Robinhood taps Ripple’s $2.5 billion RLUSD stablecoin despite backing rival USDG

Robinhood taps Ripple’s $2.5 billion RLUSD stablecoin despite backing rival USDGRobinhood helped launch a rival dollar-backed token, USDG, but will also offer Ripple's stablecoin to retail customers later this year.Oct 27, 2026, 12:35 p.m. EDTBrad Garlinghouse's Ripple stablecoin will be available to Robinhood users before the end of this year. (CoinDesk)Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is expected to become available in Robinhood’s app by the end of 2026, potentially reaching the brokerage’s 28.6 million funded customers.Robinhood plans to offer RLUSD despite its role in the Global Dollar Network, which promotes Paxos’s competing USDG stablecoin, though it remains unclear how the two tokens will coexist in its products.The partnership also includes using RLUSD for Bitstamp settlements and adopting Ripple’s software for Robinhood’s treasury operations, while the companies plan to add perpetual futures trading later this year.Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is set to reach Robinhood’s retail customers later this year, giving the dollar-backed token access to a brokerage platform with roughly 28.6 million funded accounts.“From bringing RLUSD to retail and institutional markets to helping Robinhood manage its own treasury operations, this partnership reflects growing institutional demand for integrated solutions that support customer-facing offerings and core financial operations,” said Monica Long, president of Ripple.The companies announced the partnership on Tuesday. RLUSD is already available on Robinhood Chain and Bitstamp, the crypto exchange Robinhood acquired for $200 million in June. Now, RLUSD is also expected to become available through the Robinhood app before the end of 2026.That decision puts Robinhood in an unusual position, as it helped establish the Global Dollar Network in 2024 to promote USDG, a competing stablecoin issued by Paxos. Now, Robinhood is announcing its plans to offer Ripple’s rival token to its customers.The Global Dollar Network, founded in 2024, brings together companies that help distribute USDG and share in the revenue it generates. The arrangement gives members a financial incentive to promote USDG, but Robinhood’s partnership with Ripple shows that those incentives do not preclude members from offering competing stablecoins. Other founding members included Kraken, Galaxy Digital, Anchorage Digital and CoinDesk's parent company, Bullish. Arbitrum joined earlier this month.Robinhood has already given USDG a role in its products. In July, the consortium announced that USDG would be the default lending asset for Robinhood Earn, its onchain lending product.Robinhood did not announce any changes to its USDG agreement, and it remains unclear whether RLUSD will be offered alongside USDG in the same products. CoinDesk contacted Robinhood regarding this matter, but the fintech did not respond immediately.Robinhood reported 28.6 million funded customers at the end of August. The companies have not said how many will be eligible to use RLUSD when it becomes available in the app.The partnership also covers Robinhood’s institutional business. Bitstamp will use RLUSD on the XRP Ledger for settlement, while Robinhood plans to adopt Ripple’s treasury software for cash management, payments and forecasting.Ripple Prime already provides Bitstamp with lending and margin financing across roughly 20 digital assets. The companies plan to add perpetual futures trading later this year.RLUSD, launched in December 2024, has grown to a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion, according to the press release.Robinhood has not said whether RLUSD will receive the same role as USDG in its lending products, or how the two stablecoins will be promoted to customers.Also on Tuesday, Ripple, which got final Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approval to go ahead with the Ripple National Trust Bank (RNTB) yesterday, announced the expansion of its partnership with BNY (BNY) to broaden institutional digital asset custody infrastructure and explore new institutional use cases for blockchain, including tokenized trade. Both firms first partnered in July 2025.12345678910