Ripple and Robinhood have agreed to expand the use of RLUSD, Ripple's US dollar-backed stablecoin, across institutional settlement, treasury and financing operations. The partnership, announced Tuesday, connects RLUSD with Robinhood's brokerage business and the Bitstamp exchange, which Robinhood owns.

Under the agreement, RLUSD is going live on Robinhood Chain and Bitstamp, while access through Robinhood's main trading app is expected later this year. The rollout separates blockchain availability from retail trading access. The companies did not announce an exact date for app availability and disclosed no expected settlement volumes.

Ripple said RLUSD's market capitalization has passed $2.5 billion, roughly 22 months after the stablecoin's launch in December 2024. The broader stablecoin market is valued above $300 billion and remains led by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. At that size, RLUSD accounts for a small fraction of the overall market.

How the Partnership Supports Settlement, Treasury and Financing

Johann Kerbrat, who leads Robinhood Crypto, said Robinhood and Bitstamp will gain access to RLUSD for institutional settlement. Ripple Treasury will support Robinhood's internal cash operations, while Ripple Prime will provide financing. The deal brings payments, cash-management and institutional trading services together.

Kerbrat described the arrangement as an example of a connected global financial system, with stablecoin utility at its center.

Ripple confirmed the expansion in a post on X:

"Ripple is officially going under the hood. We're expanding our partnership with @RobinhoodApp across $RLUSD, Ripple Prime and Ripple Treasury, bringing together stablecoins, prime brokerage and treasury management to support both customer-facing services and core financial…" — Ripple (@Ripple) October 27, 2026 (source)

The settlement component will use RLUSD on the XRP Ledger for institutional trades executed through Bitstamp. The stablecoin is also launching on Robinhood Chain and Bitstamp, giving it distribution across both venues ahead of the expected retail app listing.

Ripple Prime offers institutional trading, clearing and financing. The unit already provides Bitstamp with lending and margin financing across about 20 digital assets, along with spot trading access, and is expected to add perpetual futures on Bitstamp later this year. Ripple acquired the business, then called Hidden Road, for $1.25 billion in a deal announced in April 2025. Robinhood completed its roughly $200 million purchase of Bitstamp in June 2025.

Ripple Treasury manages company cash, payments, forecasts and risk. Its tools include intercompany netting, which offsets amounts owed between divisions and can reduce transfers. The agreement extends these services to Robinhood's global treasury operations.

The companies have not said when each feature will become operational. The two components with stated timelines, retail app access and Ripple Prime's perpetual futures on Bitstamp, are both expected later this year, providing the clearest near-term markers for tracking the rollout. Robinhood has separately described its goal of building a global financial super-app for retail and institutional clients.

RLUSD Growth and Stablecoin Competition

Dollar-pegged tokens can move on blockchains around the clock, and financial firms use them for payments, trading, settlement and cash management. That has made institutional distribution an increasingly important growth channel as competition intensifies across payments and capital markets.

Circle is pursuing a similar institutional payments strategy. Its Circle Payments Network connects financial institutions and payment providers for cross-border transfers using USDC and other digital assets. Ripple Payments, an eight-year-old business, also moves money across borders and supports USDC, XRP and RLUSD.

The Robinhood deal gives Ripple another institutional partner as stablecoin companies compete to provide financial infrastructure beyond crypto trading.

XRP Levels After the Announcement

XRP traded near $1.31 after the announcement, little changed over 24 hours. Its four-hour relative strength index climbed above 55, a reading that points to improving momentum. The Supertrend indicator remained bearish near $1.33, with descending trendline resistance around $1.35. A break above that area would put $1.38 to $1.40 in view, while technical analysis identified $1.28 as rising support.

The agreement connects institutional settlement with the XRP Ledger, but it centers on RLUSD rather than XRP purchases. Ripple and Robinhood disclosed no expected payment volumes, so the announcement alone does not quantify possible XRP demand.

The immediate expansion covers institutional settlement through Bitstamp, Ripple Treasury services for internal operations, and Ripple Prime financing. Institutional clients account for most of Bitstamp's trading volume, giving RLUSD an established market to serve from launch.