The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is expected to approve Ripple Labs’ RLUSD stablecoin — an overcollateralized dollar-pegged stablecoin — in the coming days, sources revealed to Fox Business.

According to a Nov. 29 Fox Business report, approval of the dollar-pegged stablecoin by the New York financial regulator could see the product launch as early as Dec. 4. In August, Ripple Labs issued the following statement about the future of its ecosystem:

"There is a clear demand for stablecoins that deliver trust, stability, and utility. Once RLUSD is available, Ripple will use both RLUSD and XRP in its cross-border payments solution to serve its global customers and dramatically improve their experience."

At the time the stablecoin was announced, fears swept over XRP (XRP) holders that the company would abandon the token to focus on its new stablecoin product for cross-border liquidity. However, Ripple Labs has not confirmed any such pivot.

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Ripple develops RLUSD stablecoin

Ripple first announced plans to develop the RLUSD stablecoin in April 2024 to compete with USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT).

Ripple executives forecast a stablecoin market capitalization of $2 trillion by 2028, remarking that there was plenty of room for multiple stablecoin issuers to claim a piece of the multi-trillion pie.

In August, Ripple began testing the RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger and the Ethereum mainnet and announced plans to expand the stablecoin to other blockchains at an undisclosed date.

Ripple Labs also promised to conduct regular, third-party audits of the underlying cash and short-term cash equivalents backing the stablecoin and provide monthly reports on the collateral reserves.

In October, Ripple announced exchange partners for RLUSD, which included Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA, and Bullish.

At the time, Ripple co-founder and CEO Brad Garlinghouse reiterated the company’s commitment to using its existing products like XRP to enhance liquidity for RLUSD and facilitate faster settlement times for the stablecoin. The company also stressed its focus on compliance with regulators under its New York Trust Company Charter.

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