Ripple, the blockchain service provider closely associated with the XRP Ledger, announced on Friday that it has started testing its new stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), on both the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet and the XRP Ledger.
“Ripple USD is currently in its beta phase and is being rigorously tested by our enterprise partners. This phase is crucial for ensuring that the stablecoin meets the highest standards of security, efficiency, and reliability before it becomes widely available and after receipt of regulatory approval.”
– the company stated in a blog post.
The announcement follows Ripple’s April revelation of its plans to enter the expanding stablecoin market with a U.S. dollar-pegged token. The stablecoin market, valued at $160 billion, is a fundamental part of the crypto economy, facilitating trading and payments across blockchains. This market is currently led by the two largest stablecoins, Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. A report from broker Bernstein predicts that the stablecoin market could grow to $2.8 trillion by 2028.
Ripple USD (RLUSD) will be backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries, dollar deposits, and cash equivalents. The reserves supporting RLUSD will be audited by a third-party accounting firm, with Ripple planning to provide monthly attestations, according to the blog post.
Ripple also mentioned that it intends to offer both RLUSD and XRP as options for global payment services to its clients. However, the stablecoin is not yet tradeable as it has not received the necessary regulatory approval.
