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In the latest XRP developments, Ripple announced on August 3, 2026, that it has acquired equity stakes in UK-based firms Zilo and Licuido. The move upgrades its existing commercial relationships into ownership positions, forming a fully integrated institutional capital markets stack on the XRP Ledger.
The strategy is aimed at solving a persistent issue in institutional tokenization: while creating tokenized assets is relatively simple, using them efficiently for financing, collateralization, and settlement—on par with traditional financial instruments—remains difficult.
The Challenge: Idle Tokenized Assets
A major weakness in institutional real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is that tokenized fund shares are often issued but left unused.
Traditionally, ownership records, issuance processes, and settlement systems have operated on separate legacy infrastructures that do not easily connect with blockchain-based collateral markets. This lack of integration has limited functionality and liquidity.
Ripple has framed its investments as a direct response to these inefficiencies—where collateral remains inactive, settlement processes are slower than necessary, and institutions lack reliable ways to extract liquidity from tokenized holdings.
Zilo plays a key role by handling transfer agency and fund administration, maintaining a regulated and legally recognized record of ownership, including tokenized shares as funds move on-chain. This verified ownership layer is critical for lenders evaluating whether to extend credit against tokenized assets. Zilo’s client base, which includes Citi, Fidelity International, and State Street, also links Ripple to established custody and transfer agency systems.
Licuido, which is regulated by the UK’s FCA, manages issuance, distribution, and trade execution. It enables traditional financial instruments, such as fund shares, to be used as digital collateral through on-chain atomic settlement.
On the XRP Ledger, transactions settle within three to five seconds. Ripple’s USD-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, acts as the payment leg in delivery-versus-payment transactions, ensuring that asset transfers and payments occur simultaneously rather than sequentially.
Together, Zilo (ownership and record-keeping), Licuido (issuance and collateral movement), and RLUSD (settlement) create a unified operational framework that allows institutions to manage tokenized assets from issuance through financing. The financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Ripple’s SVP of Trading and Markets, Nigel Khakoo, highlighted in the official announcement that both firms provide essential infrastructure—combining regulated transfer agency capabilities with liquidity solutions for issuance and collateral mobility—to support the scaling of tokenized finance.
Building on Real-World Deployments
These investments are not speculative. Ripple confirmed they build on existing partnerships, with Licuido already supporting live infrastructure. Notably, it powers the tokenization of the Aviva Investors USD Liquidity Fund, the first tokenized fund approved by the Central Bank of Ireland to operate on a public blockchain, which went live on XRPL on July 29, 2026.
The fund’s underlying assets are held by BNY, while Komainu provides digital asset custody.
Ripple’s broader institutional push includes a 2025 memorandum of understanding with Franklin Templeton and DBS. This partnership aims to list Franklin Templeton’s tokenized money market fund, sgBENJI, on the DBS Digital Exchange alongside RLUSD, with plans to use it as repo collateral.
The concept of enabling collateral mobility—central to the Zilo and Licuido strategy—was already being tested through this earlier initiative.
On the network front, Ripple reported that the XRP Ledger has processed over four billion transactions since its inception and is maintained by 120 independent validators. A major upgrade, xrpld 3.3.0, designed to enhance infrastructure and institutional finance capabilities, was expected shortly after the announcement.
Ripple is also among 54 firms participating in a UK government-backed task force focused on developing real-world tokenized wholesale financial market applications over the next year. Other participants include Circle, Coinbase, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley. The group’s initial focus is on tokenized repo markets, with Ripple’s expanding regulatory presence in Europe supporting its broader institutional strategy.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of the Zilo and Licuido integration will depend on whether tokenized fund shares can achieve meaningful secondary market liquidity and function as active collateral in real credit markets over the next 12 to 24 months—or whether they continue to face the same inactivity challenges Ripple is working to resolve.
