Ripple’s USD-denominated stablecoin RLUSD has entered a new phase of organic growth after being formally recognized by the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). This milestone unlocks its regulated use within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
This coincides with RLUSD hitting a new all-time high of $1.261 billion in market capitalization in November, setting the stage for a possible move into the world’s top five stablecoins.
ADGM approval removes RLUSD from regulated agency use.
On November 27, Ripple announced that RLUSD has been greenlisted by Abu Dhabi’s FSRA. This development allows stablecoins to be used in the following ways:
Sponsored Collateral on Exchanges, Loans and Prime Securities Platforms within ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s International Financial Center.
This certification classifies RLUSD as an approved fiat reference token and allows FSRA-licensed institutions to use RLUSD for regulated activities. However, it is important to note that this is conditional on the company meeting all corporate-level compliance obligations.
The move follows an update to FSRA’s digital asset regulatory framework earlier this year that aimed to accelerate institutional adoption while imposing strict oversight.
“FSRA’s certification of RLUSD as a fiat reference token reinforces our commitment to regulatory compliance and trust, two non-negotiables when it comes to institutional finance,” Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, said in an excerpt from the announcement.
The new designation allows RLUSD to serve as regulated settlement collateral. It can also be integrated into prime brokerage channels that support loan flows and operate under the supervision of ADGM.
This positions the stablecoin for further expansion in one of the world’s most active digital asset financial hubs.
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Institutional investors’ minting accelerates, market capitalization reaches $1.261 billion
Meanwhile, RLUSD’s market capitalization has soared past $1.26 billion, with significant on-chain growth on both Ethereum and XRP Ledger (XRPL), according to data from DefiLlama.
Ethereum grew by more than 30% this month to host approximately R$1.011 billion, while XRPL issuance increased by 92.6% to R$225 million.
This growth is especially noteworthy considering RLUSD’s institutional limited mint model. Individual users cannot mint stablecoins, as issuance is only made to qualified institutions.
This growth has been particularly noticeable for Ethereum, but there are growing concerns about XRP’s role in stablecoin adoption. Despite Ripple framing XRPL as the core infrastructure for RLUSD, new issuance from early 2025 onwards has almost exclusively started on Ethereum.
To be clear, RLUSD’s Ethereum-heavy footprint refutes Ripple’s claim that XRPL remains the backbone of its ecosystem.
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“A long-time XRP holder discovered that RLUSD existed on Ethereum. He was in awe and wondered what Ripple meant. He then traded his XRP for LINK and ETH,” user jfab.eth wrote.
Nevertheless, the pace of institutional adoption has not been noted. Analyst X Finance Bull highlighted that more than 100 million RLUSD was minted on XRPL in November alone.
“These are real transactions, real payments, and real capital flows. On-chain. Permissionless. Global.” they wrote.
Companies supporting RLUSD issued under the New York DFS Limited Purpose Trust Charter will provide full 1:1 USD support through:
High-quality liquid assets, third-party certification, strict reserve segregation, and vested redemption rights.
Such a structure is essential for approval in a highly regulated market like the UAE.
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Analysts say a top-five finish is within reach
Against this backdrop, analysts say it is within reach for RLUSD to break into the top five among major stablecoins based on market capitalization metrics.
According to CoinGecko, RLUSD currently ranks 13th among stablecoins by market capitalization. To break into the upper tier, RLUSD needs to exceed MakerDAO’s DAI ($4.44 billion).
That milestone is becoming increasingly realistic as institutional partners ramp up use and new approvals are obtained across the Middle East.
