Ripple will soon debut its RLUSD stablecoin, says Brad Garlinghouse

Key Takeaways

• Ripple's new stablecoin, Ripple USD, is in closed beta and set to launch soon.
• CEO Brad Garlinghouse has no interest in pursuing a US IPO due to SEC hostility.

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Ripple is on the brink of rolling out its US dollar-pegged stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse during a recent fireside chat at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul.

The stablecoin is currently being tested on the XRP ledger and Ethereum, and “will certainly launch” in weeks, Garlinghouse revealed.

The company announced its plans to launch a US dollar-pegged stablecoin in April this year. Its goal is to complement XRP tokens, providing a reliable payment solution that can bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi).

RLUSD, fully backed by USD and short-term US government bonds, is also expected to improve payment infrastructure and diversify use cases within the Ripple network.

Ripple’s stablecoin initiative is set to rival Tether’s USDT and Circle-issued USDC, the two leading stablecoins in the digital asset market. As of now, USDT’s market cap has exceeded $118 billion, followed by USDC with approximately $35 billion, CoinGecko’s data shows.

Yet, Ripple sees an opportunity for credible players to carve out their space. The company’s CTO David Schwartz stated previously that the stablecoin market could surpass $2 trillion by 2028.

No interest in a US IPO due to legal challenges

Garlinghouse said that Ripple has no interest in taking Ripple public in the US due to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “pretty hostile” stance towards crypto.

Coinbase’s experience with the SEC has also discouraged the firm from going public in the country.

“[The] SEC approved Coinbase going public in the United States and now the SEC is suing Coinbase for the same things they approved,” Garlinghouse stated.

However, Garlinghouse remains optimistic about crypto’s future after the upcoming presidential election. He believes that crypto will ultimately win, regardless of who wins the election.

“I think no matter who wins the United States election, we’ll see new leadership in the U.S. SEC,” he added.

SEC’s action against OpenSea is “unfortunate,” NFTs are not securities

Commenting on the SEC’s recent legal threat to OpenSea, the leading NFT marketplace, Garlinghouse said the case is “really unfortunate.” He argued that NFTs are not securities and that the SEC’s case is likely to fail.

“Just because someone might speculate on the price of a piece of art that it might go up, doesn’t make it a security,” Ripple CEO highlighted.

Despite the current regulatory challenges in the US, Garlinghouse believes crypto will have a positive future in the next five years as elected officials’ efforts will lead to legislative clarity.

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