Ripple Mint Gives Institutions a Direct Line to RLUSD

Ripple flipped the switch on Ripple Mint this week, a single dashboard and API through which banks and trading firms can mint, redeem and move its RLUSD stablecoin across seven blockchains without opening a second account. The company confirmed the launch on July 23, 2026, describing it as a unified way for institutions to access, mint, redeem and manage Ripple USD.

Circle already runs a similar minting service for USDC. Three weeks earlier, Circle handed a slice of that access to Standard Chartered instead of keeping it fully in house. Ripple built its whole pipeline internally, then pointed RLUSD straight at Base, the Coinbase built network that has become one of USDC’s biggest home chains.

Ripple Mint Puts RLUSD’s Back Office in One Dashboard

“Ripple Mint is here,” the company said in its announcement, “a unified way for institutions to access, mint, redeem, and manage Ripple USD (RLUSD).” Institutions get two ways in: a web based interface for manual use, or Direct Connect through an API for firms that want everything automated.

Through the platform, institutions can now:

• Mint and redeem RLUSD against dollars through either channel
• Transfer the stablecoin between supported blockchains without a third party bridge
• Track a transaction from creation through to maturity using a uniform reference ID
• Integrate RLUSD workflows into existing treasury and settlement systems via API and webhook alerts

Ripple said the new webhook notifications let customers check transaction status and account balances programmatically and receive real time updates as a mint or redemption moves through each stage. “Through new APIs and webhook notifications, customers can now integrate RLUSD workflows directly into their own systems, enabling automation, operational visibility, and easier reconciliation,” the company said. Ripple confirmed the platform is already live for existing RLUSD customers as of launch day.

Circle Already Built a Version of This for USDC

This is not a new category. Circle has operated Circle Mint for years, letting exchanges, institutional traders, wallet providers and banks mint and redeem USDC and its euro counterpart EURC straight from Circle at a one to one rate. Circle’s own product page says Circle Mint is free for those who qualify, with no per transaction issuance fee for approved institutions.

What changed three weeks before Ripple Mint launched is who sits at the front door. Standard Chartered announced on July 2 that it had become, in its own words, the first globally systemically important bank licensed to offer institutional clients USDC minting and redemption without requiring them to hold a direct Circle account. Circle framed the arrangement as the first bank led integrated access model for USDC, built to serve institutions that would rather bank with a familiar name than open an account with a stablecoin issuer directly.

Ripple took the opposite route with Ripple Mint. There is no bank in the middle. An institution deals with Ripple’s own systems for both the web interface and the API. That is a bet that institutions increasingly want a direct line to the issuer rather than a bank wrapped version of one, at the same moment Circle is proving the wrapped version has real demand too.

RLUSD’s Newest Chains Include Coinbase’s Own Backyard

Ripple said RLUSD is expanding beyond the XRP Ledger and Ethereum onto the XRPL EVM Sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain. That takes RLUSD to seven blockchains in total. Ripple called the XRPL EVM Sidechain especially important, since it lets developers build with familiar EVM tools while staying tied to the XRP Ledger’s own settlement layer.

Base is the sharpest name on that list. It is an Ethereum layer two network built by Coinbase, and it has, according to Circle’s own account of the rollout, made native USDC available on Base since 2023, growing into one of the network’s most used dollar tokens. Ripple is now landing RLUSD on the same rails, alongside Optimism and Unichain, two more networks where USDC already has a head start.

Ripple said the expansion will widen where RLUSD shows up, on exchanges, in decentralized finance protocols, inside payment apps and across new onchain financial plumbing. The company also said XRP and RLUSD are meant to work together across liquidity, settlement, collateral, swaps and payments, tying the token and the stablecoin into one story for institutional buyers. XRP’s own derivatives market has had its own momentum lately, having recently reclaimed a 2.6 billion dollar open interest crown from HYPE, giving Ripple a second growth story to pitch alongside RLUSD.

How Does RLUSD’s Size Compare With USDT and USDC?

RLUSD remains small next to the two stablecoins it is chasing onto their own turf. Tether’s USDT held roughly $184.2 billion and Circle’s USDC held $73.4 billion as of July 12, 2026, while RLUSD closed out 2025 near $1.33 billion, a small fraction of either rival.

