Ripple Reportedly Follows Circle In Push For US Banking License To Expand Stablecoin, Crypto Services

Crypto company Ripple has reportedly applied for a national banking license as it seeks to expand its role in cross-border payments and digital asset services.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Ripple submitted an application on Wednesday to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The move could bring Ripple under direct federal oversight, allowing it to broaden services linked to its digital assets XRP (XRP) and RLUSD (RLUSD).

RLUSD is Ripple's dollar-pegged stablecoin, designed for regulatory compliance and price stability. It operates natively on both the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum (ETH). XRP, Ripple's original cryptocurrency, functions primarily as a bridge asset in cross-border transactions, allowing rapid conversion between fiat currencies.

Ripple says RLUSD complements XRP, with the two assets working together to facilitate fast, low-cost international payments. As RLUSD adoption expands, demand for XRP’s underlying infrastructure may also grow, especially in institutional and cross-border use cases. 

XRP is currently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market value. XRP’s price rose 2.3% over the past 24 hours to trade around $2.24 during U.S. market hours on Wednesday after the news.

Ripple's stablecoin is already regulated at the state level by the New York Department of Financial Services. A national trust bank charter would bring RLUSD within the scope of the OCC’s federal jurisdiction. 

"The dual nature of that regulation would basically have set a new bar for transparency and compliance in the stablecoin market," said Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins, told The Wall Street Journal.

The report also noted that Ripple's subsidiary, Standard Custody & Trust Company, applied for a Federal Reserve master account on Monday. If approved, Ripple would be allowed to custody reserves directly with the Fed and issue stablecoins outside of regular banking hours.

The move comes after the GENIUS Act cleared the Senate and is now under consideration by the House of Representatives. The act would require crypto firms issuing stablecoins to obtain bank charters. Circle (CRCL), issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has also applied for a national trust bank license following its IPO. Anchorage Digital remains the only crypto-native firm with such a charter.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read also: Microsoft Layoffs Reportedly Trigger Cancellation Of Long-Running Gaming Projects, Scaled-Back AI Chip Plans

Share

·

Add us on