Ripple has expanded its USD-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), to African markets through partnerships with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card.  

Launched in late 2024, RLUSD has a market capitalisation of over $700m and holds a licence from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). 

RLUSD is engineered to support financial operations for enterprises, such as enabling settlement for international payments, providing liquidity for remittance and treasury functions, facilitating integration with DeFi protocols, and bridging fiat and cryptocurrency ecosystems.  

It is also utilised as collateral for on-chain trading of tokenised assets such as commodities and securities. 

In Africa, RLUSD’s utility extends beyond financial transactions to include support for weather-related insurance pilots conducted by Mercy Corps Ventures in Kenya.  

One initiative utilises RLUSD as a form of drought insurance for local farmers, with payouts triggered by smart contracts based on satellite data.  

Another pilot employs the stablecoin for parametric rainfall insurance, offering aid during extreme rainfall events. 

RLUSD’s presence in Africa complements its global availability through platforms such as Bitso, Bitstamp, Bullish, CoinMENA, Independent Reserve, Gemini, Kraken, LMAX, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold.  

Ripple SVP of Stablecoins Jack McDonald said: “RLUSD has quickly become established in enterprise financial use cases, from payments to tokenisation to collateral in both crypto and traditional trading markets. We’re seeing demand for RLUSD from our customers and other key institutional players globally and are excited to now begin distribution in Africa through our local partners.  

“We also recently enabled RLUSD in Ripple Payments, extending the breadth of stablecoins available in our cross-border payments solution to better serve our customers in Africa and worldwide.” 

Last month, Ripple joined forces with SBI Holdings to introduce RLUSD in the Japanese market in first quarter of 2026.