The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) has deepened its strategic collaboration with Ripple, adding support for XRP and the RLUSD stablecoin to the bank's Digital Asset Custody platform and unveiling plans to explore tokenized trade finance on the XRP Ledger. The two companies announced the expanded partnership on October 27, 2026.

The expansion covers three main elements: custody for XRP alongside RLUSD, direct minting and redemption of the stablecoin through the bank, and a joint exploration of tokenized trade finance use cases on the XRP Ledger.

Under the updated arrangement, institutional clients can now safekeep, hold, and transfer both assets within BNY's existing servicing model. The move builds on the bank's role as primary reserve custodian for RLUSD, Ripple's stablecoin — the role of holding the reserves that back the stablecoin — and complements a separate custody relationship BNY holds with Ripple Prime.

BNY publicized the update in a post on X, which also pointed to new institutional use cases for blockchain technology, including tokenized trade finance. Ripple confirmed the details in a separate press release, which likewise highlighted custody and tokenized trade finance as the focus of the expanded collaboration.

BREAKING: $BNY expands strategic collaboration with @Ripple across digital asset custody to now include @XRP , and explore new institutional use cases for blockchain technology, including tokenized trade finance. Learn more: $RLUSD $XRPL

— BNY (@BNYglobal) October 27, 2026

BNY Ripple Collaboration Adds XRP Custody

With the latest step, BNY supports XRP and RLUSD side by side on its Digital Asset Custody platform, bringing the token and the stablecoin under a single institutional servicing framework. XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger — the same network where the planned tokenized asset and trade finance work would run — so custody of the asset and the development of ledger-based products now sit with the same institution. The bank also plans to broaden support for tokenized assets built on the XRP Ledger and will work with Ripple to let clients mint and redeem RLUSD directly through the bank, a function that builds on the reserve custody role it already holds.

Carolyn Weinberg, BNY's Chief Innovation and Market Transformation Officer, framed the collaboration as an effort to shape "a more continuous, efficient and resilient financial system." Future market infrastructure, she said, will rely on "architected bridges between traditional scaled systems and always-on blockchain technology."

Ripple President Monica Long said the industry is moving past the initial issuance of assets onchain, with the focus shifting toward utility. "It's all about making these tokenized assets usable for payments and collateral across financial markets," she said. In her view, the work with BNY connects key components of financial infrastructure on the XRP Ledger.

Tokenized Trade Finance Plans on the XRP Ledger

The expanded partnership also aims to advance tokenized trade finance on the XRPL, with specific offerings subject to client requirements. Tokenized trade finance applies blockchain technology to digitally represent existing assets, such as receivables, with the aim of broadening investor access and simplifying how those assets are managed and distributed.

As a first step, the two firms are exploring a supply chain finance initiative with C2FO, a global platform for working capital. The initiative focuses on expanding investor access to the asset class. For now, the effort sits at the exploration stage, with the companies noting that concrete offerings will depend on client requirements — making the C2FO initiative the first announced building block of the trade finance plans.

Ragui Selwanes of C2FO said the company has spent years giving businesses more control over their working capital. The next opportunity, he said, is making its financial infrastructure "as efficient and connected" as the customer experience it delivers. He added that the XRPL could "broaden access to capital while preserving the relationships and experience our customers already trust."

For context, RLUSD has grown to a market capitalization of roughly $2.5 billion. The dollar-denominated stablecoin is designed for institutional use and supports payments, trading, and tokenized finance. The XRP Ledger has processed more than 4.6 billion transactions since launch, and settlement on the network takes roughly three to five seconds — performance characteristics relevant to the payments and collateral use cases Ripple's president described.