Ripple has taken a major step in its global stablecoin expansion by launching its US dollar‑pegged RLUSD in Turkey. The company announced strategic partnerships with three Turkish crypto platforms — BiLira (the issuer of TRYB), Bitexen, and Bitlo — making RLUSD available to institutional investors in the country. Turkey remains one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in the MENA region, with an annual trading volume of approximately $200 billion, according to Chainalysis data cited by Ripple.
“RLUSD has rapidly gained momentum in financial use cases, serving as a vital bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management. With institutional demand increasing globally, launching in Türkiye marks a milestone in our expansion,” said Jack McDonald, Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Stablecoins. He stressed that Turkey sits “at the crossroads of traditional finance and the digital economy” and has one of the highest crypto adoption rates worldwide.
The partnerships will allow Turkish institutional investors to access institutional‑level US dollar liquidity through a fully regulated, transparent stablecoin. Bitlo CEO Mustafa Aplay noted the integration provides “a direct, secure gateway to global financial markets,” while Bitexen MENA CEO Alphan Göğüş described it as “the first step in a broader rollout” across the Bitexen Global platform. SINAN Koç, Co‑Founder of BiLira, added that RLUSD is “uniquely equipped” to accelerate blockchain adoption in Turkey.
In addition to the exchange partnerships, Ripple also joined forces with Istanbul Technical University (ITU) as part of its global University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI). The collaboration, funded via RLUSD, will support advanced research and graduate fellowships, and will establish an XRP Ledger (XRPL) validator directly on the ITU campus. Ripple said this ensures “the next generation of Turkish researchers and students are at the forefront of blockchain innovation.”
RLUSD has quickly grown since its late‑2024 launch, reaching a market capitalization of over $1.8 billion and ranking as the 48th‑largest digital asset. It is already embraced by global players like Binance, OKX, and BNY Mellon.
