Ripple Expands RLUSD to Africa, Driving Cross-Border Payments

Ripple has expanded the availability of its USD-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), to Africa through partnerships with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card. This move is aimed at supporting the growth of finance, insurance, and crypto markets in the region. Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple, highlighted the growing demand for RLUSD in enterprise financial use cases, including payments, tokenization, and collateral in both crypto and traditional trading markets. The stablecoin has been integrated into Ripple Payments, broadening its settlement options within the company’s cross-border payments solution. RLUSD was introduced in late 2024 and has demonstrated strong institutional and retail uptake, with a focus on compliance and regulation through a New York limited purpose trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

Ham Serunjogi, co-founder and CEO of Chipper Cash, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with Ripple, noting that it would support faster, cheaper, and more efficient cross-border payments into Africa. He also emphasized the potential of RLUSD to drive institutional use of blockchain technology across Africa and broader global markets, particularly in cross-border payments. In addition to financial services, RLUSD is being used in humanitarian pilots in Kenya led by Mercy Corps Ventures. These initiatives include using the stablecoin as collateral for drought insurance and rainfall insurance, providing payouts during extreme weather events through smart contracts. The expansion into Africa underscores Ripple’s dual approach of driving institutional blockchain adoption while advancing climate resilience efforts.

Fireblocks, a leading crypto infrastructure firm, has launched a global network aimed at simplifying stablecoin transfers. The Fireblocks Network for Payments is available in more than 100 countries and supports over 60 currencies. The network brings together stablecoin issuers, liquidity providers, foreign exchange, and on-off ramps into a unified system, designed to eliminate fragmented integrations. Fireblocks’ cosigner architecture has already secured over $10 trillion in digital asset transfers and processes billions in stablecoin transactions daily. The new network is structured to handle large-scale payments and streamline settlement between providers. Fireblocks, valued at $8 billion in 2022, developed the system to reduce costly engineering work and manual errors, providing institutions with faster settlements and cross-border access. The network has already connected more than 40 institutions, including Bridge, Circle, Yellow Card, and Zerohash, for unified payments access. Fireblocks positioned its network as complementary to Circle’s Payments Network, supporting multiple stablecoins and allowing transfers across blockchains, providers, and fiat systems. Future integrations will link Fireblocks with Circle’s Payments Network and WalletConnect, broadening access to more than 2,400 global participants, including banks, issuers, and exchanges.

Tether and Circle have collectively minted $12 billion worth of stablecoins in August 2025, marking a notable increase in market supply amid regulatory changes in the cryptocurrency sector. This surge highlights growing institutional interest and regulatory adaptations, potentially impacting liquidity in DeFi protocols and increasing adoption across the fintech industry globally. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, highlighted the preparation for a U.S. market entry amid improving regulatory clarity, while Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s CEO, focuses on international settlements. The issuance surge impacts financial markets, driving increased liquidity into DeFi protocols, notably boosting Ethereum-based activities. This also reflects a strengthening of institutional adoption and positioning in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The move has broader implications on the crypto ecosystem, influencing governance tokens and Layer 1 assets. At a policy level, regulatory oversight is intensifying, aiming to align with the Genius Act requirements for stablecoin reserves. Tether’s strategic hire, Bo Hines, aligns with U.S. policy directions, signaling a confident step into the regulatory framework. Circle’s partnerships with Mastercard and Finastra further consolidate USDC’s position in cross-border settlements. Insights suggest heightened financial outcomes in the stablecoin sector due to regulatory and technological shifts. Past trends in 2021 and 2024 show similar surges leading to DeFi expansions, offering a historical context for future market behavior.

Stripe and Paradigm have unveiled Tempo, a layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin payments. The announcement from Paradigm founder Matt Huang validates speculation that began when Stripe posted and quickly deleted blockchain engineering job listings. The development of Tempo underscores the growing interest in stablecoin infrastructure and the potential for new blockchain solutions to enhance payment systems. The collaboration between Stripe and Paradigm highlights the increasing focus on stablecoins as a key component of the financial ecosystem, with both companies aiming to leverage their expertise to create a more efficient and secure payment network. The launch of Tempo is expected to drive further innovation in the stablecoin space, as more companies explore the potential of blockchain technology to revolutionize financial services.