BNY Adds XRP and RLUSD Custody as Ripple Targets Trade Finance

BNY has expanded its partnership with Ripple to support institutional custody of XRP and its US dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin, while the companies explore tokenized trade finance using the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

Announced on October 27, the expansion brings both assets onto BNY’s Digital Asset Custody platform, allowing eligible institutional clients to hold and transfer them. BNY also intends to enable clients to mint and redeem RLUSD directly through the bank, subject to final approvals.

Separately, BNY and Ripple are exploring a supply-chain finance initiative with working-capital platform C2FO. The proposed project would use blockchain infrastructure to expand investor access to trade-finance assets, including approved business receivables.

BNY Extends Custody Support to XRP and RLUSD

The expanded agreement builds on BNY’s existing role as the primary reserve custodian for RLUSD and its custody relationship with Ripple Prime.

The addition of XRP and RLUSD to BNY’s digital-asset custody platform extends the bank’s services from safeguarding the reserves backing the stablecoin to holding and transferring the tokens themselves on behalf of eligible institutional clients.

BNY also plans to introduce direct RLUSD minting and redemption for clients. This would provide an additional route between the stablecoin and the bank’s financial infrastructure, although the companies have not announced a launch date for the service.

The development comes as Ripple seeks to broaden RLUSD’s use across financial services. When the stablecoin launched in December 2024, Unlock Blockchain reported on its initial rollout and CoinMENA’s role in bringing RLUSD to the MENA market.

Ripple and BNY Explore Tokenized Trade Finance

Beyond custody, the companies are exploring a supply-chain finance initiative with C2FO, a working-capital platform that helps businesses access early payment against approved invoices.

Under conventional arrangements, suppliers may wait 30, 60 or 90 days for invoices to be paid. Supply-chain finance allows participating funders to advance payment against eligible receivables, helping businesses access working capital before the original invoice due date.

The proposed initiative would use XRPL infrastructure and RLUSD to support settlement. Participating capital providers would fund the early payments, while the blockchain would facilitate the transfer of value. The companies say the model could shorten settlement times while preserving existing invoice terms and business relationships.

The project remains exploratory. BNY, Ripple and C2FO have not announced a launch date, financing volume or the amount of receivables expected to be processed.

The initiative also fits into a broader push to connect stablecoins with established payment systems. In June,Unlock Blockchain covered Mastercard’s expansion of stablecoin settlement to support payments outside traditional banking hours, including support for RLUSD and the XRP Ledger among multiple tokens and networks.

XRP Ledger Targets More Institutional Use Cases

Ripple said RLUSD had reached approximately $2.5 billion in market capitalization, with more than $1 billion issued on XRPL. The company also reported that the ledger had processed more than 4.6 billion transactions since launch, with typical transaction settlement times of approximately three to five seconds.

These figures provide context for the network’s activity, but they do not indicate how much institutional custody or trade-finance volume the expanded partnership will generate.

The XRP Ledger has also attracted interest beyond Ripple’s own commercial initiatives. In September,Unlock Blockchain reported on the Bank for International Settlements testing XRPL to verify economic statistics, illustrating another potential institutional application of the network.

BNY and Ripple intend to broaden support for tokenized assets and investment products issued on XRPL as institutional use cases develop. The expansion does not, however, establish that all such products will be available through BNY or that the proposed trade-finance model is ready for commercial deployment.

Implementation Will Determine the Partnership’s Reach

The expanded collaboration covers three distinct areas: custody for XRP and RLUSD, planned direct minting and redemption of RLUSD, and exploratory work on tokenized trade finance.

Custody support is available to eligible institutional clients, while the minting and redemption service remains subject to approvals. The trade-finance initiative is at an exploratory stage, with further details yet to be announced.

The next step will be translating these arrangements into services that institutions can use at scale. Their adoption will depend on implementation, client demand and the ability to connect blockchain-based settlement with existing financial and commercial processes.