Ripple Joins Singapore MAS BLOOM Sandbox

Key Insights

• Ripple is testing its RLUSD stablecoin for payments through the Singapore MAS BLOOM sandbox
• The firm continues to prioritize payments with new developments.
• XRP continues to struggle as top Ripple executive says the firm will not prioritize incentivizing XRP use.

Ripple has joined the Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS) BLOOM regulatory sandbox to test the payment abilities of its RLUSD stablecoin. The firm disclosed this on March 25, noting that its goal is to speed up trade settlements.

Singapore’s central bank launched BLOOM, short for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency. The program tests the use of tokenized money for settlements.

Ripple Partners with Unloq to Test RLUSD for Cross-Border Trade Payments

According to the announcement, Ripple is partnering with supply chain finance technology provider Unloq. The pilot will test how RLUSD can be used to settle trade payments.

Under the pilot, payments in RLUSD will be automatically activated once certain conditions are met, such as upon shipment verification. The pilot seeks to simplify international trade by ensuring faster settlements than traditional finance offers.

Ripple will use the XRP Ledger to handle money movement, embedding the RLUSD into the Unloq SC+ platform. The platform will serve as the execution layer, bundling trade obligations and settlement conditions.

For Ripple, the move is a massive development as it continues to push for the adoption of its RLUSD stablecoin.

The stablecoin has seen sizable growth since launch. However, its market cap stands at just $1.43 billion. It remains far behind USDT at $184 billion and USDC at $78.69 billion.

However, RLUSD is one part of the broader Ripple stack focused on enabling Payments. The company recently upgraded its Ripple Payments platform into a full payment infrastructure for businesses.

Payments are now driving most activity on the XRPL, with RLUSD accounting for a sizable share of this growth. The stablecoin has seen trading volume of $234 million in the last 24 hours, paling in comparison to the $81.6 billion for USDT.

XRP Struggles Even as Ripple Strives for Payments Adoption

Meanwhile, Ripple’s focus on payments has also led the firm to acquire several regulatory licenses and approvals. This strengthened the scope of its operations. In the past few months, the firm has secured licenses in several jurisdictions, including the UK and Australia.

However, its XRP token has continued to struggle, with another 6% decline over the past seven days. The token is down 24% year-to-date, amid volatile performance that has kept it below $2 since early January.

XRP Price Chart (USD) | Source: TradingView

Unsurprisingly, there have been calls to incentivize the use of XRP. Some users are recommending that it be integrated into Ripple Payments.

However, the firm’s CTO, David Schwartz, stated that while Ripple has considered that, he is against any attempt to artificially incentivize XRP usage.

He said:

“I’m generally opposed to us giving people artificial incentives to use XRP even where it’s not the best choice for them. One of the things I’ve tried to always make sure Ripple wasn’t doing was building up a growing business by paying people to do things that don’t make sense but that people will do for money.”

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