Ripple to issue stablecoin backed 100% by cash equivalents

A third party accounting firm will audit these reserves and Ripple will publish monthly attestations

article-image

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse | Ben Solomon Photo LLC for Blockworks

share

Digital payments network Ripple will launch a USD-pegged stablecoin that will be backed 100% by US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasurys and other cash equivalents.

According to Ripple, a third-party accounting firm will audit the reserves for these assets, and Ripple will publish monthly attestations. 

Stablecoins are the most popular real-world assets (RWAs) today. Particularly, USD-pegged stablecoins are some of the most widely adopted tokens. DeFiLama data shows that the stablecoin market is worth almost $152 billion, with Tether’s USDT dominating almost 70% of the entire market share. EURO-pegged stablecoins on the other hand, have gained much less interest, having a total value of roughly $600 million. 

Read more: Stablecoins remain the silver lining for RWAs: Report

Entering the stablecoin market with a new USD-pegged token is a “natural step for Ripple,” the company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse remarked in a press release reviewed by Blockworks.

“Institutions entering this space are finding success by partnering with compliant, crypto-native players and Ripple’s track record and resiliency speaks for itself as we launch new products and acquire companies through multiple market cycles,” Garlinghouse said. “This move is also monumental for the XRP Ledger community, driving more use cases, liquidity and opportunities for developers and users.”

Ripple President Monica Long believes introducing a new stablecoin will likely drive further adoption into the XRPL ecosystem. The stablecoin will be available to users on XRP Ledger and Ethereum, and Ripple notes that it has plans to expand the token to additional blockchains and protocols in the future. 

Earlier last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission demanded that Ripple should pay $2 billion in fines and penalties. Garlinghouse noted that this was unprecedented, writing on X that there had been “no allegations (let alone findings) of fraud or recklessness.”

Read more: SEC seeks $1.9B from Ripple in proposed final judgment

Ripple’s battle with the SEC began in 2020 after the regulator accused Ripple Labs of offering unregistered securities worth $1.3 billion, with the US federal judge partially siding with Ripple in the case. 

Ripple’s portfolio continues to grow with regulatory compliance in mind. The company notes that it and its subsidiaries currently hold various licenses nationwide, including the New York BitLicense, and nearly 40 money transmitter licenses across the US.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

4.png

Research

This months PPGC covered four main areas. Firstly, debriefing the progress and status of the mainnet implementation of the Ahmedabad hard fork. Secondly, a retrospective on the testnet phase of the Ahemdabad Hard Fork. Thirdly, an update on PIP-36 which involves replaying failed state syncs. Lastly, PIP-47 which pushes upgrades to the Polygon Protocol Council.

article-image

Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has been working in the new Visa Tokenized Asset Platform sandbox

article-image

The retail crowd is engaging with Robinhood both on and off chain, general manager Johann Kerbrat said

article-image

Gurbir Grewal, who has been at the agency almost as long as Gensler has been chair, will depart on Oct. 11, 2024

article-image

The stablecoin’s supply has declined about 50% in the last month, from $660 million to $320 million

article-image

Plus, Sky’s soaring stablecoin and simpler bitcoin staking