TLDR:
- Market: Ripple USD (RLUSD), a dollar-secured stablecoin, reached a $700M market cap since launching in 2024, expanding to Africa to facilitate cross-border payments and treasury operations.
- Narrative: Ripple’s RLUSD, supported by a New York trust company, teams up with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card to fuel African financial inclusion. With real-world pilots such as Kenya climate insurance and institutional adoption globally, RLUSD seeks to reimagine stablecoin use, but regulatory and market volatility risks persist.
On September 4, 2025, Ripple announced the expansion of its enterprise-grade, USD-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), to Africa through partnerships with fintech giants Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card, marking a significant step in its global strategy. Launched in late 2024, RLUSD has grown to over $700M in market capitalization, issued by a New York limited-purpose trust company regulated by the NYDFS, emphasizing trust and compliance. The stablecoin is now integrated into Ripple Payments, supporting cross-border payments, treasury management, and tokenized asset trading across Africa’s institutional landscape.
The collaborations seek to overcome Africa’s high-cost remittance and currency fluctuations, with Chipper Cash CEO Ham Serunjogi seeing faster, cheaper transfers with RLUSD, VALR’s Farzam Ehsani pointing to compliant digital assets, and Yellow Card’s Chris Maurice referring to dollar-backed infrastructure that people want to rely on. Ripple SVP of Stablecoins Jack McDonald remarked, “We’re seeing demand for RLUSD from our customers and other major institutional players around the globe and are pleased to now start distribution in Africa via our regional partners.” Beyond banking, RLUSD drives Kenya humanitarian pilots with Mercy Corps Ventures, employing smart contracts to disperse escrowed monies against drought and rainfall insurance subject to satellite weather data, providing expedient relief to farmers amid climate shocks.
After signing the August 22, 2025, agreement with Japan-based SBI VC Trade and European and Latin American expansion plans, Ripple is targeting the RLUSD as a globally regulated, institutional-grade stablecoin that is offered on exchanges such as Bitso, CoinMENA, and Kraken. But Africa’s turbulent crypto environment and the risk of regulatory interference might test adoption. Investors and institutions interested should watch the RLUSD rollout and pilot test results with caution against the risk of markets during the aggressive stablecoin drive.
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