RLUSD reserves and attestations: how Ripple’s stablecoin is verified
Quick answer: RLUSD (Ripple USD) is a dollar stablecoin issued by a New York limited-purpose trust company and backed 1:1 by cash, cash equivalents, and short-term U.S. Treasuries held in segregated accounts. A third-party accounting firm publishes a monthly attestation confirming the reserves cover every token in circulation. An attestation is a point-in-time check against defined criteria, not a full financial-statement audit.
Updated 07/17/2026. By Jake Claver. Educational content, not investment advice.
A stablecoin is only as trustworthy as the reserves behind it and the paperwork that lets outsiders check those reserves. “Reserve transparency” and “attestation” are the two words that decide whether a dollar token is a claim you can verify or a promise you have to take on faith. This piece walks through what backs RLUSD, who verifies it, how often, and what the verification does and does not prove.
The distinction matters because the last stablecoin failures were reserve failures. When TerraUSD collapsed in 2022, it had no cash reserves at all. That episode is a big reason regulators now treat reserve quality and public reporting as the core of stablecoin oversight.
What backs RLUSD
RLUSD is designed to hold a constant value of one U.S. dollar, with each token supported one-to-one by reserve assets. Per Ripple’s stablecoin materials, the reserve is held in cash deposits, U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents, kept in segregated accounts rather than commingled with the issuer’s own funds. As of mid-2025, The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the primary custodian for those reserve assets.
The permitted reserve mix is not open-ended. Under the New York rules the issuer follows, eligible reserve assets include short-term U.S. Treasuries, overnight reverse repurchase agreements collateralized by Treasuries, insured bank deposits, and approved government money-market funds. These are the shortest-duration, most liquid instruments available, chosen so the issuer can meet redemptions at par even under stress. RLUSD is issued natively on two networks: the XRP Ledger and Ethereum.
Who issues RLUSD and who regulates it
RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a limited-purpose trust company chartered and supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). NYDFS built its virtual-currency framework, 23 NYCRR Part 200, back in 2015, and a trust charter lets an issuer custody assets and exercise fiduciary powers under state banking supervision. You can read the regulator’s own overview of that regime on the NYDFS virtual currency businesses page. Ripple has said the token also holds approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, extending its regulated footprint outside the United States.
The trust-charter model is the load-bearing part of the reserve story. It is the charter, and the NYDFS customer-protection and reserve rules attached to it, that require the issuer to hold qualifying assets and to publish reserve reporting on a fixed schedule. Without that supervision, “backed by dollars” would be a marketing line rather than a supervised obligation.
How the monthly attestation works
Each month, an independent accounting firm licensed in the United States examines the reserves and issues an attestation report following standards set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Reporting has identified Deloitte as the firm performing the RLUSD attestations. Ripple publishes each report on its RLUSD transparency page, no later than 30 days after the month ends, with reports available going back to December 2024.
The reports put concrete numbers on the peg. As of July 9, 2026, the transparency page showed roughly $1,550.3 million of RLUSD in circulation against about $1,660.0 million in reserve funds, a cushion above the one-to-one requirement. Earlier point-in-time checks told the same story: a February 2026 attestation reported about $1.568 billion in reserves against 1.49 billion tokens outstanding.
Attestation is not the same as an audit
This is the part most readers get wrong, so it is worth stating plainly. An attestation is a point-in-time verification: an accountant checks that, on a specific date, the reserve assets existed and met the stated criteria. A financial-statement audit is broader and ongoing, covering internal controls, the completeness of records, and the issuer’s finances across a full period. Monthly attestations give frequent, independent snapshots; they do not replace a full audit, and reserve reporting for stablecoins is typically attestation-based rather than audited.
That framing helps when comparing tokens. Circle reports that USDC is backed by cash and short-term Treasuries with monthly attestations from a Big Four firm plus daily third-party reporting on its reserve fund. Tether’s transparency page states its tokens are backed 100% by reserves and refreshes figures daily, and Tether has historically relied on attestations rather than a full audit. Reading each issuer’s actual reports, rather than the headline claim, is the only way to compare them honestly.
Why this matters
Reserve transparency is the practical difference between a stablecoin you can redeem and one you hope you can. For a business using RLUSD to move money across borders or park treasury cash, the monthly attestation is the evidence that the token is fully backed and redeemable at par. For regulators, it is the mechanism that keeps a dollar token from quietly becoming an unbacked IOU.
Washington has been moving in the same direction. The 2021 President’s Working Group report on stablecoins recommended that payment-stablecoin issuers face a consistent federal framework, with high-quality reserves and reliable redemption at the center of it. RLUSD’s state-trust charter and monthly attestations are one issuer’s attempt to meet that bar today, using the supervision and reporting tools already available.
Common questions
What backs RLUSD?
RLUSD is backed one-to-one by U.S. dollar cash, cash equivalents, and short-term U.S. Treasuries held in segregated accounts, with The Bank of New York Mellon as primary custodian as of mid-2025. Eligible reserves also include overnight Treasury-backed reverse repos, insured bank deposits, and approved government money-market funds.
Who attests RLUSD reserves and how often?
An independent U.S.-licensed accounting firm, identified in reporting as Deloitte, issues a monthly attestation under AICPA standards. Ripple publishes each report on its RLUSD transparency page no later than 30 days after month end, with reports available back to December 2024.
What is the difference between an attestation and a full audit?
An attestation is a point-in-time check that the reserves existed and met defined criteria on a specific date. A full audit is broader and ongoing, covering internal controls and the issuer’s finances over a whole period. RLUSD, like most major stablecoins, uses recurring attestations rather than a full financial-statement audit.
Is RLUSD regulated?
Yes. RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a limited-purpose trust company chartered and supervised by the New York State Department of Financial Services, and it also holds approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The NYDFS charter sets the reserve and customer-protection requirements the issuer must follow.
Which blockchains is RLUSD issued on?
RLUSD is issued natively on the XRP Ledger and on Ethereum, with the issuer signaling that additional networks may be supported over time.
This content is educational only. It is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Check primary sources and speak with a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
