Ripple Backs RLUSD Fund for Institutional Lending

Ripple’s RLUSD is a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin designed for institutional use. The proposed fund would extend the XRP Ledger beyond payments and asset transfers into private credit, supplying working-capital loans to fintech and payments companies. Clearpool is building the lending infrastructure, while Cicada Partners will source borrowers, set terms and monitor credit risk. Loans and repayments would be denominated in RLUSD, potentially creating transaction demand for the token.

The plan was disclosed on Aug. 21, 2026, with Ripple joining as a limited partner on the same terms as other institutional investors, without guaranteeing the loans. The fund’s total size and Ripple’s commitment were not disclosed; Cicada said it has underwritten more than $860 million of credit. Testing is under way on a development network, but the required XLS-65 single-asset vault and XLS-66 lending amendments remain in validator voting, meaning the product has yet to originate loans on the XRP Ledger mainnet.