Ripple Strengthens XRPL for Institutional Finance With Strategic ZILO and Licuido Deals
Ripple is accelerating its push into global capital markets with strategic investments in ZILO and Licuido, expanding the institutional infrastructure underpinning the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
More notably, these additions bring regulated transfer agency, digital asset issuance, and collateral mobility to Ripple's ecosystem, underscoring its ambition to become a leading provider of infrastructure for tokenized finance, not just cross-border payments.
The announcement comes shortly after Aviva Investors tokenized its U.S. Dollar Liquidity Fund on the XRPL, signaling that institutional adoption is moving beyond pilot programs into real-world deployment. It also follows reports that Ripple's valuation has climbed to $50 billion, highlighting growing confidence in its expanding role across digital finance.
Ripple believes tokenization is only the starting point. The greater opportunity lies in enabling tokenized assets to be traded, financed, pledged as collateral, and settled instantly within a regulated ecosystem, replacing slow and fragmented legacy processes.
Ripple's Capital Markets Vision Takes Shape With Institutional-Grade XRPL Infrastructure
Despite rapid innovation, global capital markets still rely on infrastructure built decades ago, where settlement can take days and trillions of dollars in collateral remain locked up. Ripple aims to modernize this system by building an end-to-end investment infrastructure on the XRPL.
Its institutional platform combines token issuance, secure custody, collateral management, multi-currency investment capabilities, and atomic settlement. RLUSD, Ripple's U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, acts as the regulated settlement asset for delivery-versus-payment transactions, enabling tokenized assets to be used as collateral immediately while reducing counterparty risk through simultaneous settlement.
Therefore, these investments reinforce this strategy from two key fronts.
ZILO provides regulated transfer agency and fund administration technology, giving asset managers and custodians the compliant ownership records and operational infrastructure required to support tokenized funds at institutional scale.
Licuido extends those capabilities by enabling regulated issuance, distribution, trading, and collateral mobility, allowing tokenized assets to move efficiently across digital markets and unlock liquidity from assets that would otherwise remain idle.
Ripple Senior Vice President of Trading and Markets Nigel Khakoo said tokenization alone is not enough, stressing that the real value comes from enabling digital assets to be traded, settled, and deployed as collateral in real time.
He cited collaborations with Aviva Investors, Franklin Templeton, and DBS as evidence that major financial institutions are preparing to scale tokenized investment products.
ZILO CEO Phil Goffin said Ripple's investment will accelerate the development of compliant infrastructure for tokenized funds, while Licuido CEO Brian Lynch noted that meaningful liquidity depends on assets being able to circulate freely within regulated markets rather than remaining dormant.
Why are these investments a game-changer? Well, they deepen Ripple's institutional strategy, positioning the XRPL as a comprehensive capital markets platform rather than simply a network for token issuance. By combining regulated administration, collateral mobility, liquidity, and atomic settlement, Ripple is laying the foundation for a more efficient financial system.
This vision is already extending beyond tokenization. Through Ripple Prime, the company is building infrastructure connected to the DTCC ecosystem. With the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) processing more than $1.2 trillion in U.S.
Treasury transactions each day, Ripple is increasingly positioning the XRPL at the convergence of blockchain innovation and traditional finance, where tokenized assets can be issued, traded, financed, and settled at institutional scale.
