Ripple USD (RLUSD) now carries A2 and P-1 deposit ratings from Moody’s Ratings, which assigned the long- and short-term grades on Oct. 27 and set out what could move the stablecoin higher, including firmer legal claims for holders and the GENIUS Act taking effect in 2027.
Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, wrote in an X post that RLUSD is “the first stablecoin to have ever received an investment-grade” rating from Moody’s.
The rating applies only to RLUSD that Standard Custody & Trust Company (SCTC), a wholly owned Ripple Labs subsidiary, issues natively on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. Moody’s aligned the short-term grade with the long-term one and used its “Stablecoin” methodology, published in March 2026.
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The Upgrade Path
Moody’s pointed to two weak spots: SCTC is not a bankruptcy-remote vehicle, and holders today have no direct ownership stake in the reserve. Keeping the reserve in segregated accounts titled for holders and under NYDFS supervision offsets that, the agency said. It said the GENIUS Act will add statutory protections “once in effect in 2027” by, among other things, keeping required reserves out of an issuer’s bankruptcy estate. Arrangements that give holders a priority interest in the reserve could support an upgrade, while weaker reserves, a lower-rated custodian or control failures could lead to a downgrade.
What Moody’s Weighed
Moody’s built the grade largely around what backs the token, a reserve it said “is predominantly invested in highly liquid, short-duration U.S. government assets and cash.” SCTC aims to keep that reserve at 103% of tokens outstanding, above the minimum Moody’s ties to the rating.
BNY, which Moody’s rates Aa1(cr), keeps custody of most of the Treasury bills and cash. Up to $50 million in cash can sit at a bank other than the custodian, and SCTC holds an equal amount of short-term T-bills in a separate BNY account against it.
Only qualifying institutions that SCTC has onboarded can redeem directly, at par and on a T+2 basis. Moody’s said an SCTC bankruptcy, and the automatic stay that would follow, could stretch that timeline.
The rating follows a busy stretch for Ripple’s stablecoin. The OCC gave final approval to Ripple National Trust Bank, which is set to hold RLUSD reserves, and Ripple said BNY now custodies XRP and RLUSD for institutional clients. Ripple launched RLUSD in December 2024 after approval from New York regulators.
Related Listen: Why Banks Failed to Kill Stablecoin Rewards in the Clarity Act
The post Moody’s Assigns A2 Deposit Rating to Ripple’s RLUSD, Ties Upgrade Path to GENIUS Act appeared first on Unchained.
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