The Abu Dhabi financial regulator (FSRA) recognized RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin, as an “Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token” on November 27, 2025, allowing its use by authorized firms within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The approval enables regulated activities including payments, settlements, collateral operations, lending, and prime brokerage services under a framework of reserve and disclosure obligations, cementing RLUSD’s pathway to institutional adoption in the jurisdiction.
What the “Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token” designation means for RLUSD
The “Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token” label certifies that the issuer has met the governance and transparency standards required by the FSRA; in short, it means the token meets formal criteria for institutional use within the ADGM. The approval requires licensed entities to maintain reserve management mechanisms, public reporting, and controls enabling traceability and proof of solvency.
The decision is part of a local regulatory strategy that differentiates responsibilities among authorities: the Central Bank of the UAE defines national policies on stablecoins, while the ADGM regulates the institutional market with a common law approach; additionally, other supervisors —DFSA and VARA— cover complementary areas of the digital ecosystem.
“The milestone underlines the commitment to compliance and trust-building —two essential pillars for serving institutional clients,” said Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoins at Ripple. Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer at ADGM, added that the approval “sets new standards of governance and compliance in the digital asset sector”.
Operational impact and obligations for providers and investors
For ADGM firms to use RLUSD, they must integrate compliance requirements into their operations and technology. Key obligations include:
- Robust reserve management, with segregation and periodic external audit.
- Public disclosure of the backing structure and regular reporting to the FSRA.
- Operational governance controls and resilience to financial incidents.
- Integration of KYC/AML procedures consistent with the entity’s license.
Operationally, the approval facilitates institutional use cases: 24/7 settlement of tokenized markets, interoperability on custody platforms, and use as collateral in regulated lending structures. RLUSD arrives at ADGM following prior approvals in other jurisdictions and technological and financial partnerships —including custody with BNY Mellon, price oracles with Chainlink, and network integrations with Securitize— that point to a design aimed at institutional trust. Cited application examples include off-ramps for tokenized funds such as BUIDL and VBILL.
The decision means institutions will have to adapt their liquidity risk and audit processes to include controls over the digital asset, as well as document regulatory equivalencies and custody channels.
The FSRA’s authorization of RLUSD constitutes an operational authorization for institutional use in ADGM and reinforces the need for prudential controls specific to stablecoins in institutional settings. For issuers, custodians, and operators, the next task is to execute the disclosure and audit obligations that the approval requires, maintaining traceability and solvency. Next phase: FSRA verification of the first operational implementations by authorized firms and external audits that confirm ongoing compliance.