- Ripple is backing an institutional lending fund that will use RLUSD to extend credit to fintech and payments companies on the XRP Ledger, in partnership with Clearpool and Cicada Partners.
- The fund will provide working-capital financing in RLUSD. Cicada will handle borrower selection, loan structuring and credit-risk oversight, while Clearpool will supply the technology for launching and managing the lending pools. Ripple will invest alongside other institutional participants.
- The fund’s total capital and Ripple’s individual contribution have not been disclosed.
- The initiative has not yet gone live on the XRP Ledger mainnet. Clearpool is testing the setup on a development network, while the required XLS-66 lending protocol and XLS-65 single-asset vault features are still awaiting approval through XRPL’s amendment voting process.
- XLS-66 is designed to facilitate loan issuance and repayments directly on the ledger, while XLS-65 allows multiple investors to combine capital in a managed vault. Cicada will oversee the deployment of the pooled funds.
- Cicada said it has underwritten more than $860 million in credit and will serve as the fund’s general partner and credit-pool manager. Clearpool has facilitated more than $930 million in institutional loans since 2021, according to the company.
- Ripple will act as a limited partner and invest under the same conditions as other participants. It will not guarantee the fund against losses.
- Borrowers will receive RLUSD and repay their loans in the stablecoin, potentially increasing usage of Ripple’s dollar-pegged token while bringing more institutional lending onto XRPL.
- XRP itself will not serve as the loan asset. The token will continue to be used for network fees and the minimum XRP balances required to maintain accounts on the ledger.
- The announcement comes during a sharp XRP rally. The token gained nearly 20% over 24 hours to around $1.30 and was up about 30% over the previous seven days.
- XRP’s gains are part of a broader crypto rebound that accelerated after the U.S. Treasury announced plans to double its bond buyback operations on Wednesday.
RLUSD Credit Fund Gets Ripple Boost During XRP’s Biggest Weekly Surge
