Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD just landed on the biggest crypto exchange in the United States — and it walked in carrying a credit rating from Moody’s, a first for any stablecoin.
By Jennifer Kim | October 29, 2026
Under a partnership announced Wednesday, RLUSD is now available on Coinbase‘s retail app, its main exchange, and Coinbase Prime, the institutional trading and custody platform, according to CryptoSlate. Customers can convert US dollars and other supported stablecoins into RLUSD at a 1:1 rate, with deposits and withdrawals supported across three networks: the XRP Ledger, Ethereum, and Base, Coinbase’s own Ethereum Layer 2 network. The stablecoin, launched in December 2024, has grown past 2.4 billion USD in market capitalization. For everyday crypto users, the news means one more regulated digital dollar is now easy to buy, hold, and spend — and for XRP holders, it is another sign Ripple is building real financial plumbing around their favorite ledger.
The Hook: A Stablecoin With a Credit Rating
The more unusual part of the story is the rating. Moody’s Ratings assigned RLUSD an A2 long-term deposit rating and a P-1 short-term deposit rating — its highest short-term grade. The A2 rating places RLUSD inside Moody’s investment-grade category, territory normally reserved for bonds and bank deposits, not crypto tokens. Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, described RLUSD as the first stablecoin to receive an investment-grade rating from Moody’s and called it a significant endorsement of the company’s financial infrastructure and reserve management.
Why does a rating matter to a coin designed to hold steady at one dollar? Because stablecoins live or die on trust. A rating from a major agency is an independent check on whether the reserves backing the token are actually there. Moody’s said it based its assessment on the quality and liquidity of RLUSD’s reserves, redemption arrangements, custody protections, regulatory oversight, and operational controls.
The Evidence: What Is Actually Behind RLUSD
According to the Moody’s assessment cited by CryptoSlate, RLUSD’s reserves consist mostly of short-term US government securities and cash, with issuer Standard Custody and Trust Company targeting 103 percent reserve coverage — holding slightly more than needed to redeem every token in circulation. Bank of New York Mellon holds most of those assets, including US Treasury bills. The issuer runs weekly liquidity stress tests, monitors reserves daily, publishes independent monthly attestations, and is overseen by the New York Department of Financial Services. Eligible institutional holders can redeem at face value within two full business days.
There is a caveat worth knowing: holders do not currently have direct ownership claims over the reserves, which are segregated from the issuer’s corporate assets. Moody’s noted that the GENIUS Act, the US stablecoin law scheduled to take effect in 2027, could strengthen those legal protections. The rating applies to RLUSD issued natively on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum.
The Core Conflict: The Battle for the Base Network
The Coinbase deal is also a strategic chess move. Base has become a major hub for stablecoin transactions — Coinbase’s own second-quarter earnings report said stablecoin transaction volume on the network grew sevenfold year over year, and that more than 90 percent of stablecoin volume tied to on-chain AI agents ran on Base during the quarter. That ecosystem has been dominated by Circle’s USDC, which sits at the heart of Coinbase’s stablecoin business. Ripple will provide liquidity for RLUSD on Base, planting its flag directly in USDC’s strongest market. The companies also plan to make RLUSD available on Coinbase Global Exchange, including as collateral for institutional trading.
The expansion follows a busy stretch for Ripple: earlier in the same week it announced an agreement with Robinhood to bring RLUSD to its trading ecosystem and support institutional settlement on the XRP Ledger. McDonald said the Coinbase agreement addresses growing institutional demand for regulated digital dollars by distributing RLUSD through established trading and custody infrastructure.
What This Means For You
- If you hold XRP — the XRP Ledger is becoming the settlement rail for a growing institutional stablecoin business, which is the kind of real-world usage the token’s long-term story depends on.
- If you use stablecoins — RLUSD is now trivially easy to access on the largest US exchange, with an investment-grade rating and 103 percent reserve coverage. More competition for USDC generally means better terms somewhere down the line.
- If you trade on Base — a second deep-liquidity dollar token is arriving on the network, which typically means more trading pairs and more decentralized finance options.
- What to watch — the GENIUS Act taking effect in 2027, which could formalize legal protections for stablecoin holders across the market.
The Verdict
A stablecoin getting an investment-grade rating would have sounded absurd a few years ago. Now it is the clearest signal yet that digital dollars are being absorbed into the traditional financial system on its own terms — audited reserves, custodians, regulators, and credit ratings. For regular investors, the practical impact today is modest: another solid option for holding dollars on-chain. The bigger story is direction: Ripple is assembling exchanges, brokers, banks, and now a credit rating around RLUSD, and each piece makes the stablecoin — and the networks it runs on — harder to ignore.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
An A2 from Moodys is a first for any stablecoin. BNY Mellon custody and 103 percent reserve coverage is the kind of backing people just assumed their dollars had.
The fine print matters though, holders have no direct claim on the reserves. Still trust the issuer at the end of the day, just with a nicer stamp on it.
Attestations are monthly and still issuer commissioned. Good progress overall, I just want to see redemption at face value tested during a real squeeze.
an A2 from Moodys on a stablecoin is genuinely new territory. reserves, redemption, custody all independently reviewed. credit where due
Deposits and withdrawals on XRP Ledger, Ethereum and Base from day one is the quiet win here. Most stablecoin launches pick one chain and forget the rest.
RLUSD passed 2.4B market cap barely two years after launch. The Base and Prime support tells you Coinbase is comfortable with the rails.
^ the three network part (XRPL, ETH, Base) is the quiet win. 1:1 conversion and withdrawals working day one on Prime