Ripple (left) and Robinhood (right)
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Ripple signed a contract robin hood Expanding the reach of RLUSD, the digital dollar, strengthening trading and lending connections between institutional investors’ businesses and improving Robinhood’s internal cash management.
The partnership includes using RLUSD to settle institutional trades, automate Robinhood’s treasury operations, and expand access to digital asset trading and lending through Bitstamp, the global cryptocurrency exchange that Ripple Prime and Robinhood acquired last year.
It will also help centralize customers’ financial lives and fulfill Robinhood’s ambition to become a global financial super app, while expanding its underlying infrastructure to serve both retail and institutional customers.
“Utility is what drives stablecoins forward. By working with Ripple, Bitstamp, and Robinhood, we will have access to RLUSD for institutional payments, Ripple Treasury for our operations, and Ripple Prime for funding,” Robinhood Cryptocurrency General Manager Johan Kerblatt said in a statement shared with CNBC. “That’s what a connected global financial system looks like.”
Main products
Stablecoins have long been a mainstay in the cryptocurrency world, offering traders a way to move funds between exchanges, buy and sell crypto assets, and park funds between trades without converting back to traditional currencies. However, as the cryptocurrency industry evolves beyond trading and markets aim for 24/7 liquidity, stablecoins are becoming essential financial infrastructure as they enable near-instantaneous payments and the ability to move dollar value at any time, regardless of traditional banking hours.
As companies seek to do more with stablecoins than just listing them on exchanges, stablecoin issuers are betting they prefer a one-stop-shop approach that brings together the technology and services needed to move funds, settle transactions, and manage cash.
Ripple President Monica Long told CNBC that “stablecoins have evolved from a crypto trading tool to an important part of financial infrastructure.” “The clearest evidence of this is where they are now being incorporated, from corporate payments to capital markets. Our partnership with Robinhood reflects that evolution.”
“This is much more than just a transaction,” she added. “It’s about fundamentally changing the way money moves and is managed. It’s about giving financial institutions the ability to operate 24/7, freeing up liquidity and putting capital to work more efficiently.”
circle internet group, Ripple’s competitor is positioning itself for a similar future, where the winning platform not only issues stablecoins, but also provides the infrastructure to make them work. For example, earlier this year the company launched Circle Payments Network, which uses its flagship product to connect financial institutions and payment providers. USDC Stablecoins and other digital assets for cross-border payments.
The network is Circle’s answer to the eight-year-old Ripple Payments business. The Ripple Payments business is a service that helps businesses move funds across borders using any of several assets that move through its system, including USDC, created by Ripple. XRP and RLUSD when it debuts in December 2024.
RLUSD’s market capitalization has increased to over $2.5 billion. tether’s USDT And Circle’s USDC still dominates the entire stablecoin market, which is currently worth over $300 billion.
RLUSD is also listed on Robinhood’s trading platform and is currently available to traders on Bitstamp as well as Robinhood Chain, the company’s homegrown blockchain for tokenized stocks and other assets.
Robinhood will release its third-quarter financial results for the three-month period ending in September after the market closes on Tuesday.
Correction: RLUSD was misspelled in the previous heading.
