Key Highlights
- Ripple has announced the expansion of its RLUSD stablecoin to major Ethereum Layer-2 networks by using Wormhole’s NTT standard, including Base, Optimism, Ink, and Unichain
- This NTT standard allows RLUSD to move across chains in its original form while avoiding the wrapped token process
- This announcement comes after the stablecoin’s market capitalization soared by $1.3 billion
With this major announcement, the leading stablecoin is now expanding its presence deeply into the rapidly growing concept in the cryptocurrency sector.
💸 @Ripple‘s $1.3b stablecoin, $RLUSD, has adopted Wormhole’s NTT standard to expand multichain.
This integration will enable the issuance of $RLUSD across all of crypto, starting with @Base, @Optimism, @InkOnchain & @Unichain.
NTT is the standard for multichain asset issuance. pic.twitter.com/L15KpB1jbt
— Wormhole (@wormhole) December 15, 2025
According to the official announcement, the stablecoin will initially be launched on 4 major layer-2 networks with Wormhole’s Native Token Transfers (NTT) standard. This includes Optimism, Base, Ink, and Unichain.
During its launch in 2024 on XRP Ledger and Ethereum, RLUSD’s creator has confirmed that more blockchains will be added in 2026 after receiving adequate regulatory approval to follow compliance.
RLUSD Leverages Wormhole’s NTT Standard to Expand Its Presence
This expansion is supported by Wormhole’s Native Token Transfers (NTT) standard. This newly curated standard provides it edge over older methods for moving tokens between blockchains.
In the older methods, bridging assets involved creating “wrapped” versions of a token, which can split liquidity and increase security risks.
But Wormhole’s NTT standard provides a solution to this kind of problem. This standard allows RLUSD to move across various blockchains in its real or canonical form. It means that the same RLUSD token exists natively on all supported networks. This standard allows in creating a single pool of liquidity while maintaining constant regulatory properties. This kind of standard helps the stablecoin ecosystem to provide an easy-to-use experience to its users.
This process also uses a burn-and-mint mechanism to move tokens, which removes the need for confusing wrapped assets.
“Stablecoins are the gateway to DeFi and institutional adoption, and RLUSD is designed from the ground up to be the trusted, liquid medium necessary for users to seamlessly enter, interact with, and exit the entire digital asset economy,” Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoin at Ripple, stated in the official announcement. “By launching RLUSD—the first US Trust Regulated stablecoin on these L2 networks—we are not just expanding utility; we are setting the definitive standard where compliance and on-chain efficiency converge.”
Popular networks like Base and Optimism are known for their faster transactions while cutting down fees compared to the Ethereum mainnet. These layer-2 networks are very crucial for DeFi activities like lending, swapping tokens, and processing payments.
By launching RLUSD directly on these chains, Ripple is gradually expanding its compliant stablecoin across major blockchain platforms.
RLUSD Grows Rapidly in Stablecoin Leaderboard
At the time of writing, the stablecoin’s market capitalization has soared to approximately $1.3 billion. While this figure is comparatively small to behemoth stablecoins like USDT and USDC, it is still impressive after considering its launch in 2024.
The majority supply of RLUSD is present on the Ethereum blockchain, with over 80% tokens, where it provides significant liquidity for DeFi protocols. Rest supply is available on the XRP Ledger for fast, efficient settlements.
This stablecoin reserve is fully backed by USD in a 1:1 ratio.
After the approval of the first federal law, the GENIUS Act, the financial world has witnessed a stablecoin boom. In this boom, RLUSD also boosted its growth with various collaborations. These include partnerships with Mastercard and Gemini for card settlements and their use within Ripple’s own cross-border payments system, Ripple Payments. This kind of partnership has boosted the stablecoin to become one of the biggest U.S.-regulated stablecoins.
The Layer-2 expansion also includes wrapped XRP (wXRP), which will allow users on chains like Optimism to easily trade between wXRP and RLUSD without leaving the network. This direct pairing is expected to boost liquidity across decentralized exchanges and lending platforms.
By using Wormhole’s NTT to reach Layer-2 networks, Ripple puts RLUSD to compete directly in the high-volume DeFi sector. This will reduce the ecosystem’s dependence on other dominant stablecoins within institutional payment corridors. It also improves the overall utility of the XRP Ledger infrastructure.
Also Read: Interactive Brokers Adopts Stablecoin for Account Funding
