Ripple’s Stablecoin Debuts on BlackRock-Backed Tokenization Platform

Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin has been integrated into Securitize’s platform, allowing users to exchange shares in tokenized money market funds for the dollar-pegged asset.

The feature was enabled through a smart contract, which now serves as another off-ramp for products offered by asset managers BlackRock and VanEck, according to a press release. It functions 24/7, allowing users to access instant liquidity, Ripple added.

Ripple’s stablecoin debuted in December. And although it’s much smaller than alternatives offered by Tether and Circle, RLUSD has grown to a market capitalization of $740 million within the past year, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. 

In a statement, Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, described the move as a “natural next step as we continue to bridge traditional finance and crypto,” noting that RLUSD was designed specifically for institutional use.

Securitize made a similar announcement nearly a year ago, saying that Circle’s USDC had been integrated into its platform as a way to reduce investment costs and streamline the subscription process for investing in BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).

BlackRock’s BUDIL is worth $2 billion, according to data from RWA.xyz. Around 90 qualified investors hold shares in the fund, which is tokenized on several blockchains, including Solana, Avalanche, Ethereum, Polygon, and layer-2 networks Arbitrum and Optimism.

The VanEck Treasury Fund (VBILL), which can also be exchanged for RLUSD on Securitize’s platform, is worth $74 million, while only having 14 different holders. 

Shares in BUIDL and VBILL are represented by tokens that change hands at $1, but unlike most stablecoins, they offer investors a yield.

Products issued through Securitize’s platform do not yet exist on XRP Ledger, but Tuesday’s announcement notes that “additional use cases and assets [are] planned,” while Securitize will “expand access and bring new utility to the XRPL ecosystem” through its own moves.

On Monday, Ripple unveiled an updated roadmap for XRPL, highlighting new compliance features like the ability for token issuers to “deep freeze” wallet addresses and a method for being able to “dry run” transactions. 

“Partnering with Ripple to integrate RLUSD into our tokenization infrastructure is a major step forward in automating liquidity for tokenized assets,” Securitize CEO and co-founder Carlos Domingo said in a statement. “Together, we’re delivering real-time settlement and programmable liquidity across a new class of compliant, on-chain investment products.”