Ripple has secured preliminary approval as a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) from Luxembourg’s CSSF under the EU’s MiCA framework, but the development failed to support XRP. The token dropped 3% on the news and is now trading near $1.10, down about 5% over the past 24 hours amid a weak broader market.
Despite the regulatory milestone, XRP saw little benefit. Ripple’s announcement focused almost entirely on its RLUSD stablecoin and Ripple Payments infrastructure, with XRP referenced only as an underlying component rather than a direct value driver.
The CASP approval enables Ripple to offer regulated crypto services across all 30 European Economic Area countries. However, it does not introduce a direct mechanism for XRP demand.
The authorization comes in the form of a conditional “Green Light Letter,” meaning final MiCA compliance remains subject to additional requirements. Once completed, the CASP license—combined with Ripple’s existing Luxembourg-based Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license—would give the firm full regulatory coverage under MiCA.
In practice, the approval strengthens Ripple’s payments stack, particularly RLUSD distribution. The company’s pitch is a unified system allowing banks, fintechs, and corporates to manage collections, foreign exchange, and payouts across Europe through a single integration.
However, a key regulatory gap remains unresolved. A CASP license governs crypto services, but stablecoin issuance requires separate approval under MiCA’s e-money rules. Ripple has highlighted RLUSD’s role in payments without clearly outlining its compliance status, especially given limits on non-euro stablecoins used within the bloc.
For comparison, Tether’s USDT has faced restrictions in Europe under MiCA, while Circle aligned USDC and EURC through its EMI framework. RLUSD’s regulatory positioning remains unclear, which could weigh on institutional adoption decisions.
Ripple is also reaching this milestone later than several competitors. MiCA rules became fully applicable in December 2024, with firms such as Circle, B2C2, OKX, Coinbase, and Kraken obtaining approvals throughout 2025.
The company’s key differentiator is its combined EMI and CASP structure, offering a fully regulated, end-to-end payments rail. Backed by over $100 billion in transaction volume across more than 60 markets and supported by 75+ licenses globally, the offering is compelling for enterprises—but does not inherently channel demand into XRP.
This disconnect has not gone unnoticed. The XRP community has recently criticized Ripple for prioritizing RLUSD development while XRP performance lags. Meanwhile, RLUSD faces additional regulatory checkpoints outside Europe, including requirements in California.
Ultimately, Ripple’s latest update reinforces a broader narrative: the firm is building a compliant global payments infrastructure centered on RLUSD, with XRP serving as background infrastructure. As a result, the MiCA approval has had limited immediate impact on XRP’s price.
