Ripple secures NYDFS greenlight to launch RLUSD stablecoin

Bard Garlinghouse confirmed the regulator approval, stating the stablecoin will go live soon.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the firm has secured approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to launch its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin.

Garlinhouse made the announcement in a Dec. 11 social media post and added that the token will be live soon.

The NYDFS was initially slated to approve the stablecoin on Dec. 4, but “unexpected developments” delayed the launch. Ripple said it remains committed to launching the stablecoin under the regulator’s supervision.

Notably, New York requires crypto firms offering services to state residents to get a BitLicense or a limited-purpose trust company charter from the NYDFS. 

Heavy competition

The stablecoin market supply reached an all-time high of $193.6 billion on Dec. 8 and is at $192.8 billion as of press time. The market is heavily concentrated in the Tether USD (USDT), which boasts a size of nearly $141 billion.

As a result, competing in this market becomes challenging. One recent example was PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD, which saw its market cap shrink roughly 50% between late August and the time of publication.

On the other hand, Ethena’s stablecoin USDe has gained ground in the past few weeks, with a market size of over $5.6 billion, driven by incentive programs. Notably, this is larger than Sky’s (former MakerDAO) stablecoins’ market cap combined. 

PYUSD surpassed $1 billion in market cap when its incentive program was live on the Solana decentralized ecosystem, shrinking following its end. Meanwhile, USDe currently offers an annual percentage yield of 27%.

As the market heats up and investors potentially more value incentives, RLUSD’s chances might revolve around offering attractive returns to its users.

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