XRP spikes 20% following Ripple’s announcement on the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) approval for its RLUSD stablecoin.
Brad Garlinghouse, the company’s CEO, first disclosed the development in a December 10 X post.
This just in…we have final approval from @NYDFS for $RLUSD! Exchange and partner listings will be live soon – and reminder: when RLUSD is live, you’ll hear it from @Ripple first.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) December 10, 2024
Notably, the NYDFS finally approved the stablecoin for launch after months of consideration. Ripple has been pushing to secure the regulator’s greenlight over the past few months.
It took several steps to facilitate the approval process, including acquiring Standard Custody & Trust Company, which operates under an NYDFS limited-purpose charter.
Upcoming Launch of RLUSD
The latest move paves the way for the mainnet launch of RLUSD, which could happen at any time. In the X post, Garlinghouse revealed that the company will soon announce the exchange and partner listing of the stablecoin.
Ripple has already collaborated with top exchanges to prepare for RLUSD’s upcoming listing. These include Uphold, Bitstamp, CoinMENA, Bullish, MoonPay, Bitso, and Independent Reserve.
While RLUSD will initially list on these platforms, Ripple plans to extend its support to more exchanges in the future.
XRP Soars Over 20% After RLUSD Approval
Meanwhile, the approval news demonstrated how the stablecoin can influence XRP’s trajectory. Prior to the announcement, XRP plunged below the $2 price mark, falling to an intraday low of $1.91.
However, XRP rebounded nicely above $2 immediately after Ripple’s CEO confirmed the development. Afterward, XRP surged to a daily high of $2.41, reflecting an increase of 26.17% from the $1.91 intraday low.
Due to heavy selling pressure, it has retraced slightly to $2.34 at press time. XRP’s daily volume has soared by 12.41% over the past 24 hours to $24.4 billion.
The token is less than $6 billion away from surpassing USDT’s market cap of $138.67 billion, which will help it reclaim its position as the third-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap.
No Official Launch Date Yet
Given the influence RLUSD has on XRP’s trajectory, many investors are anticipating the mainnet launch of the stablecoin. Although speculation suggests it might launch before the end of this year, neither Garlinghouse nor Ripple has confirmed this development.
According to Garlinghouse, any official launch date for the stablecoin launch will come directly from Ripple.
In the meantime, the project is still in beta testing, which began in August. The stablecoin, which is pegged at a 1:1 ratio with the U.S. dollar, will be backed by several financial instruments, including short-term U.S. treasury bonds and USD deposits.
Upon its release, RLUSD will complement XRP across Ripple’s payment solution.
