Ripple Extends RLUSD to Ethereum Layer 2s via Wormhole.
Ripple Labs is expanding its US dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD to Ethereum Layer-2 blockchains as a pilot, awaiting regulatory approval for a full rollout next year.
In partnership with Wormhole, a crosschain interoperability protocol that allows assets to move between different blockchains, the pilot RLUSD will be tested on Optimism, Base, Ink (Ethereum layer 2 built by Kraken) and Unichain, according to a statement from Ripple on Monday.
Initially, RLUSD was issued on XRP Ledger and Ethereum; However, Ripple said the latest expansion is “essential to 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 there is demand and utility.”
“As chains continue to be built for real-world use, the need for a highly regulated stablecoin is stronger than ever,” the Ripple team added.
RLUSD eliminates the use of sealed copy in the blockchain
The Wormhole team said in an X-Post on Monday that the Native Token Transfers standard would allow RLUSD to move across the blockchain as a real token, as opposed to a cloned or cloned copy, which would help maintain liquidity.
In some multichain configurations, when a token is transferred, it is locked on the first blockchain, while a sealed copy is recorded on another.
“Through NTT, token issuers eliminate the need for dispersed liquid or locked-in assets, allowing a single, canonical version of RLUSD to exist on every blockchain that Ripple owns contracts for,” Wormhole's team added.
More chains will come next year
RLUSD will launch next year on the next chain, but the launch is still subject to final regulatory approval, according to Ripple.
RLUSD is chartered at the state level by the New York Financial Services Trust Company, and the company has applied for a federal trust bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to increase federal oversight.
Jack Macdonald, senior vice president of Stalecoins at Ripple, said stablecoins are “the gateway to DeFi and institutional adoption.”
“When we launch RLUSD-the first US Trust Regulated stablecoin on these L2 networks, we're not just expanding utility; we're setting the standard for compliance and onchain efficiency to come together.”
The RLUSD market capitalization is set at $1.3 billion
Launched in December 2024, RLUSD has a market capitalization of $1.3 billion, according to crypt data aggregator CoinGecko.
Related: Ripple's RLUSD Enters Top 10 USD in Less than First Year
By comparison, the largest stablecoin, Tether's USDT, has a market cap of $186 billion, Circle's USDC has a market cap of $78 billion, and Sky Protocol's USDS is the third largest at $9.8 billion.
RLUSD has gained wide acceptance among retail users, especially through integration with platforms such as Transc and growing on trusted wallets such as Xaman.
Related: HIVE Tests Investor Demand for AI-Bitcoin Infrastructure in Andean Markets
