Ripple’s Stablecoin Hits $1B Milestone; Company President Discusses M&A Strategy to Fuel Growth

Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, has surpassed $1 billion in market capitalization less than a year after launching in December 2024.

The milestone makes RLUSD the 10th largest U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin by market cap, according to data from CoinGecko. Issued by XRP creator Ripple, RLUSD is backed by dollar reserves and short-term U.S. Treasuries, and is designed to be integrated into Ripple’s broader payments and liquidity infrastructure.

While RLUSD’s market cap remains small compared to the sector’s two dominant players — Tether’s USDT at $183 billion and Circle’s USDC at $76 billion — its rise signals strong early demand. RLUSD’s circulating supply currently splits between $819 million in tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and $203 million on the XRP Ledger network, RWA.xyz data shows.

Most stablecoins have taken years to reach the billion-dollar mark, and RLUSD’s quick climb suggests Ripple has been able to leverage its existing customer base and global financial network to accelerate adoption. The company has marketed the token primarily to institutional clients looking for stable on-chain settlement options, but notable traction among retail users added to its fast growth.

Monica Long, president of Ripple, told CoinDesk in an interview that demand for the firm’s payment services has been rising. Ripple has processed nearly $100 billion in payments volume to date, and RLUSD is the “primary stablecoin” used for payment flows, she added.

“We’ve doubled the number of customers throughout the year,” Long said, adding that Ripple now holds over 75 global licenses.

Ripple has been on an acquisition spree this year, buying four companies to complement the firm’s digital assets offering for institutions and enterprises. It acquired prime broker Hidden Road, now Ripple Prime, for $1.25 billion, bought stablecoin payments firm Rail for $200 million, with the latest targets being treasury technology provider GTreasury and wallet infrastructure startup Palisade.

“It’s been a really big year for us, both organic growth-wise and inorganic growth,” Long told Coindesk. “We’re taking that all in [to] bring all the pieces together.”

Ripple’s acquisition strategy, Long explained, is to find targets that either accelerates existing offerings, such as Palisade and Rail adding to stablecoin payment capabilities, or helps expand the business into new verticals like Hidden Road’s prime brokerage.

“We’ll continue to be opportunistic [with acquisitions]. We continue to have a really healthy, large balance sheet,” Long said.