The credit-rating firm assigned A2 long-term and P-1 short-term deposit ratings to RLUSD, citing the quality of its reserves and redemption arrangements. The issuer targets reserves of 103% of tokens outstanding.
Crypto | FinancialMarkets.com | October 28, 2026
Tickers: RLUSD, XRP, CRCL
Corporate treasurers know how to read a Moody's rating. Ripple now has one to show them for its dollar token.
Moody's Ratings said it assigned A2 long-term and P-1 short-term deposit ratings to Ripple USD, or RLUSD, the stablecoin issued by Ripple's New York trust company, Standard Custody & Trust Co.
Moody's said the ratings reflect the credit quality and market value of the token's reserve assets, the level of reserve coverage, liquidity and redemption arrangements, the segregation of reserves and their holding with a third-party custodian. It noted that the issuer "targets 103% Reserve coverage, which exceeds the minimum coverage level associated with the rating."
What is being rated
The rating is on the token, treated like a deposit. Ripple Labs, the company, was not rated. What Moody's is assessing is the likelihood that holders of RLUSD get their dollars back, which depends on what the reserves hold and how they are protected.
A2 is solidly investment grade but in the middle of the scale, below the ratings many large banks carry on their deposits. P-1 is the top short-term rating.
Why it matters for adoption
For a company deciding whether to hold a stablecoin on its balance sheet, a rating from a major agency gives a familiar yardstick and something to put in front of auditors and boards. It is one more piece of the bank-style structure Ripple has built around RLUSD this week: a federal trust charter that Ripple announced on Monday, and distribution deals with Robinhood and BNY on Tuesday.
Weighing the milestone
One reading is that the rating is a real credibility step for a stablecoin trying to win institutional balances, coming in the same week as its regulatory and distribution announcements.
The other is that the rating describes the reserves, not demand. An A2 grade is mid-range, the announcement coincided with Ripple's Swell conference, and RLUSD's market value of more than $2.4 billion, by Ripple's figures, is still small next to the largest dollar stablecoins.
What to watch
Whether Moody's or other agencies rate competing stablecoins, any change in RLUSD's supply in the coming weeks, and Circle's third-quarter results on Nov. 4.