At Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared that the company is nearing the launch of its new stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), which will be pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Garlinghouse revealed that Ripple is currently testing RLUSD in a private beta and expects to make it available within a few weeks. The stablecoin is being evaluated across two different blockchains and is intended to complement Ripple’s XRP tokens.
He also discussed the broader stablecoin landscape, referencing the devaluation of USDC 18 months ago as an opportunity for Ripple to enter the market with a stablecoin backed by a company already well-integrated with financial institutions.
The stablecoin market is currently led by USDT, which holds about 70% of the market share, followed by USDC at approximately 21%.
Regarding Ripple’s potential initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S., Garlinghouse expressed skepticism due to the SEC’s unfavorable stance toward the cryptocurrency industry.
He noted that while the SEC previously approved Coinbase’s IPO, it is now suing the exchange for actions it had earlier permitted. Garlinghouse advised entrepreneurs to avoid listing their crypto ventures in the U.S. to sidestep significant legal obstacles.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has spotlighted a significant acceleration in institutional crypto adoption, driven largely by the surging popularity of exchange-traded funds and increased use of Coinbase Prime among major corporations.
The latest market turbulence, fueled by geopolitical tensions and investor fear, offered a textbook case of how sentiment swings and whale behavior shape crypto price action.
Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos believes an upcoming power shift at the Federal Reserve could benefit U.S. equity markets.
Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto custody bank, is urging its institutional clients to move away from major stablecoins like USDC, Agora USD (AUSD), and Usual USD (USD0), recommending instead a shift to the Global Dollar (USDG) — a stablecoin issued by Paxos and backed by a consortium that includes Anchorage itself.