Ripple has disclosed two institutional partnerships that extend its footprint in brokerage services, stablecoin settlement, custody and South Korean capital markets. The announcements cover a DriveWealth agreement focused on Europe and possible US expansion, plus a Meritz Securities deal in South Korea.
Under the DriveWealth partnership, the companies plan to introduce RLUSD settlement across DriveWealth's European operations, with expansion into the United States also planned. The integration uses Ripple's stablecoin minting and redemption capabilities on the XRP Ledger. Ripple Payments will support incoming cross-border transfers, while funding will be available from DriveWealth's global partners. The arrangement aims to improve how money reaches brokerage accounts across different markets.
DriveWealth and Ripple are also working on digital asset custody in Europe, and both companies intend to consider additional markets over time. Separately, they are exploring equity financing through Ripple Prime's Delta One business. Market commentary described DriveWealth's network of more than 100 partner companies and Ripple's increased South Korean activity as potentially constructive for XRP, though no XRP purchase or volume commitments were announced.
RLUSD and XRP have different roles in the partnership. RLUSD is Ripple's dollar-backed stablecoin designed for digital payments and settlement. Its planned use with DriveWealth could bring another institutional application to the XRP Ledger, but RLUSD settlement does not automatically create demand for XRP in every transaction. Direct XRP demand will depend partly on whether institutions use the token for payments or other services.
In South Korea, Ripple has partnered with Meritz Securities to explore institutional custody and tokenization within the country's capital markets. The agreement covers a staged approach that begins within Meritz's existing securities business and applicable regulations, with potential broadening as South Korea's regulatory framework develops. Areas being examined include spot ETFs, security tokens, fractional investment, trading platforms, and Korean won-denominated stablecoins.
This is Ripple's fourth institutional relationship in South Korea this year and its first deal with a Korean securities broker. Ripple already works with Kyobo Life Insurance, Kbank and Jeonbuk Bank on tokenized government bond settlement, digital asset wallets and cross-border payments. The new arrangements widen Ripple's institutional network, but the companies did not disclose transaction volumes, revenue or future XRP purchases. Commercial value will depend on actual institutional usage and service launches.
