Ripple Is Part of a Stablecoin Push by 3 Asian Central Banks. Where Does That Leave XRP?
Three Asian central banks just partnered with Ripple on a sweeping stablecoin initiative serving 111 million people, but XRP investors may not like what the fine print actually says about their token's role.
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The central banks of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are expanding their cross-border stablecoin work with Ripple, Visa (NYSE: V | V Price Prediction), and Mastercard (NYSE: MA), as reported on October 23, 2026. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency tied to a stable asset, like the U.S. dollar, that enables smoother transactions. This collaboration puts Ripple’s stablecoin efforts in focus within a collective market of over 111 million people.
Ripple is not alone in this venture; companies like Circle (NYSE: CRCL), Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM), and Stripe are joining it. Meanwhile, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) fell 0.5% over the past day to $1.32 and is down 28.8% so far in 2026.
Malaysia and Thailand Join Singapore’s BLOOM Stablecoin Project
The BLOOM project, which stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, is described by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as a public-private initiative aimed at enhancing modern payment settlement methods. Settlement refers to the process of completing a payment when money officially changes hands. Mastercard, along with the central banks of Malaysia and Thailand, is now joining BLOOM to work on cross-border stablecoin and tokenized deposit payments.
A tokenized deposit is essentially a traditional bank deposit represented as a token on a blockchain while still maintaining a claim on the bank that issued it. Earlier BLOOM project trials included Visa and the payment provider Nium testing stablecoin settlements in U.S. dollars and euros around the clock.
However, Ripple’s specific role in this expansion remains unclear. MAS, Bank Negara Malaysia, and the Bank of Thailand have not issued statements that clearly define Ripple’s involvement; current reports only list Ripple as a participant.
Ripple Settles With RLUSD and XRP, but XRP Is Optional
Ripple currently holds the necessary licenses in Singapore and has been recognized as a national trust bank in the U.S. Its subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC, has obtained a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, which allows it to conduct large volumes of payment services, including those involving digital payment tokens. MAS approved an expanded scope for this license as of December 1, 2025.
Ripple operates in three main areas: Ripple Payments for cross-border transfers, Ripple Custody for the secure storage of digital assets for institutions, and Ripple Prime, which offers a comprehensive service for large clients such as hedge funds. As a private company, Ripple does not disclose financial details broken down by these business segments.
According to Ripple’s own information, Ripple Payments can settle transactions using digital payment tokens “such as RLUSD and XRP,” letting clients “choose whether or not to hold DPT.” This means XRP is one option for settling payments, alongside Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD.
RLUSD currently has a market value of about $2.4 billion, and a U.S. bank integrated it into its core systems in early October. Additionally, Ripple teamed up with Arf to enhance RLUSD settlement liquidity on the XRP Ledger, although neither party has disclosed the specifics of their agreement.
The BLOOM Reports Name Stablecoins, Not XRP
Reports on the BLOOM project emphasize stablecoins and tokenized deposits as the primary settlement assets. If settlements use stablecoins, this initiative does not create additional demand for XRP. A bank transferring dollar-backed tokens has no reason to acquire a volatile currency like XRP during the transaction.
This distinction matters because Ripple has consistently marketed XRP as a bridge asset meant to facilitate currency conversion during payments. An announcement involving three central banks might have been a significant opportunity to spotlight XRP, yet the reports focus on stablecoins instead.
Ripple also competes with major industry players in this space. Circle manages one of the largest dollar-backed stablecoins, JPMorgan focuses on its Kinexys blockchain operations, and Visa and Mastercard handle a large share of card transactions in the region. As such, these entities may prefer to route BLOOM payments through their own systems.
Additionally, banks such as HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) are proactively launching their own stablecoins, like RedCoin, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, for their extensive user base on platforms like PayMe.
Where Does the Ripple Stablecoin Push Leave XRP?
Ultimately, Ripple and its stablecoin RLUSD appear best positioned to benefit from this development, while XRP is still searching for its substantial role in this context. Ripple gains recognition from three central banks and a place in systems serving 111 million individuals, while RLUSD secures a credible path to regulated settlement. The market seems to echo this sentiment, as XRP has fallen 12.8% over the past month, much more than Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), which fell 3.7% over the same stretch.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
