Ripple Labs is broadening its US dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD to Ethereum layer-2 blockchains as part of a pilot while awaiting regulatory approval for a full launch next year.
In collaboration with Wormhole, a crosschain interoperability protocol facilitating asset transfers between various blockchains, the pilot will assess RLUSD on Optimism, Base, Ink, and Unichain, according to a statement from Ripple on Monday.
Initially, RLUSD was issued on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum; however, Ripple indicated that this latest expansion is “crucial 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 build for real-world use, the need for a highly regulated stablecoin is stronger than ever,” the Ripple team added.
RLUSD will avoid using wrapped copies across blockchains
The Wormhole team stated in a post on X on Monday that its Native Token Transfers standard will enable RLUSD to transition between blockchains as the authentic token, rather than a synthetic or wrapped version, thus supporting liquidity.
In certain multichain scenarios, when a token is transferred, it’s locked on its original blockchain while a wrapped version is created on another.
“With NTT, token issuers eliminate the necessity for fragmented liquidity or wrapped assets, enabling a singular, canonical version of RLUSD to exist natively on each blockchain with Ripple managing the contracts,” the Wormhole team added.
More chains are coming next year
RLUSD will debut on additional chains next year, although the launch is still subject to final regulatory approval, according to Ripple.
RLUSD is issued under the state-level New York Department of Financial Services Trust Company Charter, while the company has also applied for a federal trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, to incorporate federal oversight.
Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, mentioned that stablecoins are the “gateway to DeFi and institutional adoption.”
“By launching RLUSD—the first US Trust Regulated stablecoin on these L2 networks—we are not just expanding utility; we are establishing the definitive standard where compliance and onchain efficiency converge.”
RLUSD market capitalization sits at $1.3 billion
Launched in December 2024, RLUSD has a market capitalization of $1.3 billion, as per crypto data aggregator CoinGecko.
Related: Ripple’s RLUSD enters top 10 USD stablecoins less than a year after debut.
In comparison, the top stablecoin, Tether’s USDT, has a market cap of $186 billion, Circle’s USDC holds a $78 billion market cap, and Sky Protocol’s USDS is third with $9.8 billion.
RLUSD has gained popularity among retail users, particularly through integrations with platforms like Transak and increasing adoption across self-custodial wallets, like Xaman.
Related: HIVE tests investor appetite for AI-Bitcoin infrastructure in Andean markets.
