Is XRP Finally Coming To BlackRock? Ripple Drops Bombshell Announcement

[Ben Graham]

Ripple has unveiled a partnership that places its RLUSD stablecoin at the center of tokenized finance involving BlackRock and VanEck. The announcement, which was shared on the company’s official X account, connects Ripple directly to tokenized versions of institutional funds and sets the stage for deeper integration between the XRP Ledger and some of the largest names in asset management.

Ripple And Securitize Join Forces

Ripple confirmed that it is working with Securitize,the world’s largest tokenization platform, to bring in real-time liquidity for institutional assets provided by BlackRock and VanEck. Through this arrangement, holders of BlackRock’s $BUIDL and VanEck’s $VBILL can instantly convert their fund shares into RLUSD, allowing them to retain access to on-chain yield. With the partnership, BUIDL and VBILL holders will now be able to instantly exchange their shares for RLUSD 24/7.

Acording to the announcement, Securitize is also expanding integration with the XRP Ledger. Considering Securitize is one of the largest tokenization platform, this move increases the XRP ecosystem’s exposure to tokenized assets and strengthens Ripple’s push to imporove its on-chain financial infrastructure.

“Making RLUSD available as an exchange option for tokenized funds is a natural next step as we continue to bridge traditional finance and crypto,” said Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple. “

Ongoing Discussions Around Ripple and BlackRock

Speculation around Ripple’s relationship with BlackRock has been building for months, and many in the industry have linked Ripple’s cross-border settlement technology to the asset manager’s vision for tokenization. The company is now working to tokenize $2 trillion worth of assets on the blockchain. BlackRock launched its first tokenized fund, BUIDL (BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund), in March 2024, doing so through Securitize’s infrastructure. Securitize serves as the platform that tokenizes BlackRock’s fund, issuing digital tokens that represent ownership of the underlying real-world assets.

The implications are significant. Ripple has managed to secure a foothold in the conversation by tying RLUSD to tokenized funds. Ripple’s RLUSD is now linked not only to BlackRock’s BUIDL but also to VanEck’s VBILL fund. This creates a direct link between Ripple’s stablecoin ecosystem and products from two of the world’s biggest asset managers. The partnership can be viewed as an important step that could eventually pave the way for XRP itself to be tied into BlackRock’s tokenization efforts.

This partnership also speaks to Ripple’s strategy of expanding the utility of RLUSD. Since its launch, the stablecoin has steadily grown in adoption, reaching a market capitalization of about $742 million. The collaboration with Securitize, and through it with BlackRock and VanEck, also improves XRPL’s presence in the real-world asset (RWA) tonization sector.