Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Stablecoins, Jack McDonald, has set his sights on a colossal $13 trillion opportunity within the corporate treasury services market for the company’s stablecoin, RLUSD. This ambitious target, highlighted in an interview reported on September 12, 2026, stems from Ripple’s strategic integration of digital assets into traditional finance, largely fueled by its 2024 acquisition of GTreasury.
McDonald’s statement underscores Ripple’s broader ambition to transition established financial activities onto blockchain infrastructure, pushing stablecoins beyond mere crypto trading into the core of global payments and financial systems. The company believes its RLUSD stablecoin is uniquely positioned to capture a significant share of this vast market.
Ripple’s bold foray into RLUSD corporate treasury
Ripple’s aggressive move into corporate treasury management isn’t entirely new. Reports from late March 2026 indicated Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also identified a $13 trillion opportunity tied to GTreasury payments. By April 2, 2026, Ripple had already integrated XRP and RLUSD directly into these corporate treasury systems, marking a pivotal step.
The foundation of this strategy is the Ripple Treasury platform, built around the $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury in 2024. This platform currently serves approximately 1,200 corporate treasury officers and chief financial officers (CFOs). These executives manage the cross-border, inter-subsidiary, and domestic movement of funds for their respective enterprises.
Jack McDonald explicitly noted that GTreasury’s client base processes around $13 trillion in transactions annually. Crucially, none of these transactions were previously conducted using stablecoins or other crypto assets. “That customer base hadn’t been onchain,” McDonald told CoinDesk, further emphasizing that “that opportunity set is just massive.”
This integration allows CFOs to seamlessly manage RLUSD alongside traditional fiat currencies through a single, unified dashboard. Ripple Treasury now encompasses over 1,000 enterprises, including numerous Fortune 500 companies, providing them with advanced cash management workflows and even AI-powered tools for forecasting and risk mitigation.
The RLUSD advantage: bridging fiat and digital
RLUSD, Ripple’s fiat-backed stablecoin, launched in October 2024, nearly two years ago. It’s pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and is backed by reserves held with BNY Mellon. This backing, combined with regulatory compliance, positions RLUSD as a reliable bridge between the stability of traditional currency and the efficiency of blockchain.
The stablecoin’s utility has expanded significantly beyond just trading. McDonald stated that Ripple is more focused on RLUSD’s utility and daily activity rather than solely its market capitalization. Its primary use cases currently revolve around payments and capital markets.
Renaat Ver Eecke, Ripple Treasury Senior Vice President, pointed out that digital assets have reached the CFO’s desk. The discussion, he explained, is no longer about whether to adopt them, but rather how to integrate them without disrupting established operational processes. This sentiment perfectly aligns with Ripple’s approach of embedding RLUSD into existing treasury systems.
The motivation behind RLUSD’s creation, as articulated by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, was clear. Customers and partners specifically requested high-quality stablecoins like RLUSD for various financial applications, including payments, tokenization of real-world assets, and decentralized finance initiatives.
Expanding reach and regulatory compliance
RLUSD is not just about integrating into corporate treasuries; it’s also about broad accessibility and adherence to global financial regulations. The stablecoin is currently available on multiple prominent platforms, including Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, and MoonPay. Market makers like B2C2 and Keyrock actively support RLUSD’s liquidity, ensuring robust trading environments.
Regulatory compliance remains a cornerstone of Ripple’s strategy. RLUSD is fully compliant with existing regulatory frameworks. Ripple is also pioneering a dual issuance model in Europe, which adheres to the stringent MiCA regulations, including specific measures related to combating financial crime and terrorism. This initiative has already secured regulatory approval from Luxembourg, showcasing Ripple’s commitment to operating within established legal guidelines.
Ripple’s vision extends to combining stablecoins with a comprehensive suite of services. This includes custody solutions, trading capabilities, payment processing, and prime brokerage. The company isn’t just launching a standalone product; it’s building an ecosystem where RLUSD plays a central role in a larger, interconnected financial framework.
The firm has also forged strategic partnerships, such as collaborations with Franklin Templeton and DBS on tokenized money market funds and lending. These alliances further demonstrate Ripple’s commitment to expanding the utility and acceptance of digital assets within the traditional financial sector.
Market performance and future outlook for RLUSD
RLUSD has shown significant growth since its launch. As of September 2026, its circulating supply stands at $2.4 billion, marking an increase of over 50% in the last month alone. This supply is distributed across both the XRP Ledger, holding $1 billion, and Ethereum, with $1.4 billion.
Daily active volume for RLUSD also reflects this upward trajectory, reaching $75 million. Other reports suggest this figure has more than tripled since the start of the year, climbing to roughly $750 million a day last month from approximately $200 million. This robust growth indicates increasing adoption and confidence in the stablecoin.
Markus Infanger, Senior Vice President of RippleX, highlighted the inherent advantages of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and RLUSD for enterprises. “XRPL and RLUSD are built so enterprises can let agents transact at machine speed within rules the chain itself enforces, with settlement in seconds, predictable costs, programmable compliance, and a full audit trail,” Infanger stated. This technical prowess is crucial for attracting large corporate clients.
The firm’s emphasis on utility over sheer market capitalization suggests a long-term vision focused on real-world application and integration into core business functions. As stablecoins continue to evolve, their role in facilitating efficient and transparent corporate financial operations is likely to grow, with Ripple positioning RLUSD at the forefront.
Beyond trading: stablecoins as financial infrastructure
The journey of stablecoins, once primarily confined to crypto trading, is undeniably shifting towards becoming fundamental components of global financial infrastructure. Ripple’s strategy with RLUSD and the GTreasury acquisition is a prime example of this evolution. They are not merely offering a digital asset; they are providing a comprehensive solution for enterprise cash management.
This strategic pivot transforms stablecoins from speculative instruments into practical tools for corporate treasurers. It enables more efficient cross-border payments, streamlines inter-company settlements, and offers enhanced transparency and auditability. The integration of blockchain technology into these processes promises to reduce friction and costs associated with traditional financial systems.
Looking ahead, the market for corporate treasury services is vast and ripe for disruption. Ripple’s aggressive pursuit of this $13 trillion opportunity with RLUSD signifies a belief that digital currencies, backed by solid infrastructure and regulatory compliance, are the future of enterprise finance.
The continued development of the Ripple Treasury platform and the expansion of RLUSD’s utility will be key indicators of how this vision unfolds.
As digital assets gain traction in mainstream finance, companies like Ripple are paving the way for a new era of financial operations. The potential for stablecoins to underpin everything from daily corporate transactions to complex supply chain finance is becoming increasingly clear. This shift could redefine how businesses manage their money globally.