Ripple USD (RLUSD) is a dollar stablecoin issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a Ripple subsidiary with a limited-purpose trust charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY) does not issue RLUSD and does not guarantee it. Ripple picked BNY on July 9, 2025, as the primary custodian of the reserve assets behind the coin. On Ripple's transparency page, dated Oct. 22, 2026, there was $2,382.8 million of RLUSD in circulation against $2,528.0 million in reserve funds.
The latest numbers (October 2026)
Ripple's transparency page gave these figures "as of 10/22/2026":
- Total circulating RLUSD: $2,382.8 million
- RLUSD reserve funds: $2,528.0 million
That puts reserves about $145.2 million, or roughly 6.1%, above the tokens in circulation on that date. Ripple's RLUSD product page shows a "103%" overcollateralization figure. The page does not explain how that figure is measured.
The newest monthly attestation report linked from the transparency page covers August 2026. That means the October balances come later than the most recent independent report. The transparency page gives no breakdown by asset type.
For scale: Ripple said on Dec. 12, 2025, that RLUSD had "surpassed $1B market cap in less than a year". Supply has more than doubled since then.
Who does what
Issuer: Standard Custody & Trust Company
Ripple's developer documentation names "The Standard Custody and Trust Company, LLC (SCTC)" as the entity that issues and distributes RLUSD, alongside other regulated Ripple subsidiaries. A Ripple guide dated Sept. 11, 2026 says RLUSD is issued under a "limited-purpose trust company charter granted by the NYDFS". Ripple's product page also cites approval from NYDFS and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
Primary reserve custodian: BNY
In its July 9, 2025 release, Ripple said it had selected BNY "for the primary custody of Ripple USD (RLUSD) reserves." The same release says Ripple will use BNY's transaction banking services to support its own operations. That is a separate banking relationship with Ripple the company. It is not part of the token's reserve.
The release quotes both sides:
- Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple: "BNY brings together demonstrable custody expertise and a strong commitment to financial innovation."
- Emily Portney, Global Head of Asset Servicing at BNY: "we're proud to support the growth of digital assets by providing a differentiated platform."
Why "primary" matters
Ripple's product page says reserves sit in segregated accounts at "depository institutions and securities custodians." The wording is plural. BNY is the only institution Ripple names, and it is named as primary custodian, so it is not necessarily the only holder. Ripple's developer docs also allow deposits at U.S. state or federally chartered depository institutions as reserve assets.
What backs each token
Ripple's developer documentation lists four types of eligible reserve assets:
- U.S. Treasury bills with three months or less remaining to maturity
- Government money market funds
- Overnight reverse repurchase agreements on T-bills or Treasury notes with NYDFS-approved counterparties
- Deposits at U.S. state or federally chartered depository institutions
The product page summarises this as "Backed 1:1 by cash, U.S. Treasuries, and government money market funds."
Who checks the reserves
Ripple publishes monthly reserve reports. Its developer documentation names the firm: "We provide monthly reserve reports conducted by the independent third-party accounting firm, Deloitte." The transparency page does not name the firm. It describes the attestor as an "independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the United States."
These reports are attestations under AICPA standards, not full financial audits. Ripple's July 2025 release used the phrase "third-party audits," but its current pages describe the checks as monthly attestations.
Can you redeem RLUSD directly with the issuer?
Answer two questions to see what Ripple's public documents say about your route from RLUSD back to U.S. dollars.
Are you an enterprise institution that meets bank-level Know Your Customer and anti-money-laundering requirements, with regular sanctions screening?
- Yes → next question
- No, I hold RLUSD through a third-party platform or on-ramp → The documents do not offer you direct redemption
Have you read the RLUSD Stablecoin User Terms, where Ripple puts the redemption details?
- Yes → The direct redemption flow
- Not yet → Read the User Terms first
Ripple's developer documentation limits direct customers to enterprise institutions that meet bank-level KYC and anti-money-laundering checks. Other holders reach RLUSD through third-party platforms and on-ramps, and the documentation does not say they can redeem directly with the issuer. The promise to pay dollars comes from the issuer, Standard Custody & Trust Company, not from BNY.
Ripple's product page says RLUSD can be redeemed at par for U.S. dollars and points to the RLUSD Stablecoin User Terms for the details. Neither the product page nor the developer documentation gives minimums, fees or timing.
You send RLUSD on-chain to Ripple's redemption wallet. Ripple detects the transaction and runs a compliance check on your wallet, and goes ahead only if it passes. Ripple then sends payment instructions to partner banks, moves funds out of the reserve account as needed, and you receive USD in your bank account. The public pages give no minimums, fees or timing.
This follows Ripple's public product page and developer documentation only: it does not cover the User Terms clause by clause, any platform's own redemption rules, fees, timing, or what happens to reserves if the issuer becomes insolvent.
announced it has selected The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ("BNY") (NYSE: BK), a global financial services company, for the primary custody of Ripple USD (RLUSD) reserves.
Who can redeem, and how
Ripple's product page says RLUSD "can be redeemed at par" for U.S. dollars. Details are in the RLUSD Stablecoin User Terms.
The developer documentation limits direct customers to "enterprise institutions that meet bank-level Know Your Customer" and anti-money-laundering requirements, with regular sanctions screening. Other holders reach RLUSD through third-party platforms and on-ramps. The documentation does not say they can redeem directly with the issuer. It describes the redemption flow in this order:
- The institution sends RLUSD on-chain to Ripple's redemption wallet.
- The blockchain updates that wallet to show the redeemed tokens.
- Ripple detects the transaction and starts the fiat redemption.
- Ripple runs a compliance check on the customer's wallet and proceeds only if it passes.
- Ripple sends payment instructions to partner banks.
- Ripple moves funds out of the reserve account as needed.
- The institution receives USD in its bank account.
Neither page gives minimums, fees or timing. Anyone relying on redemption should read the User Terms first.
RLUSD runs on seven networks, according to Ripple: XRP Ledger, Ethereum, Base, Optimism, Ink, Unichain and the XRPL EVM Sidechain.
The pending federal charter
On Dec. 12, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced conditional approvals for five national trust bank charter applications. One was a de novo charter for Ripple National Trust Bank. The OCC said the approvals are "subject to meeting the OCC's conditions."
In Ripple's announcement the same day, Ripple said that "with a national trust bank managing RLUSD reserves," its stablecoin business would be overseen by both NYDFS and the OCC. Ripple's Sept. 11, 2026 guide still called it "a conditional approval, one step in a multi-stage federal chartering process, not a completed charter."
What BNY's size does and does not tell you
BNY's third-quarter 2026 results, released Oct. 15, 2026, say: "As of September 30, 2026, BNY oversees $63.4 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration." That is the size of BNY's whole custody and administration business. It is not the size of the RLUSD reserve, and it does not show how safe that reserve is.
BNY's digital assets page says its custody service "helps facilitate asset segregation and compliance." The page does not mention stablecoin reserves or Ripple. A custodian holds and segregates assets. The promise to pay dollars for tokens comes from the issuer.
What the public documents leave out
Almost every statement about RLUSD's backing, redemption and safeguards comes from Ripple. BNY's public statements cover its custody service in general and its own size. Neither company's public documents disclose the custody contract, its fees, how much of the reserve BNY holds, or how reserves would be treated if the issuer became insolvent.
