Ripple and BNY are broadening their strategic partnership in a push to strengthen institutional digital asset custody, support stablecoin services, and explore blockchain-based trade finance applications, according to a joint announcement published on October 27, 2026.

BNY Adds XRP and RLUSD to Institutional Custody

BNY — formerly known as The Bank of New York Mellon and one of the world's largest custodian banks — has added support for XRP and Ripple USD (RLUSD) to its Digital Asset Custody platform. The move builds on an existing relationship in which BNY acts as the primary reserve custodian for RLUSD and provides custody services to Ripple Prime.

Under the expanded collaboration, XRP and RLUSD are being brought into BNY's institutional digital asset custody offering, and the bank plans to let clients mint and redeem RLUSD directly through its services. Minting refers to creating stablecoins in exchange for eligible assets, while redemption allows holders to exchange tokens for the underlying value under the issuer's applicable terms. If implemented, these services would give institutional clients a direct channel for accessing RLUSD through BNY. Minting and redemption are also the mechanisms through which a stablecoin's circulating supply expands and contracts, so direct access through BNY would tie RLUSD's issuance and withdrawal to an established custody relationship.

The two companies also intend to broaden support for tokenized assets and investment products issued on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), Ripple's blockchain network. The initiative is designed to connect digital assets with established financial infrastructure, potentially making it easier for institutional clients to manage blockchain-based assets alongside traditional financial holdings.

The expansion comes as financial institutions look for ways to incorporate digital assets into regulated custody arrangements and existing payment systems. Institutional custody services are built to provide secure asset storage, operational controls, and infrastructure for managing digital holdings.

Tokenized Trade Finance on the XRP Ledger

Beyond custody, Ripple and BNY are working to advance tokenized trade finance on the XRPL. The companies are also exploring a supply chain finance initiative with C2FO, a working capital platform, intended to expand investor access to approved receivables.

Trade finance supports transactions between buyers and sellers by providing funding and payment arrangements tied to the movement of goods and services. Receivables are payments owed to businesses by their customers, and financing those claims can help companies obtain working capital before invoices are paid. Tokenization could represent eligible receivables as digital assets, potentially improving how financial claims are recorded, transferred, and managed. Blockchain infrastructure may also help participants coordinate transactions and access information across different systems, though practical benefits will depend on how the initiative is designed and implemented.

Taken together, the proposed trade finance and supply chain finance initiatives aim to extend blockchain applications beyond asset issuance toward tokenized financial claims used in payments, liquidity management, and collateral arrangements.

Ripple President Monica Long indicated that the industry is moving beyond the initial creation of blockchain-based assets toward making them useful across financial markets, including for payments and collateral.

BNY Chief Innovation and Market Transformation Officer Carolyn Weinberg emphasized the importance of connecting traditional financial systems with blockchain networks, pointing to the potential for future market infrastructure to link payments, liquidity, collateral, and securities through systems capable of operating continuously.

RLUSD Growth and XRP Ledger Activity

Ripple reported that RLUSD has reached a market capitalization of approximately $2.5 billion — the total value of the stablecoin in circulation. The stablecoin is designed to maintain a value linked to the U.S. dollar and is supported by reserve assets held under its applicable arrangements.

Ripple announced the expansion in a post on X:

Trade finance is coming to the XRP Ledger! Today, we're expanding our collaboration with @BNYglobal across custody and tokenized trade finance, bringing BNY's institutional scale together with $RLUSD, @XRP and the XRP Ledger. →

— Ripple (@Ripple) October 27, 2026

RLUSD's growth has raised the importance of the custody, issuance, and redemption infrastructure institutions need in order to use the stablecoin in financial transactions. BNY's role as reserve custodian provides an established connection between the token and traditional financial services.

According to the companies, the XRPL has processed more than 4.6 billion transactions since its launch, with transactions generally settling in approximately three to five seconds — a relatively rapid processing environment for payments and transfers. Those network figures provide context for the proposed institutional applications, although throughput and settlement speed alone do not establish suitability for every financial use case. Security, compliance, liquidity, and integration with existing systems will remain important considerations.

BNY Extends Its Institutional Digital Asset Strategy

As of September 30, 2026, BNY oversaw $63.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration and managed $2.2 trillion in assets, according to the announcement. The expanded relationship positions the bank to pursue additional services at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology.

For Ripple, the partnership offers a path to expand the institutional use of XRP, RLUSD, and the XRPL. Its commercial impact will depend on the rollout of the planned minting and redemption services, the adoption of tokenized investment products, and whether the proposed trade finance initiatives advance beyond the exploratory stage.

Source: CoinTrust