Ripple announced Monday it is testing its RLUSD stablecoin on Ethereum Layer 2 blockchains using Wormhole's cross-chain technology.
The pilot targets Optimism, Coinbase's Base, Kraken's Ink and Uniswap's Unichain ahead of a broader 2026 rollout.
RLUSD has grown to over $1.3 billion in total supply since launching in December 2024 on Ethereum and XRP Ledger.
What Happened
Ripple partnered with Wormhole to implement Native Token Transfers standard for testing RLUSD across four Layer 2 networks.
The NTT standard allows RLUSD to move natively between chains without wrapping or synthetic assets, maintaining liquidity and regulatory control.
The testing phase precedes regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services required before public launch next year.
Jack McDonald, Ripple's senior vice president of stablecoins, said the expansion makes RLUSD "the first U.S. trust-regulated stablecoin on these layer-2 networks."
The integration extends to wrapped XRP (wXRP), enabling users to swap between wXRP and RLUSD within DeFi applications on supported chains.
RLUSD was issued under NYDFS Trust Charter and operates on Ethereum and XRP Ledger.
Ripple received conditional approval last week from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter.
Final OCC approval would make RLUSD the first stablecoin under both state and federal regulatory oversight.
McDonald said stablecoins are "the gateway to DeFi and institutional adoption" as RLUSD aims to become a "trusted, liquid on-ramp into the broader digital-asset economy."
This marks Ripple's second major Wormhole integration after expanding XRP Ledger's multichain interoperability through the protocol in June.
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Why It Matters
The Layer 2 expansion positions RLUSD to compete more directly with established stablecoins like Circle's USDC and Tether's USDT in the rapidly growing decentralized finance sector.
Layer 2 networks offer faster transaction speeds and lower costs than Ethereum mainnet, making them popular for DeFi applications, cross-border payments and business-to-business transactions.
Ripple raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation in November from Fortress Investment Group, Citadel Securities, Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace.
The stablecoin market surpassed $300 billion in total capitalization in October and continues expanding as traditional finance increasingly embraces digital assets.
Regulatory clarity following the GENIUS Act passage in July accelerated institutional stablecoin adoption across banking and payments sectors.
Ripple's dual regulatory structure combining NYDFS oversight with pending federal OCC approval differentiates RLUSD from competitors operating under single regulatory frameworks.
The multichain strategy aims to position RLUSD wherever demand exists across institutional finance and decentralized protocols.
Singapore's central bank recently expanded Ripple's license to use XRP and RLUSD in payment services, signaling growing international regulatory acceptance.
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