Key Takeaways
- Ripple added transfer agency and tokenized asset infrastructure.
- Zilo supports regulated records for tokenized fund share classes.
- Licuido enables issuance, trading, and collateral mobility on XRPL.
Ripple Expands Institutional Tokenization Infrastructure
Ripple announced strategic investments in Zilo and Licuido on Aug. 3, extending the XRP Ledger’s institutional capital markets infrastructure with regulated transfer agency, token issuance, trading, settlement, and collateral capabilities. The announcement positions both companies as core providers supporting the full lifecycle of tokenized financial assets.
The investments target persistent capital markets constraints, including idle collateral, slow settlement, and limited options for mobilizing assets securely, confidentially, and compliantly.
Nigel Khakoo, Ripple’s senior vice president of trading and markets, stated:
“Tokenization of assets is only the starting point: the real value lies in what can be done with a token, including buying, selling, and settling trades instantly, or using it as collateral to borrow, lend, or post margin.”
Zilo provides transfer agency and fund administration technology for asset managers, custodians, and transfer agents managing tokenized share classes. Its infrastructure maintains regulated investor records as fund ownership moves onchain, supporting lending and collateral transactions without abandoning established compliance requirements. Those digital records give institutions the regulated ownership framework needed to operate tokenized lending and collateral markets with confidence.
Licuido operates a digital capital markets platform that manages asset issuance, distribution, execution, and liquidity. The system allows traditional financial instruments, including fund shares, to move through trading and collateral markets using atomic settlement on XRPL. Its platform is designed to provide that utility within a controlled, confidential, and regulated digital capital markets environment.
Tokenized Assets Gain Trading and Collateral Utility
Ripple’s strategy connects issuance, custody, transfer agency, settlement, and collateral use within one institutional operating model. The Ripple USD stablecoin (RLUSD) serves as the regulated cash component for delivery-versus-payment transactions, allowing asset transfers and payments to settle together rather than through separate processes. Ripple’s RLUSD trading and lending partnership also shows how tokenized funds can support borrowing, lending, and collateral transactions.
Institutional adoption of XRPL continues expanding into tokenized funds, securities, loans, and repurchase agreements. Ripple cited partnerships with Aviva Investors, Franklin Templeton, and DBS as examples of institutions deploying tokenized fund structures at scale. Zilo and Licuido are supporting Ripple’s Aviva collaboration through regulated issuance, distribution, custody, transfer agency, and additional uses for tokenized assets.
The XRP Ledger (XRPL) supports token issuance, decentralized trading, cross-currency payments, and rapid settlement on a public blockchain. Ripple reports that XRPL has processed more than four billion transactions since 2012, supports over seven million active wallets, and is maintained by 120 independent validators.
Regulation Supports Ripple’s Institutional Expansion
Ripple’s institutional push also operates alongside licensed entities within its broader financial infrastructure. The New York Department of Financial Services virtual currency registry lists Ripple Markets DE LLC among businesses authorized under the state’s virtual currency framework.
The investments bring additional capabilities to Ripple’s infrastructure across an asset’s full digital lifecycle, from regulated issuance and ownership records through trading, settlement, lending, and collateral deployment. Zilo and Licuido will now expand those capabilities as institutions move additional fund structures and financial instruments onto XRPL.
