Ripple (L) and Robinhood (R)
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Ripple has struck a deal with Robinhood to expand the reach of its digital dollar, RLUSD, strengthening trading and financing links between their institutional businesses and improving Robinhood's internal money management.
The partnership involves using RLUSD to settle institutional trades, automate Robinhood's treasury operations and expand access to digital asset trading and financing through Ripple Prime and Bitstamp, the global crypto exchange acquired by Robinhood last year.
It also helps meet Robinhood's ambition of becoming a global financial super-app, centralizing its customers' financial lives while expanding the underlying infrastructure that can serve both retail and institutional clients.
"Utility is what moves stablecoins forward. Working with Ripple, Bitstamp and Robinhood will have access to RLUSD for institutional settlement, Ripple Treasury for our operations and Ripple Prime for financing," Robinhood Crypto general manager Johann Kerbrat said in a statement shared with CNBC. "That is what a connected, global financial system looks like."
Workhorse
Stablecoins have long been a workhorse of the crypto world, giving traders a way to move money among exchanges, buy and sell crypto assets, and park funds between trades without having to convert back into traditional currency. But as the crypto industry evolves beyond trading and markets move toward 24/7 liquidity, stablecoins are becoming essential financial infrastructure because of their ability to enable near-instant settlement and move dollar-denominated value at any time, regardless of traditional banking hours.
As firms look to do more with stablecoins beyond simply listing them on exchanges, stablecoin issuers are betting they'll favor a one-stop-shop approach that bundles the technology and services needed to move money, settle trades and manage cash.
"Stablecoins have evolved from a crypto trading tool into a critical piece of financial infrastructure," Ripple President Monica Long told CNBC. "The clearest evidence of this is where they're now being embedded — from corporate payments to capital markets. Our partnership with Robinhood reflects that evolution."
"This is about much more than trading," she added. "It's about fundamentally changing how money moves and is managed – giving institutions the ability to operate 24/7/365, unlocking liquidity and putting capital to work more efficiently."
Circle Internet Group, a Ripple competitor, is positioning itself for a similar future, where winning platforms, in addition to issuing stablecoins, also provide the infrastructure to put them to work. Earlier this year, for example, it launched the Circle Payments Network, connecting financial institutions and payment providers using its flagship USDC stablecoin and other digital assets for cross-border payments.
The network is Circle's answer to the eight-year-old Ripple Payments business, a service that helps businesses move money across borders, using any of several assets moving through that system, including USDC, Ripple-created XRP and, as of its debut in December 2024, RLUSD.
RLUSD's market cap has grown to more than $2.5 billion. Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC still dominate the total stablecoin market, which now exceeds $300 billion.
RLUSD will also be listed on Robinhood's trading platform, and is currently available to traders on Bitstamp as well as Robinhood Chain, the company's home-grown blockchain for tokenized stocks and other assets.
Robinhood reports third-quarter results for the three months ended in September after the market closes Tuesday.
Correction: A previous headline misspelled RLUSD.