Ripple Expands Institutional Reach in Europe and South Korea

• Ripple and DriveWealth plan RLUSD settlement in Europe, with further expansion into the United States.
• Meritz Securities will explore digital asset custody and tokenization as South Korea develops its regulatory framework.
• The partnerships widen Ripple’s institutional network, but no figures confirm future XRP purchases or transaction volumes.

Ripple institutional growth is progressing forward with brokerage funding, stablecoin settlement, custody and the capital markets of South Korea.

X Finance Bull is bullish on XRP, citing DriveWealth’s partnerships of more than 100 companies and Ripple’s increased activity in South Korea. The partnership brings together Ripple and fintech companies, digital wallets and financial institutions working with investors focused on the United States. It’s not just about trading, it’s about funding, settlement, custody, and equity financing.

Under the agreement, DriveWealth plans to introduce RLUSD settlement across its European operations. Expansion into the United States is also planned. The integration includes Ripple’s stablecoin minting and redemption capabilities on the XRP Ledger.

The companies are also integrating Ripple Payments for incoming cross-border transfers. The service will support funding from DriveWealth’s global partners. The arrangement aims to improve how money reaches brokerage accounts across different markets.

DriveWealth is working with Ripple on digital asset custody in Europe. Both companies intend to consider additional markets over time. They are separately exploring equity financing through Ripple Prime’s Delta One business.

The settlement agreement connects DriveWealth’s brokerage services with RLUSD and the XRP Ledger. RLUSD is Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin, designed for digital payments and settlement. Its planned use could bring another institutional application to the network.

However, RLUSD settlement does not automatically create demand for XRP in every transaction. The announced integration identifies RLUSD as the settlement asset. Direct XRP demand will depend partly on whether institutions use the token for payments or other services.

The partnership also addresses the movement of funds into investment accounts. Cross-border transfers can involve several providers and banking arrangements. Ripple Payments is intended to support incoming transfers from DriveWealth’s international partners.

Custody forms another part of the companies’ plans. DriveWealth is working with Ripple to meet its digital asset custody needs. The companies expect to consider wider geographic coverage as their relationship develops.

Ripple has also partnered with Meritz Securities to explore digital asset services in South Korea. The agreement covers institutional custody and tokenization within the country’s capital markets. Meritz is preparing for potential expansion of regulated digital asset services.

The companies plan to begin within Meritz’s existing securities business and applicable regulations. They may broaden cooperation as South Korea’s regulatory framework develops. The announcement describes a staged approach rather than a fully launched service.

Meritz is exploring several potential areas, including spot ETFs and security tokens. Other areas include fractional investment, trading platforms, and Korean won-denominated stablecoins. These efforts form part of its preparation for a regulated digital asset market.

The partnership is Ripple’s fourth institutional relationship in South Korea this year. This is the first ‘deal’ the company has done with a Korean securities broker. Ripple already has banking, insurance, and cross-border remittance institutions as partners.

There are existing relationships with Kyobo Life Insurance, Kbank and Jeonbuk Bank. They’re working on tokenized government bond settlement, digital asset wallets and cross-border payments. With the Meritz agreement, Ripple has opened its network to South Korea’s securities industry.

The collaborations expand Ripple’s activities into settlement, payments, custody and tokenization. Both announcements, however, do not mention transaction volumes, revenue or any further purchases of XRP. The commercial value will depend on their use by actual institutions and their service launches.