The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has officially granted a BitLicense to Anchorage Digital NY, LLC, a subsidiary of Ripple. This authorization is a significant milestone in Ripple’s position in the regulated digital asset industry.
As a result of this certification, Anchorage Digital becomes a pioneering institution in the state of New York, capable of providing safe and affordable trading solutions to institutions located there.
By early 2025, Anchorage Digital plans to roll out complete capabilities, leveraging its reputation as one of the few agency trading desks to obtain a BitLicense. This will enable the company to offer clients deep liquidity and regulated trading options.
“We are excited to announce that the New York State Department of Financial Services (@NYDFS) has approved our subsidiary, Anchorage Digital NY, LLC, for a BitLicense. The addition of BitLicense-regulated trading means Anchorage Digital can offer institutions in New York State (…pic.twitter.com/Ki7Ehn1F1I — Anchorage Digital (@Anchorage) December 16, 2024”
The achievement of Anchorage Digital highlights its commitment to regulatory compliance and innovation in the financial industry. This aligns with Ripple’s broader strategy of integrating digital assets into the traditional financial system.
Anchorage Digital will enable New York-based institutions to access a regulated trading environment, ensuring both efficiency and security. This phase not only enhances Ripple’s infrastructure but also sets a new standard for other companies navigating New York’s stringent laws.
Nathan McCauley, CEO and Co-Founder of Anchorage Digital, stated, “Receiving a BitLicense is a major step forward for Anchorage Digital and the digital asset industry as a whole. Bringing regulated and efficient crypto trading to clients based in New York marks the latest in our journey to build the best regulatory and technical stack for institutions in crypto.”
Ripple, known as a leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial companies, is expanding its product offerings with the launch of its enterprise-grade stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD). This stablecoin, designed with trust, utility, and compliance in mind, will be available on global markets starting from December 17, 2024.
To ensure reliability, liquidity, and stability, RLUSD will be backed by U.S. government bonds, dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents. Ripple will provide monthly third-party attestations of the reserve assets supporting RLUSD, conducted by an independent auditing company to ensure transparency.
RLUSD bridges the scalability of blockchain with real-world financial solutions. It has already been launched on platforms such as Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENA, with plans to expand to more exchanges in the coming weeks.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized the strategic decision to launch RLUSD under NYDFS’s limited-purpose trust business charter, highlighting the importance of operating within a regulatory environment that meets global standards. Garlinghouse believes that better U.S. regulations will drive wider acceptance of stablecoins like RLUSD, which provide real-world value backed by Ripple’s experience.
RLUSD, built on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchains, offers scalability and adaptability for various financial use cases. These include facilitating fast cross-border payments, providing liquidity for treasury and remittance operations, and seamless integration with decentralized finance (DeFi) systems. Additionally, RLUSD serves as collateral for trading tokenized real-world assets, such as securities, commodities, and treasuries, creating new opportunities in the evolving digital asset space.
RLUSD will play a central role in Ripple Payments’ global operations as the company continues to expand its ecosystem. With over $70 billion in payments processed across 90+ payout markets, Ripple Payments will utilize RLUSD in the coming year to enhance cross-border payment efficiency for businesses.
This development solidifies RLUSD as a reliable and compliant asset that addresses financial needs across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the UK, and the Middle East.
To ensure long-term stability, Ripple has enlisted the expertise of renowned business leaders to advise on the expansion of RLUSD. The advisory board includes individuals such as Kenneth Montgomery, former official of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and Raghuram Rajan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Together with other key advisors, including Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, they will provide strategic guidance on the operational, financial, and regulatory aspects of RLUSD’s development.
Rajan emphasized the potential of stablecoins to provide secure and scalable alternatives to traditional systems, thereby transforming global payments. With a focus on compliance and reliability, RLUSD aims to establish new standards for confidence in the stablecoin market.