Mastercard appeared to express positive sentiment about Ripple‘s RLUSD stablecoin during the XRPL Commons Hackathon in New York, according to a report from an event attendee. RLUSD serves as a stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, which is designed to facilitate efficient, low-cost payments and settlements. The statement about RLUSD came during a presentation on partner engagement, although Mastercard did not issue any official endorsement during the event.
XRPL Commons Hackathon highlights RLUSD
XRPL Commons organized the 36-hour hackathon in New York on October 24 and 25, just ahead of Ripple Swell. The event, aimed at promoting development on the XRP Ledger, invites participants to build payment applications, lending platforms, and innovative protocol features.
Organizers listed Mastercard, a leading global payments company, as an ecosystem partner, alongside Ripple, the XRP Ledger Foundation, Ledger, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and QuickNode. The hackathon features over $40,000 in prizes within four tracks: agentic finance, lending and borrowing, protocol innovation, and an open category.
Mini dictionary: XRPL Commons is a nonprofit organization focused on advancing developer engagement and ecosystem growth for the XRP Ledger through events such as hackathons, education, and collaboration initiatives.
A social media user known as Lost Art shared that Mastercard personnel commended RLUSD while outlining requirements for potential ecosystem partners. However, the attendee did not identify the speaker or provide a recording, and the acknowledgment did not come as part of an official company announcement.
During the XRPL Commons Hackathon, an attendee said Mastercard representatives praised Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin in a partner discussion, though no official corporate statement followed.
The hackathon agenda offers participants a chance to test applications that incorporate stablecoins, but it does not indicate a pending launch of a live payment product or broader commercial integration. Mastercard’s listing as a partner highlights industry interest, though it is not a confirmation of formal collaboration or deployment.
Mastercard expands stablecoin settlement options
Mastercard previously announced that it would expand support for regulated stablecoins as part of its settlement infrastructure, with RLUSD, USDC, SoFiUSD, and Paxos tokens among those listed. Mastercard said it would enable on-chain settlement options on select blockchain networks, including the XRP Ledger. These plans allow issuers and acquirers more flexibility in payment settlement, subject to regulatory approval and operational readiness.
The company emphasized that on-chain settlement would maintain its security, fraud, and dispute controls, mirroring protections in traditional payment rails. However, Mastercard has not confirmed whether RLUSD-based settlements are currently live for all markets, and not every bank or program can use the stablecoin option immediately.
| Stablecoin | Blockchain Network | Status (as per Mastercard) |
|---|---|---|
| RLUSD | XRP Ledger | Listed as planned option |
| USDC | Multiple | Listed as planned option |
| SoFiUSD | Multiple | Listed as planned option |
| Paxos-issued tokens | Multiple | Listed as planned option |
Ripple, the company behind RLUSD and a key player in the blockchain payments sector, previously revealed in November 2025 that it would work with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini on exploring RLUSD settlement for fiat card transactions, pending regulatory clearance. WebBank, an FDIC-insured bank, is the issuer of the Gemini Credit Card.
These early announcements set the stage for possible future integration, but no additional commercial details or settlement volumes were provided during the hackathon.
Adoption pathway and impact
Developers participating in the hackathon are creating applications designed to enable on-chain payments and settlements using either XRP or RLUSD. While such technical demonstrations can showcase the utility of RLUSD within the XRPL ecosystem, actual commercial deployment depends on further regulatory review, partnership agreements, and operational implementation by network participants.
The presence of high-profile industry names as partners and the inclusion of RLUSD as a settlement option highlight the ongoing efforts to broaden the reach of regulated stablecoins in mainstream payments. However, no announcement at the event established a new product launch, direct live integration, or a demand catalyst for XRP related to these developments.
Event organizers maintain that participation in the hackathon and listing as an ecosystem partner do not guarantee that any presented project will enter Mastercard’s production network or achieve immediate commercial rollout.
