Costs, licensing, consumer protection Privacy, self-custody, censorship resistance

Ripple

Ripple Labs Inc.

4.4/5 0.5/5 · Data verified on

Ripple is a blockchain-based financial infrastructure company providing institutions with cross-border payments, digital-asset custody, prime brokerage, treasury and tokenization services, leveraging the XRP Ledger. It issues RLUSD, a regulated US-dollar stablecoin (approved by NYDFS and issued through its subsidiary Standard Custody & Trust, with reserves held by BNY Mellon and Deloitte attestations). It serves banks and fintechs worldwide (including BBVA Switzerland, Travelex Bank, Archax) and holds NMLS license #2314015.

61
Transparency: Medium
61/100 · see methodology
61
Data exposure: Medium
61/100 · lower is better for sovereignty · methodology

Data & conditions

Service type Stablecoin infrastructure
Pricing model Not disclosed
Stablecoins RLUSD
Custody model qualified-custody
Customer type Enterprise, Fintech
Fund custody Custodial (platform holds funds)
Supported countries US, EEA, UK, APAC, MENA, LATAM
Regulator NYDFS (New York)
Segment B2B
MiCA / License status NYDFS Limited Purpose TrustNMLS MSB

Strengths

  • Established and regulated player: RLUSD approved by NYDFS, reserves held by BNY Mellon with Deloitte attestations.
  • Full institutional suite: cross-border payments, custody (1M+ wallets), prime brokerage, tokenization on the XRP Ledger.
  • Real banking customers and broad geographic coverage.
  • No notable sovereignty advantage documented.

Weaknesses

  • B2B infrastructure for institutions: not an end-consumer product.
  • Ecosystem heavily tied to XRP/Ripple; corporate history marked by litigation with the US SEC.
  • Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.

Verdict

A D ★ 4.4/5 ★ 0.5/5

Score 4.4/5, very strong profile. In its favour: established and regulated player: RLUSD approved by NYDFS, reserves held by BNY Mellon with Deloitte attestations. The trade-off to weigh: b2B infrastructure for institutions: not an end-consumer product.

On the Sovereignty lens the score is 0.5/5 (weak): the strength is fund control (0.5/5).

Fund control 20% 0.5

Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.

"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.

FAQ

Is RLUSD a regulated stablecoin?

Yes. RLUSD is approved by NYDFS and issued via Standard Custody & Trust (an NYDFS-chartered limited purpose trust owned by Ripple); it is backed 1:1 by dollars, short-term Treasuries and cash equivalents, with reserves held by BNY Mellon and monthly Deloitte attestations.

Can an individual use Ripple?

Ripple's services target banks, fintechs and institutions. An individual can hold the XRP token or the RLUSD stablecoin through third-party exchanges, but is not a direct customer of Ripple's enterprise products.

Sources

Update history

✓ Terms unchanged since Jul 17, 2026

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