Ripple’s New CBDC Play Has No Direct Need For XRP

Ripple’s new CBDC platform comes two years after it announced a CBDC private ledger

article-image

DUSAN ZIDAR/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Ripple is launching a platform dedicated to central bank digital currencies.

The platform is a “frictionless end-to-end solution” that would allow central banks, financial institutions and governments to explore and issue CBDCs.

According to a press release, users can “holistically manage and customize the entire life cycle of fiat-based central bank digital currency, transaction and distribution.”

Through the platform, the issuer of the CBDC will be able to manage the CBDC, while the operator can utilize the distribution and settlement options, and the digital currency users can both pay and receive the CBDC.

In 2021, Ripple announced a private ledger for CBDCs. At the time, Ripple said that XRP could “be leveraged as a neutral bridge asset for frictionless value movement between CBDCs and other currencies.”

Ripple built both its private ledger and the CBDC platform on the XRP Ledger, and the “private ledger is based on the XRPL but does not require XRP to operate,” a Ripple spokesperson told Blockworks in an email. “Central banks using the [CBDC] platform do not use or interact with XRP,” they continued.

“As a trusted partner to several central banks, we believe this platform will help solve problems for many central banks and governments who are devising plans and developing a technology strategy for CBDC Implementations,” Ripple’s VP of CBDCs said. 

Ripple stated in 2021 that around 80% of countries were reportedly exploring a CBDC. Recent reports suggest that this number has now increased to 90%.

Outside of Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC, the company has been actively engaged in mergers and acquisitions. On May 17, it announced the acquisition of Metaco for a sum of $250 million.

Metaco focuses on crypto custody for institutional investors and is based in Switzerland. 


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Nillion_DeSci_Report_Template.png

Research

Nillion’s Monad Integration is poised to catalyze the next phase of DeSci’s evolution by eliminating key privacy bottlenecks. This synergy allows researchers, institutions, and DAOs to exchange sensitive data and insights securely while managing governance and payments onchain.

article-image

The SEC filed the suit on Tuesday night, alleging that some Unicoin executives made “false and misleading statements” and violated securities laws

article-image

VanEck’s Pranav Kanade told Blockworks that it doesn’t plan to launch a similar fund for other ecosystems at this time

article-image

What the history of global reserve currencies says about crypto’s future

article-image

A memecoin community delivered on a brick-and-mortar pop-up store

article-image

Despite continued disagreements within the GOP about the extent of the spending cuts, Trump said the House is unified

article-image

More crypto IPOs and M&A in the coming weeks could depend on bitcoin’s price, VanEck’s research head says