Ripple is strengthening its largest international hub in London, now employing more than 120 full-time staff, while Aviva Investors has moved a tokenized share class of its £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund onto the XRP Ledger.
Cassie Craddock, Ripple's UK and Europe Managing Director, said London is the company's largest office outside the United States. The firm opened its London office in 2016, and after taking its current space in 2018 with two partly empty floors, it has expanded to three full floors and is now over capacity.
Regulatory clarity has underpinned that growth. In January 2026, the UK Financial Conduct Authority granted Ripple an Electronic Money Institution licence and a cryptoasset registration, allowing it to extend Ripple Payments to banks, asset managers and other regulated financial institutions. The FCA launched its crypto authorization gateway in September 2026, ahead of a new comprehensive cryptoasset and stablecoin framework that comes into force on 25 October 2027.
On 26 October, Aviva Investors launched a tokenized share class of its £22 billion Sterling Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger. The structure is described as a "digital twin", meaning the on-chain share remains connected to the existing fund structure rather than replacing it, preserving the same investment objective, risk tolerance, liquidity and regulatory features. The Aviva tokenized Sterling fund cost £50 million to set up, and assets across its two tokenized share classes already topped £86 million.
This is Aviva's second liquidity token on XRPL; its first share-class tokenization debuted in July 2026 following a partnership announced with Ripple in February. Eligible investors with digital wallets can buy the new version, while underlying assets remain with custodian BNY. For Ripple, the move is part of broader institutional adoption of XRPL for issuing and managing tokenized fund interests on public blockchain infrastructure.
