Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin Secures Dubai Approval, Bolstering Cross-Border Payments

Editorial Team

Last updated 3-06-2025

3 min

Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD, gains approval from Dubai Financial Services Authority as a crypto token.

The approval marks RLUSD's credibility, reflecting Ripple's commitment to compliance and trustworthiness.

Designed for enterprise, RLUSD aims to enhance cross-border payments with speed and cost-efficiency.

RLUSD joins Ripple's payments solution, supporting Dubai's growing fintech ecosystem and international trade.

Ripple partners with local firms to offer blockchain-backed services and tokenise property deeds in Dubai.

Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD, has officially gained approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), earning recognition as a crypto token within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). This latest green-light marks a significant boost to RLUSD’s credibility as an enterprise-level digital currency, particularly as it joins a select set of stablecoins globally that have secured formal licensing—RLUSD having already achieved status under a New York Department of Financial Services Trust Company Charter.

For Ripple, known widely for providing enterprise blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions, RLUSD's DFSA approval highlights their commitment to compliance, transparancy, and trustworthiness—elements increasingly vital as digital assets carve out a place within regulated markets. According to Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Stablecoins, Jack McDonald, this latest recognition reflects the firm's dedication to creating a "regulation-first design and enterprise-grade features", particularly aimed at enhancing cross-border payments.

While many stablecoins target everyday retail investors, Ripple has carefully designed RLUSD specifically for big business. More practically, its mission centres on improving how quickly and cheaply companies move money across global borders, something McDonald believes will be a cornerstone for blockchain adoption in the business sector.

RLUSD will now become part of Ripple’s flagship payments solution, already licensed under the DFSA. This combines the reliability of a well-backed digital dollar with Ripple’s extensive blockchain payment network. Given the sheer number of businesses operating within DIFC—nearly 7,000 firms at last count—RLUSD's inclusion could quickly bolster Dubai's burgeoning fintech ecosystem.

According to Ripple, stablecoin adoption has been soaring across the UAE, exploding by 55% year-on-year throughout 2024. It appears businesses are increasingly seeking solutions capable of overcoming the inefficiencies associated with older, traditional payment methods, contributing to ongoing growth across the regional market for international trade—currently worth in excess of a whopping $400 billion.

Reece Merrick, Ripple's managing director for the Middle East and Africa, described the DFSA's approval as yet another stride forward, praising Dubai as a vibrant and "incredibly dynamic" digital economy. Regional firms, Merrick added, show enormous appetite for innovative cross-border payment solutions.

Ripple’s efforts within the UAE don't end here. Recently, local players such as Zand Bank and Mamo jumped on board to become the first customers for Ripple’s blockchain-backed payment services, while Ripple has also partnered with Ctrl Alt in a groundbreaking initiative by the Dubai Land Department to tokenise property deeds on the XRP Ledger.

From what I've observed while speaking to regular readers on Arageek, plenty are carefully watching as Dubai's progressive regulatory framework continues to attract more fintech providers and cryptocurrency innovators. Ripple's latest approval undoubtedly sets an intriguing presedent for further developments in this thriving digital finance hub.

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