Ripple CEO Nails Bold RLUSD Call

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is taking a “victory lap” on the X social media after nailing his bold RLUSD prediction. 

RLUSD’s stunning growth 

During an interview, Garlinghouse boldly stated that RLUSD would be a top 5 USD stablecoin by the end of the year (EOY).

At the time of the prediction, RLUSD was a new entrant with a comparatively tiny market cap (around $170 million in early 2025). The gap between RLUSD and the top 5 (which typically require market caps in the billions, like DAI/USDS, FDUSD, or USDe) was massive.

The general sentiment in the crypto industry was skepticism. The market was already dominated by giants like Tether (USDT) and USDC, leading many to ask, “Does the world really need another stablecoin?”

Following its beta launch in December 2024, RLUSD started with conservative mints to test the pipes between the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. Throughout mid-2025, supply steadily increased as partners like Uphold, Bitstamp, and Keyrock integrated the token. By October 2025, the market cap had reached approximately $900 million

However, in just one year, RLUSD has secured its place as a top 5 USD stablecoin.

Between late October and early December 2025, approximately $400 million in new RLUSD was minted. This represents a ~45% increase in total supply in under two months.

Regulatory “gold standard”

RLUSD has differentiated itself by aggressively pursuing high-level compliance and auditing standards to attract enterprise clients.

A major achievement was the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) conditional approval for Ripple’s national trust bank charter.

This federal oversight is paired with their existing NYDFS (New York Department of Financial Services) license.

Earlier this year, BNY (Bank of New York) was selected to custody the reserves, with Deloitte providing third-party attestations for transparency.