Digital asset infrastructure provider Copper has added Ripple’s U.S. dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, to its Stablecoin Rewards Program, expanding institutional access to yield opportunities through a custodial platform. The integration allows Copper’s enterprise clients to hold RLUSD inside Copper’s custody environment while earning rewards on the asset.
The move gives institutional users a way to access stablecoin yield without directly managing decentralized finance positions or moving assets across external protocols. Copper said the addition of RLUSD fits its focus on regulated digital dollar assets, secure custody, and collateral management for professional market participants.
RLUSD is issued by Ripple and is designed to maintain a one-to-one peg with the U.S. dollar. The stablecoin is backed by U.S. dollar deposits and cash equivalents, including government bond-related reserves, according to the information provided. It is issued natively on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, giving users access across two major blockchain environments.
Copper Adds RLUSD to Its Stablecoin Rewards Program
Copper’s Stablecoin Rewards Program already supports several digital dollar products, including USDC, USDe, USDtb, PYUSD, USX and USDG. The addition of RLUSD gives institutional clients another option inside the same yield framework.
Copper Chief Executive Amar Kuchinad said regulated stablecoins with secure custody and efficient collateral management are expected to play a role in institutional digital asset adoption. He said RLUSD meets Copper’s standards for security and transparency.
For Ripple, the integration places RLUSD within infrastructure used by institutions for custody, settlement, and collateral operations. Aditya Turakhia, Ripple’s vice president of trading and markets, said the partnership brings regulated stablecoin liquidity into systems already used by businesses.
The integration also reflects a wider push by stablecoin issuers to move beyond retail transactions and trading pairs. Institutional users often require custody controls, risk procedures, asset segregation, and reporting before adding a new asset to their operations. Copper’s support may help RLUSD reach clients that prefer to keep assets in a supervised custody environment rather than managing wallets and protocols directly.
RLUSD Market Cap and Exchange Activity Grow
Amid the expansion, RLUSD has also seen increased market activity. Data shared in the source material said the stablecoin’s market capitalization has moved above $1.75 billion, up from about $132 million a year earlier. That growth places RLUSD among the newer regulated stablecoins, attracting attention from institutional and exchange users.
Stablecoin growth is often tracked through market capitalization, exchange deposits, trading liquidity, and custody integrations. In RLUSD’s case, the Copper integration adds another institutional channel at the same time that exchange activity and supply growth are being monitored by market participants.
The expansion of RLUSD has also renewed discussion about its relationship with XRP. Some market participants have questioned whether a Ripple-issued stablecoin could reduce the role of XRP in payments and liquidity. XRP Ledger community figures have argued that the two assets serve different functions.
RLUSD is a dollar-pegged issued asset, while XRP is the native asset of the XRP Ledger. XRP is used for transaction fees and can serve as a neutral bridge asset in swaps and liquidity routes. Issued assets such as RLUSD represent claims tied to an issuer and reserve structure, while XRP operates independently of a stablecoin backing model.
A post shared by XRPL community member Vet said issued assets like RLUSD do not replace XRP’s role as a neutral swap asset. The post said the two assets may grow together as on-chain finance expands, because stablecoins and native bridge assets are used for different purposes.
