Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) added Ripple USD (RLUSD) to Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Exchange and its retail app on October 28, 2026, the companies announced. Clients can convert U.S. dollars and other supported dollar stablecoins into RLUSD at 1:1.
Key Facts
- Coinbase supports RLUSD deposits and withdrawals on three networks: the XRP Ledger, Base and Ethereum.
- Ripple says RLUSD has topped $2.4 billion in market capitalization since its December 2024 launch.
- Coinbase Global Exchange customers, including those who want to post RLUSD as collateral, will get access later.
- Ripple will provide its own liquidity to support RLUSD use on the Base network.
Coinbase opens a 1:1 route into RLUSD
The listing reaches both halves of Coinbase’s customer base. Retail users get RLUSD in the Coinbase app, and institutions reach it through Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Exchange, according to Ripple’s announcement.
The stablecoin leg of the conversion is the more consequential one. A holder of a rival dollar token on Coinbase can move into RLUSD at par without cashing out first. That cuts a step from any switch.
RLUSD is redeemable for U.S. dollars and backed by reserves that include dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries and other cash equivalents, Ripple said. The company credits its growth since launch to adoption across exchanges, payments, institutional markets and onchain finance.
@Ripple 🤝🏼 @coinbase $RLUSD is coming to the largest U.S. crypto exchange, expanding access for retail and institutional markets, with support across @XRP, @Ethereum and @Base. https://t.co/iyz9RvoU7a
— Ripple (@Ripple) October 28, 2026
Ripple pitched the deal as a fix for distribution. Jack McDonald, Ripple’s SVP of Stablecoins said:
He said the partnership brings RLUSD to the largest institutional client base in the U.S. crypto market.
Brett Tejpaul, co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, tied RLUSD to Coinbase’s “everything exchange” plan. He described it as one venue where clients choose the assets that fit their strategy, on infrastructure built for security and compliance.
Ripple funds liquidity on Coinbase’s own network
Base is where Ripple is putting in resources of its own. The company said it will provide liquidity to support RLUSD on Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network Coinbase incubated. Neither company put a dollar figure on that commitment.
Collateral support is the piece that would let traders pledge RLUSD against positions. It is also the piece without a date. Ripple said the integrations extend RLUSD across spot trading, institutional prime brokerage, derivatives and DeFi. Neither company detailed the derivatives or DeFi pieces.
Coinbase framed the listing around bank demand. Seven of the 10 largest U.S. banks have tested stablecoins or tokenized deposits for settlement, Coinbase said in its listing post. The other three have announced plans to do so. Those institutions, Coinbase argued, need execution, settlement and custody inside one vertically integrated stack.
The rollout lands a day after Ripple announced an RLUSD settlement and treasury deal with Robinhood. The two deals give the token different first jobs. At Robinhood, RLUSD went live on Bitstamp by Robinhood and Robinhood Chain, while the main Robinhood app listing is expected later this year. Coinbase put RLUSD in its retail app on day one.
Ripple is placing RLUSD inside accounts U.S. customers already hold, at two brokerages in two days. It isn’t waiting for those customers to come to Ripple. Ripple, which says it holds over 85 licenses, sells the token alongside its payments, custody, prime brokerage and treasury products.
The Bottom Line
Existing Coinbase users moving RLUSD onto the platform should match the deposit network to the chain their tokens sit on. The XRP Ledger, Base and Ethereum are separate rails. Coinbase says access covers customers in supported regions but did not list those regions in its post.
Several terms remain open.
- How large is Ripple’s liquidity commitment on Base?
- When can Global Exchange customers post RLUSD as collate?
Neither company has said, and neither addressed whether the 1:1 conversion carries a fee.
The next checkpoint is hours away. McDonald and Tejpaul are scheduled to take the stage at Ripple Swell in New York at 4:45 p.m. ET today. Their session covers the next phase of institutional stablecoin adoption.
