Moody’s has given Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin an A2 long-term deposit rating and a top P-1 short-term rating. The investment-grade score covers RLUSD on two blockchains.
However, the milestone raises a bigger question for XRP holders: who actually captures the value?
What Moody’s Rating Means for Ripple’s RLUSD
Moody’s assigned the rating on October 28, covering RLUSD on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum.
The key details include:
- Moody’s assigned an A2 long-term deposit rating and a P-1 short-term rating, its highest.
- Reserves are held mostly in short-term U.S. government assets and cash at BNY.
- A 103% reserve coverage target set by Standard Custody & Trust Company.
- A market value near $2.5 billion since the stablecoin’s December 2024 launch.
Moody’s based its assessment on reserve quality, liquidity, redemption arrangements, and segregated custody. It also noted that the GENIUS Act, effective January 2027, will shield required reserves from an issuer’s bankruptcy.
For institutions, a formal rating gives risk teams a familiar tool to assess the stablecoin. Ripple’s SVP of stablecoins, Jack McDonald, called RLUSD the first stablecoin with a Moody’s investment-grade rating.
Will RLUSD’s Growth Actually Benefit XRP Holders?
The question gained weight after Ripple won final OCC approval for Ripple National Trust Bank on October 26.
- The milestone lets the bank manage RLUSD reserves and offer fiduciary custody, but not ordinary deposits or loans.
- Meanwhile, Robinhood announced a partnership with Ripple to bring RLUSD to its app, which serves 28.6 million funded customers.
- Today, Coinbase has also added support for RLUSD via XRP Ledger, Ethereum, and Base.
Even so, that would not imply a tenfold rise in XRP price. Instead, the bigger opportunity lies in XRP’s role as a bridge asset for cross-currency payments. Therefore, the bullish case depends on deeper liquidity, more bridge transactions, and institutional trading.
In short, Ripple may be building a large regulated dollar business. Whether XRP captures meaningful value from it, however, remains an open question.
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