Leading XRPL decentralized exchange First Ledger has claimed that major financial institutions such as Mastercard and WebBank will use XRP.
First Ledger’s assertion comes weeks after Ripple announced its partnership with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to pilot RLUSD stablecoin settlement on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The initiative aims to test how regulated stablecoins like RLUSD can settle traditional card payments on XRPL.
How Mastercard, Gemini, Ripple, and WebBank Will Use XRP
While Ripple’s announcement focused on the use of RLUSD for settlement, First Ledger believes that all parties involved, including Ripple, Mastercard, Gemini, and WebBank, will use XRP.
This perspective stems from the fundamental design of the XRP Ledger. As the native asset, XRP underpins value movement across the network, with all transaction fees paid in the token.
Consequently, any activity on XRPL, including RLUSD settlements, requires XRP to cover network fees and maintain ledger operations. Thus, although the pilot highlights RLUSD as the settlement asset, Mastercard, Gemini, Ripple, and WebBank will inherently interact with, and effectively “use,” XRP simply by executing transactions on the blockchain.
Previous Engagement with XRP
Notably, Ripple has always leveraged XRP in its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution, rebranded as Ripple Payments, and has long relied on XRP as a bridge asset for cross-border settlements.
Through this system, financial institutions have processed billions of dollars, with Tranglo alone reporting over $1 billion in transactions facilitated by XRP in 2023.
Additionally, Gemini, WebBank, Mastercard, and Ripple collaborated on another initiative earlier in August, which introduced the Gemini XRP Credit Card. The card, issued by WebBank and powered by Mastercard’s global payment network, enables users to make purchases and earn cashback rewards directly in XRP.
These entities are now partnering on another venture — testing RLUSD settlement on XRP Ledger — an initiative First Ledger believes will see XRP shine once again.
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