A year ago today, on June 15, 2025, Gate exchange listed Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, offering four trading pairs and launching a 750,000 RLUSD incentive program aimed at retail and high-volume traders alike. The stablecoin, issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of Ripple Labs), entered the market with a $1.6 billion market cap and a promise of regulated, enterprise-grade stability.
Trading pairs and availability
At launch, Gate opened four trading pairs: BTC/RLUSD, ETH/RLUSD, XRP/RLUSD, and RLUSD/USDT. RLUSD is natively available on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, giving users fast, low-cost transactions on XRPL and composability with smart contracts on Ethereum. This dual-chain setup wasn't new for a stablecoin, but it gave traders immediate flexibility.
The backing behind RLUSD
RLUSD is a regulated stablecoin backed 1:1 by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and other cash equivalents. Monthly attestations are provided to verify the reserves. Standard Custody & Trust Company, a New York-based limited purpose trust company, handles issuance — a structure that puts RLUSD into the same regulatory family as coins like Pax Dollar or Gemini Dollar, though tied directly to Ripple Labs.
Incentive program details
Gate’s incentive pool totaled 750,000 RLUSD. It included a CandyDrop for retail users, VIP airdrops for high-volume accounts, withdrawal fee reductions, and promotions aimed at key opinion leaders. The exchange explicitly excluded stablecoin-to-stablecoin trading from the core incentive scope, a move designed to cut down on non-organic activity. That detail raised some eyebrows at the time, but it also kept the program focused on genuine demand.
Withdrawals and fee-free window
The exchange planned to launch RLUSD withdrawals on June 16, 2025 at 09:00 UTC — the day after the listing — with a fee-free promotion for withdrawals of 20 RLUSD or more. Contract addresses were published for both the ERC-20 version (0x8292bb45bf1ee4d140127049757c2e0ff06317ed) and the XRP Ledger token (rMxCKbEDwqr76QuheSUMdEGf4B9xJ8m5De with token 524C555344...). The timing wasn't accidental: quick access to withdrawals gave early adopters a reason to jump in.
The listing marked a significant step for RLUSD's adoption, though the broader stablecoin market has continued to evolve since. Contract addresses for RLUSD are available on Etherscan and the XRP Ledger for anyone looking to interact directly with the token.
