Ripple’s USD-pegged stablecoin RLUSD has received an official recognition in Abu Dhabi. This makes RLUSD an accepted mode of payment within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) – that presently houses over 11,100 licenced businesses. Ripple confirmed the development to CoinHeadlines on Thursday, November 27.
Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) has essentially authorised the RLUSD to be used by licenced financial firms as long as they follow the rules for using fiat-referenced tokens.
“We congratulate Ripple on achieving this important milestone. Abu Dhabi’s commitment to fostering innovation, transparency, and trust positions Abu Dhabi as a leading hub for the next generation of financial services and digital finance,” said Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer, ADGM.
As part of its crypto-supportive approach, the UAE overall has been experimenting with crypto payments. A recent Chainalysis report showed that the country roped-in $56 billion in crypto between July 2024 and June 2025. The report noted that crypto assets including stablecoins are emerging as new payment options being preferred by small and large retail merchants within the region.
Before Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) had also granted the RLUSD an official recognition as a utility token within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The asset, launched in December 2024, offers 1:1 USD backing and claims to have established strict safeguards and audit regimes.
Commenting on the development, Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoins at Ripple said the ongoing stablecoin momentum is helping drive the next wave of secure, compliant digital asset adoption around the world.
Earlier this month, Ripple announced that the RLUSD stablecoin surpassed the billion dollar capitalization. It is issued under the oversight of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).