Moody’s Assigns RLUSD Investment-Grade Deposit Ratings of A2 and P-1

Key Facts

Moody’s Ratings assigned the RLUSD stablecoin a long-term deposit rating of A2 and a short-term deposit rating of P-1, both investment grade, The Block reported on October 28, 2026. The assessment puts the quality of the claim associated with the currency at the center of the announcement, covering deposit ratings rather than a general rating of the issuing company. Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, said RLUSD was "the first stablecoin to receive an investment-grade rating from Moody’s" and described the move as "a major endorsement." The rating follows the currency’s launch in December 2024, and its market capitalization reached $2.5 billion, according to the report. Ripple said its use is concentrated mainly in its payments infrastructure and as collateral at Ripple Prime.

Moody’s said the A2 rating reflects its assessment of the quality and market value of reserve assets, alongside the level of reserve coverage, liquidity and redemption arrangements. The judgment is therefore tied to factors that support the reserve’s ability to back the currency in circulation and the capacity to convert it into redeemed value, as well as the quality of the assets themselves. Reserves consist mainly of U.S. Treasury bills, other short-term U.S. government assets and cash, The Block reported, citing Moody’s. Bank of New York Mellon holds most of these assets and has an Aa1 rating from Moody’s. The agency also cited the segregation of the reserve and its custody by third parties, as well as operational, technical, legal, regulatory and structural considerations included in the assessment.

Standard Custody & Trust Company targets reserve coverage of 103%, which Moody’s said exceeds the minimum associated with the rating. Ripple’s transparency data showed RLUSD in circulation of $2,382.8 million and reserve funds of $2,528.0 million on October 22, 2026. These published figures place circulation and reserve data in the context of the six days before the rating announcement, while the coverage target cited by Moody’s remains a separate measure from the total reported values. Ripple said the currency will continue to be issued through Standard Custody & Trust Company, a limited-purpose trust company supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The federal oversight added by the proposed bank relates to Ripple’s national trust bank, according to the company’s statement.

Moody’s assigned the ratings under its stablecoin methodology published in March 2026, The Block reported. The agency says a deterioration in the credit quality or market value of reserve assets, a decline in coverage, or weaker liquidity or redemption capacity could lead to rating downgrades. These factors link the assessment to the reserve’s ability to meet backing and redemption requirements, rather than simply to the size of the currency in circulation. In the regulatory context, Moody’s said the GENIUS Act, scheduled to take effect in January 2027, will strengthen protections for reserve assets and stablecoin holders. The protections include keeping required reserves outside the issuer’s bankruptcy estate, according to the report.

Before the rating announcement, Ripple received final approval in the week before the report from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to launch Ripple National Trust Bank, The Block reported. The bank is authorized to manage the segregated reserves backing RLUSD, act as collateral custodian for its holders and provide fiduciary custody services for digital assets. Ripple said final approval followed conditional approval from the office in December 2025, and that the proposed national bank adds federal oversight from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, while RLUSD continues to be issued through the New York-supervised company. In connection with uses the company had previously announced, Ripple said on November 5, 2025, that it was working with Mastercard, WebBank and Gemini to explore settling traditional fiat-denominated credit card transactions using RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, subject to required regulatory approvals. Ripple also announced on November 27, 2025, that the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market had recognized RLUSD as an accepted fiat-referenced token for use within the market.