BNY is expanding its relationship with Ripple to support custody of XRP and the dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD for institutional clients, while also preparing a service that would let eligible customers mint and redeem RLUSD through the bank.
The arrangement places a major global custodian closer to the operating layer of Ripple’s stablecoin ecosystem. BNY already acts as the primary reserve custodian for RLUSD, holding assets intended to back the token, and maintains a custody relationship with Ripple Prime. The planned minting and redemption capability would extend that role beyond safeguarding reserves, giving clients a bank-based route to exchange dollars for RLUSD and convert the stablecoin back into dollars.
BNY and Ripple did not give a launch date for the expanded custody or RLUSD issuance and redemption services. The companies said the platform is being developed for institutional use, a segment where reserve management, settlement procedures and counterparty controls carry more weight than the retail availability of a stablecoin.
BNY links custody to RLUSD issuance
RLUSD is designed to maintain a one-to-one value with the U.S. dollar and is issued across the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. Ripple said the stablecoin has reached roughly $2.5 billion in market capitalization since its December 2024 launch, including more than $1 billion issued on the XRP Ledger.
A direct institutional mint-and-redeem channel through BNY could give corporates and financial firms a more familiar framework for accessing RLUSD than relying solely on cryptocurrency-native intermediaries. Minting creates new stablecoins when customers deposit dollars, while redemption removes tokens from circulation in return for dollars. Those processes determine how effectively a stablecoin can maintain its peg during periods of heavy demand or withdrawals.
BNY’s role also reflects the competition among stablecoin issuers to secure established financial institutions for reserve custody and distribution. For large users, the quality of reserve management and the ability to enter or exit a stablecoin at par can be as relevant as the speed of the blockchain on which it moves.
Ripple’s push comes as stablecoins are increasingly being positioned as settlement tools for companies, payments providers and financial institutions rather than as instruments used primarily within digital-asset markets. The companies framed the BNY expansion around custody and liquidity infrastructure, two areas that would be required before corporate clients can use tokenized dollars for regular payments at scale.
Trade-finance pilot targets invoice funding
BNY and Ripple are also working with C2FO, a working-capital provider, on a tokenized trade-finance initiative tied to supply-chain receivables. The project would test whether approved invoices can be financed using public-ledger infrastructure on the XRP Ledger.
Under the proposed model, suppliers could receive payment against approved invoices within seconds, according to the companies, while the original invoice terms and payment due dates would remain in place. Capital providers would supply the funds used for the accelerated payment, allowing suppliers to access working capital before the buyer settles the invoice on its normal schedule.
That structure resembles established early-payment and receivables-financing programs, but seeks to use tokenized assets and blockchain settlement to reduce the time between invoice approval and funds reaching a supplier. In practical terms, a supplier that has already delivered goods could obtain cash earlier for payroll, inventory or operating expenses without requiring the buyer to alter its agreed payment cycle.
The pilot remains at an early stage. BNY, Ripple and C2FO did not disclose the companies taking part, the volume of receivables to be tested, the jurisdictions involved or a date for commercial availability. Those details will determine whether the project becomes a limited settlement experiment or develops into a usable financing product for corporate supply chains.
Public blockchains can settle transfers quickly, but trade finance introduces additional operational requirements, including verification that an invoice is valid, clear rules around ownership of receivables and processes for disputes or non-payment. The C2FO project appears directed at connecting those established corporate-finance functions with faster on-chain settlement rather than replacing the commercial agreements that support invoice financing.
Robinhood deal expands Ripple’s distribution plans
Ripple separately announced a partnership with Robinhood covering stablecoins, treasury operations and institutional markets. RLUSD is already available on Robinhood Chain and Bitstamp by Robinhood, while availability in the Robinhood app is expected later this year, Ripple said.
The partnership calls for Robinhood to use RLUSD for institutional settlement on the XRP Ledger and to integrate Ripple Treasury for cash management, payments and liquidity operations. Ripple Treasury is intended to help businesses manage balances and payment flows across accounts and currencies. The companies did not provide a timetable for that integration.
The Robinhood agreement gives RLUSD a prospective distribution and settlement route outside Ripple’s direct institutional relationships. BNY, by contrast, is being positioned closer to the custody, reserve and conversion infrastructure underpinning the token. Together, the announcements show Ripple pursuing two separate but connected objectives: making RLUSD easier for institutions to acquire and redeem, while finding payment and treasury uses that could create recurring transaction demand.
Ripple said the XRP Ledger has processed more than 4.6 billion transactions since launch and generally settles transactions in three to five seconds. Those network characteristics are relevant to applications such as invoice funding, where rapid transfer of funds is the proposed benefit. Yet fast settlement alone does not establish demand from corporate users, whose adoption will depend on compliance processes, accounting treatment, reliable liquidity and integration with existing payment systems.
The announcements therefore place the next test on execution. BNY’s planned minting and redemption service would need to move from an announced capability to an operational channel, while the C2FO project would need to demonstrate that tokenized receivables can fit real supply-chain workflows. For RLUSD, institutional custody and trade-finance trials offer a route toward business payments that depends less on market speculation and more on whether companies choose to use the stablecoin to move cash.
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