Moody’s Assigns Investment-Grade Ratings to Ripple’s Stablecoin
New York, NY – Moody’s Ratings has awarded Ripple USD (RLUSD), the dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Ripple subsidiary Standard Custody & Trust Company, an A2 long-term deposit rating and a P-1 short-term deposit rating. The agency announced the ratings on Tuesday.
The A2 rating signifies the sixth-highest long-term grade on Moody’s scale, while P-1 represents its top short-term grade. According to Moody’s, these ratings are a reflection of the high quality of RLUSD’s reserves. These reserves are primarily held in Treasury bills, other short-term U.S. government assets, and cash, with a significant portion managed by custodian BNY. Eligible institutional investors can redeem RLUSD at par within two business days.
However, Moody’s also highlighted potential vulnerabilities for holders. The agency noted that Standard Custody is not a bankruptcy-remote entity, meaning RLUSD holders do not currently possess a direct ownership interest in the reserves. Despite this, Moody’s pointed to the upcoming GENIUS Act, a U.S. stablecoin law slated to take effect in 2027, which is expected to exempt required reserves from an issuer’s bankruptcy estate. Moody’s confirmed that the ratings were requested by the issuer.
Regulatory Milestones for Ripple
This rating follows closely on the heels of Ripple securing final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for Ripple National Trust Bank. This new entity will be responsible for managing RLUSD’s reserves and serving as their collateral trustee. RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody under the oversight of the New York Department of Financial Services, placing the stablecoin under both state and federal regulatory supervision.
RLUSD’s Market Position and Institutional Adoption
Launched in December 2024 on Ethereum and the XRP Ledger, RLUSD currently boasts a market capitalization of approximately $2.6 billion, according to CoinGecko. This represents a modest share of the broader stablecoin market, which is valued at around $300 billion.
Ripple has strategically targeted institutional investors with RLUSD, rather than retail traders. Earlier this month, Standard Chartered began offering institutional custody services for RLUSD through its Dubai branch. The bank also indicated it was collaborating with Ripple and LMAX Group on a “collateral mirroring” system, designed to allow clients to utilize the stablecoin as trading collateral without removing it from the bank’s balance sheet.
In November 2025, Ripple partnered with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to explore the use of RLUSD on the XRP Ledger for settling fiat transactions on the Gemini Credit Card, pending regulatory approvals. At that time, RLUSD had recently surpassed a $1 billion market capitalization, positioning it as the 11th-largest stablecoin, according to DefiLlama.
