUSD operates under the state-level New York Department of Financial Services Trust Company Charter, while the company has also sought a federal trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for added federal oversight.
Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, remarked that stablecoins represent the “gateway to DeFi and institutional adoption.”
“By launching RLUSD—the first US Trust Regulated stablecoin on these L2 networks—we are not merely expanding utility; we are establishing the definitive benchmark where compliance and onchain efficiency meet.”
RLUSD market cap at $1.3 billion
Since its launch in December 2024, RLUSD has reached a market capitalization of $1.3 billion, as reported by crypto data aggregator CoinGecko.
Related: Ripple’s RLUSD enters top 10 USD stablecoins less than a year after its launch
In contrast, the leading stablecoin, Tether’s USDT, boasts a market cap of $186 billion, while Circle’s USDC has a $78 billion market cap, and Sky Protocol’s USDS ranks third with $9.8 billion.
RLUSD is gaining traction among retail users, especially through integrations with platforms like Transak and increasing adoption across self-custodial wallets such as Xaman.
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