Payments platform Ripple is announcing its plans to create a new US dollar-pegged stablecoin on Ethereum (ETH) and the XRP Ledger.
In a new press release, Ripple Labs says that its stablecoin, which has yet to be named, will be pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and will be 100% backed up by cash, short-term US government treasuries, and other cash equivalents.
According to Ripple, there is excessive customer demand in emerging markets for stablecoins payouts. Though the stablecoin will initially launch over the XRP Ledger and the leading smart contract platform Ethereum, Ripple says it will eventually make its way over to other blockchains, though none were specified.
As stated by Ripple Labs president Monica Long in the press release,
“Issuing our stablecoin on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum will serve as a pivotal entry point to unlock new opportunities for institutional and DeFi (decentralized finance) use cases across multiple ecosystems.
The XRP Ledger’s native capabilities, including a decentralized exchange and automated market maker, were built to utilize XRP as the bridge asset. Bringing a trusted stablecoin onto XRPL will drive more adoption and development, contributing to a vibrant ecosystem.”
In an accompanying message on the social media platform X, Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple Labs’ chief executive, says that launching a stablecoin will help close the gap between the digital assets industry and traditional finance.
“Launching a stablecoin is a natural step for Ripple as we bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto. We have 1/ the years of experience 2/ regulatory footprint 3/ a strong balance sheet and 4/ a network with near-global payout coverage, to offer the best of crypto-enabled payments using XRP and our (future) stablecoin together.”
XRP is trading for $0.59 at time of writing, a 1.5% gain during the last 24 hours.
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