Ripple is supporting a new institutional credit fund that will use RLUSD to lend to fintech and payments companies through the XRP Ledger, working with Clearpool and Cicada Partners.
The fund will issue working-capital loans in RLUSD, with Cicada responsible for finding borrowers, setting lending conditions and managing credit risk. Clearpool is developing the infrastructure for the lending pools, while Ripple will invest alongside other institutional participants.
The companies have not revealed the fund’s size or Ripple’s specific investment.
The lending product has not yet launched on the XRP Ledger mainnet. Clearpool is testing the system on a development network, while the required XRPL features — XLS-66 for lending and XLS-65 for single-asset vaults — remain subject to the network’s amendment approval process.
XLS-66 would allow loans to be issued and repaid directly through the ledger. XLS-65 would enable capital from multiple investors to be combined into pools managed by a designated operator, with Cicada taking that role for the new fund.
Cicada said it has previously underwritten more than $860 million in credit and will serve as both general partner and credit-pool manager. Clearpool said it has facilitated more than $930 million in institutional loans since 2021.
Ripple will join the fund as a limited partner on the same terms as other investors and will not guarantee losses.
Companies borrowing from the fund will receive RLUSD and repay their loans in the stablecoin. That structure could create additional demand for RLUSD while shifting institutional lending activity onto XRPL.
XRP will not be the asset being lent. Instead, the token will primarily be used to cover network transaction fees and satisfy the XRP Ledger’s required minimum account balances.
The announcement arrives as XRP enjoys a strong rally. The token climbed nearly 20% over 24 hours to about $1.30 and has gained roughly 30% over the past week.
XRP’s surge comes as part of a wider crypto market recovery following the U.S. Treasury’s decision Wednesday to double the size of its bond buyback operations.