• $184.2 billion: USDT’s market cap as of July 12, 2026, still the largest stablecoin by a wide margin
• $73.4 billion: USDC’s market cap on the same date, more than fifty times RLUSD’s size
• $1.33 billion: RLUSD’s market cap at the close of 2025, up from zero at its December 2024 launch
• 1,278%: RLUSD’s year to date growth rate through 2025, among the fastest of any dollar stablecoin

Even against smaller rivals RLUSD sits near the back of the pack. A tracker showing Tether alone holds $184.2 billion of the market put the whole stablecoin sector at $303.2 billion in mid July, and RLUSD has held roughly the tenth spot among dollar stablecoins since crossing $1 billion in November 2025, a rank it still held as of late July 2026.

Why Ripple Bought Into Notabene Instead of Building It

Alongside Ripple Mint, Ripple made a strategic, undisclosed investment in Notabene, a New York based company that runs what it calls the largest open network for Travel Rule compliant crypto transactions. Notabene built its business on the messaging infrastructure that lets exchanges, custodians and banks exchange counterparty information before a transaction settles onchain, the same information banks have exchanged on wire transfers for decades.

The deal folds RLUSD into a network spanning 2,300 institutions and $2 trillion in annualized volume, through Notabene Flow, the company’s business to business stablecoin payments platform. Ripple and Notabene are also exploring whether Notabene’s pre-transaction authorization tools could plug into Ripple Payments directly.

Stablecoins are quickly becoming part of mainstream financial infrastructure, but institutional adoption depends on more than efficient settlement rails alone.

Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoin, said that in the companies’ joint announcement of the deal. Notabene’s chief executive, Pelle Braendgaard, described the tie up as turning stablecoin adoption from a pilot exercise into a real growth engine, Benzinga reported. Buying a stake in an established compliance network, rather than building competing infrastructure from scratch, let Ripple skip years of onboarding work with banks that already trust Notabene.

What Ripple Has Confirmed, and What It Hasn’t

Ripple has been specific about some details of this rollout and quiet about others.

• Confirmed: Ripple Mint is live now for institutions already onboarded as RLUSD customers, reachable through either the web dashboard or the API.
• Confirmed: RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody and Trust Company LLC, a Ripple subsidiary chartered by the New York Department of Financial Services.
• Confirmed: RLUSD is adding five blockchains, the XRPL EVM Sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain, on top of its original two.

• Unconfirmed: The dollar size of Ripple’s investment in Notabene.
• Unconfirmed: Whether or when Ripple Mint opens beyond institutions already using RLUSD.
• Unconfirmed: Whether any bank will build a Standard Chartered style front door into RLUSD the way one now exists for USDC.

For now, access runs entirely through Ripple’s own systems, with the company saying plainly that Ripple Mint is available to existing RLUSD customers today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ripple Mint Open to Retail Investors?

No. Ripple Mint is restricted to institutions already onboarded as RLUSD customers, the same institutions only policy Circle applies to Circle Mint. Retail holders still buy and sell RLUSD on exchanges rather than minting it directly with Ripple.

What Is the Crypto Travel Rule That Notabene Enforces?

The Travel Rule, drawn from Financial Action Task Force guidance, requires exchanges, custodians and banks to pass along sender and recipient information before a crypto transaction settles onchain, mirroring the rules traditional wire transfers have followed for decades.

How Much Did Ripple Invest in Notabene?

Ripple has not disclosed the size of its stake. Notabene’s last disclosed funding round was a Series B in November 2024, when the company served roughly 165 institutional customers, a base that has since grown past 280.

Why Does Direct Minting Matter More Than Buying RLUSD on an Exchange?

Minting converts dollars to RLUSD at an exact one to one rate with no spread, while buying on the open market means paying whatever a market maker charges that day, a small fee that adds up for treasury teams moving large sums every month.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Stablecoins and other digital assets carry risk, and figures cited are accurate as of publication. Readers should consult a licensed financial professional before making decisions involving digital assets.