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Ripple to Roll Out RLUSD Stablecoin on Dec. 17, Adds Former Central Bankers to Advisory Board

Ripple, an enterprise-focused blockchain service closely related to the XRP Ledger (XRP), said it will start making its highly-anticipated U.S. dollar stablecoin accessible to users on Tuesday, Dec. 17 following the token`s regulatory approval. RLUSD will be initially listed on several exchanges and crypto platforms including Uphold, MoonPay, Archax and CoinMENA, the company said in a press release, with further listings on Bitso, Bullish, Bitstamp, Mercado Bitcoin and Independent Reserve, Zero Hash and others in the coming weeks. The company also announced two additions to its stablecoin advisory board: Raghuram Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and Kenneth Montgomery, former first vice president and COO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The pair join board members announced in October including Sheila Bair, former chair of FDIC, and Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chairman and co-founder of Ripple. The launch follows Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse`s announcement last week that RLUSD sealed "final approval" from the New York Department of Financial Services, paving the way for rolling out the stablecoin for the public from its test phase . RLUSD is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, U.S. government bonds and cash equivalents and aims to keep a steady price at $1. With RLUSD, Ripple aims to compete for a piece in the rapidly growing stablecoin market, currently dominated by Tether`s $140 billion USDT and Circle`s $40 billion USDC tokens. Stablecoins are a key piece of infrastructure bridging digital asset markets and traditional finance, serving as liquidity for trading, vehicle for blockchain-based transactions and increasingly as a payment method across borders. Traditional financial institutions such as banks and payment companies including PayPal, Visa and Societe Generale have also entered the stablecoin space as regulators around the world put rules and guidelines in place for the asset class, bringing much-desired regulatory clarity. “Early on, Ripple made a deliberate choice to launch our stablecoin under the NYDFS limited purpose trust company charter, widely regarded as the premier regulatory standard worldwide," Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement. "As the U.S. moves toward clearer regulations, we expect to see greater adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD, which offer real utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry." RLUSD will be initially available in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, UK and Middle East regions via its distribution and exchange partners, Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoin at Ripple, said in an interview with CoinDesk. He was CEO of Standard Custody & Trust, a company acquired by Ripple earlier this year that holds a New York Trust license. The token won`t be accessible in the E.U. in the beginning as Ripple does not hold the necessary license under the bloc`s MiCAR regulations, but the company is "actively exploring" ways to enter the bloc`s market, he added. RLUSD volatility warning RLUSD, which aims to hold a $1 price, may see an unusual price volatility due to early demand from traders and limited supply. "There may be supply shortages in the very early days before the market stabilizes," David Schwartz, chief technology officer at Ripple, warned in an X post . He said that some traders "are willing to pay" as much as $1,200 token price to buy a fraction of RLUSD. "Please don`t FOMO into a stablecoin," he added. "This is not an opportunity to get rich." CryptoIntelligence

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Lido sunsets staking on Polygon network

Staking protocol Lido has announced a timeline for the sunsetting of its products on Polygon in the coming months. The Lido Finance team announced on December 16 that it plans to discontinue all operations on Polygon following a DAO forum discussion and a community vote approving the move. According to the team, the decision to end Lido’s support on Polygon was made by Lido DAO ( LDO ) token holders, with the initial proposal forwarded by Shard Labs in 2021. You might also like: Grayscale launches Lido DAO and Optimism Trust Lido cited several challenges influencing the decision, including limited user adoption and shifting dynamics in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Additionally, Polygon’s transition to zkEVM has contributed to a decline in liquid staking activity. The Lido community’s governance resolutions looking to refocus on Ethereum ( ETH ) is also part of the reason for the sunsetting of the Polygon services. The discontinuation of staking on Polygon begins on December 16, 2024, after which no new staking will be allowed via the Polygon interface. A six-month transition period, running from December 16, 2024, to June 16, 2025, will allow users to unstake their Polygon ( MATIC ). “It is highly advised to unstake stMATIC prior to June 16, 2025 to ensure a smooth unstaking experience using the Lido on Polygon UI.” Lido Finance team on X Between January 15 and January 22, 2025, Lido on Polygon operations will temporarily pause, during which withdrawals will be unavailable. Frontend support for staking on the Polygon protocol will end on June 16, 2025. After this date, withdrawals will only be possible through explorer tools. Lido is the largest liquid staking protocol in the DeFi market, with DeFiLlama data showing it currently has a total value locked of $38.4 billion. Its TVL dwarfs that of Rocket Pool and Jito, which stood at $2.9 billion and $3.1 billion respectively. Read more: Justin Sun withdraws $209M ETH from Lido Finance, profits $349M CryptoIntelligence