- Ripple brings RLUSD to Africa through Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card.
- The stablecoin, less than a year old, already holds NYDFS approval and global reach.
- RLUSD supply has surged past $700M, powering remittances, treasury, and tokenized assets.
Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD has officially crossed into Africa, joining forces with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card to make it happen. It’s another big swing by Ripple Labs to show how stablecoins can break through borders and rewire financial access across continents.
A Push Beyond Borders
On September 4, Ripple dropped the news on X: RLUSD’s next stop is Africa. The USD-pegged stablecoin will now be accessible through heavyweight partners like Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card. The idea isn’t just about adding another region to the map—it’s about giving businesses a dependable digital dollar they can actually use for payments, settlement, and liquidity without the constant headaches of legacy rails.
The timing is wild, too. RLUSD is barely nine months old, yet it’s already punching above its weight. Back in December 2024, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) gave the coin its final approval, cementing Ripple as a serious player in the tightly regulated stablecoin market. For a token this young, that’s no small feat.
A Strategy Built on Global Partnerships
Ripple has been running fast since RLUSD’s debut. At launch, the company signed on partners from the US, the UK, the Middle East, and Asia—working with well-known names like Mercado Bitcoin, MoonPay, Uphold, Bitso, Archax, and Bitstamp. It wasn’t a blanket rollout, though. Ripple made it clear that RLUSD’s availability would depend on local rules, with each jurisdiction requiring its own careful approach. Africa now joins that global expansion path.
Singapore got RLUSD early, with the stablecoin landing on Independent Reserve just a week after launch. From there, it slipped into Aave Labs’ Horizon platform for tokenized assets, aimed at bridging traditional finance with DeFi. In Europe, Ripple is targeting Luxembourg as its entry point, banking on the region’s MiCA framework and strong financial infrastructure to secure a foothold.
Why It Matters for Ripple and Africa
Ripple says RLUSD isn’t just another token—it can serve real-world use cases like treasury management, cross-border remittances, and collateral for tokenized assets. That versatility is a big reason its supply on Ethereum and the XRP Ledger has already surged past $700 million.
For Africa, the arrival of RLUSD could mean easier access to a stable digital dollar in places where local currencies often struggle. And for Ripple, it’s proof that its stablecoin isn’t just surviving—it’s spreading fast, with clear ambitions to lock in a global presence.
