Moody’s Ratings has assigned investment-grade ratings to Ripple’s US dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin, which Ripple says is the first investment-grade Moody’s rating for a stablecoin. The agency gave RLUSD an A2 long-term deposit rating and a P-1 short-term deposit rating, according to its official rating announcement.
A2 sits in the upper-medium-grade band of Moody’s long-term scale, while P-1 is the agency’s highest short-term grade. The ratings cover RLUSD issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, Ripple’s New York-regulated subsidiary, across the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. Moody’s assigned them under its stablecoin methodology published in March 2026. RLUSD ranks as the ninth-largest stablecoin, with a market capitalization of roughly $2.6 billion, according to DeFiLlama data as of October 28.
Moody’s Weighs Reserves, Liquidity and Legal Structure
Moody’s based its assessment on the credit quality and market value of RLUSD’s reserve assets, reserve coverage, liquidity and redemption arrangements. It also reviewed reserve segregation, third-party custody and the token’s operational, technological, legal and regulatory structure.
RLUSD’s reserves consist mainly of highly liquid, short-duration US government assets and cash. Standard Custody & Trust Company targets reserve coverage of 103%, and the assets are held with The Bank of New York Mellon, which Moody’s rates Aa1.
Legal structure is what holds the rating back. Moody’s said Standard Custody is not a bankruptcy-remote entity, and RLUSD holders do not have a direct ownership interest in the reserves. Stronger separation would support a higher rating. The agency also stressed that the ratings do not guarantee RLUSD will hold its dollar peg under all market conditions. Weaker reserve quality, lower reserve coverage or thinner liquidity and redemption capacity could trigger a downgrade.
Ripple’s Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins, framed the rating as a validation of the project in a post on X.
“RLUSD is the first stablecoin to have ever received an investment-grade Moody’s rating. This is one of the most respected independent credit rating agencies in the world, and a massive validation of the quality, transparency and institutional-grade infrastructure behind RLUSD.”
Investor Takeaway
Moody’s assigned RLUSD A2 long-term and P-1 short-term ratings after assessing its reserve quality, liquidity, custody arrangements and redemption capacity. The agency warned that weaker reserves or liquidity could lead to a downgrade.
Ripple Builds Out RLUSD’s Institutional Backbone
Ripple is working on several of those pressure points at once. On October 27, BNY expanded its partnership with Ripple to cover institutional custody for XRP and RLUSD. The bank is also exploring direct minting and redemption services for eligible clients, along with tokenized trade finance.
Ripple also secured final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Ripple National Trust Bank. The institution will manage segregated RLUSD reserves, act as collateral trustee for stablecoin holders and provide fiduciary digital asset custody—a structure built around reserve protection.
Beyond the US, Standard Chartered launched institutional custody for RLUSD on the XRP Ledger through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch. The bank is also working with Ripple and LMAX Group on an integration that would let eligible institutional clients use RLUSD as collateral for selected trading products. Meanwhile, DriveWealth is integrating the stablecoin to help clients fund collateral accounts outside conventional banking hours, which extends RLUSD toward market settlement.
Investor Takeaway
Ripple is expanding RLUSD’s institutional infrastructure through BNY’s custody services, plans for a US national trust bank, Standard Chartered’s custody offering and DriveWealth’s brokerage integration, broadening the stablecoin’s potential use in custody, collateral management and settlement.
