Ripple has partnered with Clearpool and Cicada Partners to build an institutional lending market on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), using RLUSD as the primary credit asset. The initiative aims to shift decentralized finance (DeFi) yields away from trading-driven strategies and toward loans backed by real business demand.
Institutional Credit on the XRP Ledger
The collaboration will establish an on-chain lending venue on XRPL focused on institutional borrowers and lenders. By leveraging XRPL’s low-cost, high-throughput settlement, the partners intend to enable credit markets that operate natively on-chain while maintaining institutional standards for risk management and transparency.
RLUSD as the Credit Asset
RLUSD, Ripple’s U.S. dollar–denominated stablecoin, will serve as the credit asset for the market. Using a dollar-linked instrument is designed to reduce volatility in loan principal and interest payments, standardize pricing, and streamline settlement for institutional participants transacting on XRPL.
From Trading Yields to Real-World Credit
DeFi yields have historically been driven by trading activity and incentive programs. The new market is positioned to reorient yields toward cash flows generated by lending to businesses, aligning returns with borrower demand and credit performance rather than speculative market dynamics.
Roles of the Partners
Clearpool, known for institutional on-chain credit platforms, and Cicada Partners will work with Ripple to develop the lending infrastructure and onboarding frameworks on XRPL. The companies said the approach is intended to expand the use of tokenized dollars in credit markets and support enterprise-grade borrowing and lending.
Further details on launch timelines, eligible participants, and risk frameworks were not disclosed at the time of announcement.