Ripple’s highly anticipated stablecoin, RLUSD, pegged to the U.S. dollar, is set to launch on December 17. According to Ripple’s statement, RLUSD will be available on global exchanges and fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, government bonds, and cash equivalents. To ensure transparency, an independent auditing firm will provide monthly attestations of RLUSD’s reserves.

Ripple is entering a competitive market dominated by major players like Tether, Circle, and PayPal. Tether currently leads the sector with over $140 billion in circulation. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted that RLUSD’s launch under the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) trust charter reflects the company’s commitment to regulatory standards.

Ripple Payments, which has processed $70 billion in transaction volume, plans to integrate RLUSD into its services for enterprise clients by early next year. Initially, RLUSD will operate on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, with plans to expand to other blockchains and DeFi platforms.

At launch, RLUSD will be available on Uphold, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENA, with more platforms like Bitso, Bullish, Bitstamp, and Mercado Bitcoin expected to list the stablecoin soon.

Uphold CEO Simon McLoughlin expressed enthusiasm, stating that RLUSD is positioned to transform digital payments and enterprise finance.