Ripple’s enterprise-grade stablecoin RLUSD is making strategic strides in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space with its latest integration into Aave, one of the largest DeFi lending platforms by total value locked.
Announced on April 22 via X (formerly Twitter), Aave has officially added RLUSD to its protocol, allowing users to supply and borrow the stablecoin. The lending pool for RLUSD is currently capped at $50 million, with a $5 million borrowing limit, marking a significant milestone in RLUSD’s expanding DeFi adoption.
Strengthening Utility in Top DeFi Protocols
Aave’s inclusion of RLUSD is particularly notable given the platform’s stature in the DeFi ecosystem. Operating across 16 major blockchains—including Ethereum (ETH), Base (BASE), Optimism (OP), and Arbitrum (ARB) Aave is currently the largest decentralized lending protocol, as tracked by DeFiLlama.
The integration is expected to boost RLUSD’s liquidity and provide users with broader opportunities to engage with Ripple’s stablecoin across diverse blockchain environments.
Momentum Builds with Hidden Road Acquisition
The Aave integration comes on the heels of Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road, a non-bank prime broker. As part of the deal, Hidden Road will adopt RLUSD as collateral and leverage the XRP Ledger for post-trade settlements extending RLUSD’s relevance into traditional finance and institutional markets.
This dual-pronged expansion strategy positions RLUSD as both a DeFi-native and institutionally aligned stablecoin, uniquely bridging two financial worlds.
Regulatory Backing and Exchange Presence
Backed by regulatory approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), RLUSD is built to offer the stability of fiat with the programmability of blockchain. It supports key use cases such as global payments, crypto on/off ramps, and tokenized real-world asset transactions.
Since its launch in December 2024, RLUSD has seen growing traction. It is now available on leading exchanges including Kraken, Uphold, MoonPay, CoinMENA, ArchaxEx, and Bitso. The stablecoin currently has a market cap of $294 million, ranking it as the 12th largest stablecoin by market capitalization surpassing Circle’s euro-pegged EURC.
A New Era for Enterprise-Grade Stablecoins?
Ripple’s growing list of RLUSD integrations, including Aave and Hidden Road, signals a new phase in the evolution of stablecoins where regulatory compliance, liquidity, and multi-sector utility converge. With the DeFi market rebounding and demand for secure, versatile stablecoins on the rise, RLUSD is positioning itself as a serious contender in the stablecoin arena.
As more platforms onboard the dollar-pegged token and institutional use cases emerge, RLUSD may well become a cornerstone of both on-chain and traditional financial systems.
