astronaut
Walrus
Pearl
Bitcoin
NEAR Protocol
Zcash
Hyperliquid
XRP price extended its recovery as Ripple backed a new institutional lending initiative on the XRP Ledger. Ripple will work with Cicada Partners and Clearpool to develop credit markets using RLUSD.
The initiative targets businesses seeking working capital through onchain credit. However, the underlying XRP Ledger lending features still require validator approval before full deployment.
Ripple Backs Institutional Lending on XRP Ledger
Cicada Partners announced the initiative with Ripple and Clearpool on Aug. 20. Clearpool will provide the lending infrastructure, while Cicada will handle credit origination and servicing.
Ripple will participate as a liquidity provider alongside other institutional investors. The initiative will use Ripple USD, or RLUSD, as the underlying credit asset.
The target borrowers include fintech companies, payment providers and crypto businesses. These firms could use RLUSD loans for working-capital requirements once the infrastructure becomes operational.
The structure differs from conventional decentralized finance lending. Cicada will conduct offchain borrower underwriting while XRPL records lending activity and settlement onchain.
XRPL Lending Protocol Still Requires Approval
The project will rely on XLS-66, the proposed XRP Ledger Lending Protocol. The specification allows fixed-term, uncollateralized loans funded through pooled liquidity.
XLS-66 remains classified as a draft amendment. XRP Ledger documentation also shows that the LendingProtocol amendment is not enabled by default in the latest stable release.
The protocol depends on XLS-65, which introduces Single Asset Vaults. These vaults aggregate assets from depositors and make liquidity available to protocols such as lending markets.
XLS-65 also remains a draft standard. That means Ripple, Cicada and Clearpool are preparing the market before the required amendments gain network consensus.
The partnership therefore does not mean native XRPL lending is already fully operational. Validator approval remains an important technical milestone.
Ripple Says XRPL Can Support Institutional Credit
Ripple has positioned the XRP Ledger as infrastructure for institutional credit rather than purely retail decentralized finance.
The proposed lending architecture places loan terms, repayments and vault activity directly into XRP Ledger functionality. Ripple argues that this reduces dependence on separate smart-contract applications.
That design does not eliminate lending risk. XLS-66 still relies on offchain underwriting and risk management to evaluate borrower creditworthiness.
The protocol instead moves execution and settlement onto the ledger. Credit managers would remain responsible for assessing borrowers and maintaining lending standards.
XRPL also includes compliance-oriented infrastructure such as Credentials and Permissioned Domains. These tools allow protocols to restrict participation based on approved credentials.
Private vaults can therefore limit deposits to approved participants. That structure makes the proposed lending system more suitable for regulated financial institutions.
XRP Climbs Above $1 Amid Broader Market Recovery
Meanwhile, the partnership brings the highly anticipated native lending protocol on XRP Ledger closer to reality. According to the Ripple announcement, the protocol will benefit the XRPL ecosystem in several ways.
It noted that this would boost adoption of its RLUSD, as every loan would be denominated in the stablecoin. However, the announcement added that increased activity on XRPL will also boost XRP.
“XRP serves as the native settlement asset — every lending transaction on XRPL, from issuance to repayment to LP deposits, settles using XRP for fees and reserves, furthering its utility,” it said.
XRP is already seeing sizable gains, although it might not be related to this Ripple News. The broader market has been on an uptrend, and XRP is up more than 12% today. It has also gained almost 25% in the past seven days.
The positive performance has led XRP to climb to around $1.25, its highest price level since June 2026. Despite the gains, XRP is still down 31% year-to-date.
