Jeonbuk Bank is preparing to use Ripple’s 24/7 cross-border payments platform for corporate remittances, although it remains unclear whether XRP or Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin will be used to settle the transactions.
XRP slipped below the closely watched $1 level during Asian trading on Tuesday, falling to around $0.98. It was the token’s lowest price since November 2024.
The move lower came as Ripple announced a new partnership with Jeonbuk Bank, making it the first regional bank in South Korea to deploy Ripple Payments for international transfers.
The deal represents Ripple’s third Korean partnership this year. Earlier agreements with Kyobo Life Insurance and Kbank focused on custody and digital wallet infrastructure.
Jeonbuk Bank, established in 1969 and headquartered in Jeonju, is the leading lender in South Korea’s southwestern Jeonbuk region.
Ripple said its payments network provides near-instant cross-border settlement using stablecoins, but did not identify the specific asset that will be used by Jeonbuk Bank.
Conventional international transfers often rely on intermediary banks connected through SWIFT and can take several days to settle. Ripple says its system can complete transfers within seconds or minutes and remains available around the clock.
Jeonbuk Bank intends to make the service available to business customers, including importers, exporters, IT startups and online content creators.
Ripple Expands Its Korean Banking Network
Fiona Murray, Ripple’s managing director for Asia Pacific, said the partnership demonstrates growing interest in digital-asset infrastructure among South Korean financial institutions.
She said banks are developing digital-asset capabilities while searching for infrastructure providers that can support their businesses over the long term. Murray also pointed to the important role regional lenders play in the broader economy.
Ripple has increasingly promoted RLUSD, its dollar-pegged stablecoin, as an institutional settlement asset.
The company did not immediately clarify whether Jeonbuk Bank’s implementation would use XRP or RLUSD when contacted by CoinDesk.
The uncertainty is significant because Ripple’s expanding institutional network has not translated into equivalent demand for XRP.
XRP Falls Despite Ripple’s Institutional Expansion
XRP surged above $3 last year but has steadily weakened in August, eventually breaking below the $1 threshold, according to CoinDesk data.
The decline has occurred even as Ripple continues to establish relationships with banks, asset managers and custody providers.
The difference between Ripple’s business growth and XRP demand is also visible on the XRP Ledger. Tokenized real-world assets on the network are worth roughly $1.38 billion, with RLUSD accounting for about $845 million.
That puts the stablecoin’s share at more than three-fifths of the total value issued on the ledger.
Despite XRP’s price weakness, derivatives traders continue to position for a recovery.
XRP futures open interest was around $2.78 billion this week. Binance showed more than three long accounts for every short account, while OKX displayed a similar imbalance.
The positioning comes as social-media sentiment surrounding XRP has deteriorated, with commentary reaching its most negative level in approximately three months.
