Ripple’s UK subsidiary gained regulatory approval as an Electronic Money Institution to provide payment services, but faces limits on certain crypto activities. Cryptocurrency company Ripple is expanding its regulatory footprint after securing authorization from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA granted Ripple’s UK subsidiary, Ripple Markets UK, an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) registration and registered it under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), according to official records. The EMI license allows companies to provide payment services and issue electronic money, a move that could potentially impact Ripple as it issues its stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD). Read more
The reiteration of the payment company‘s plans not to pursue a public offering followed a $500 million fundraise in November, leading to a $40 billion valuation for Ripple. Ripple Labs president Monica Long has ruled out an IPO for the company, saying it was in a “really healthy position” without going public. In a Tuesday interview with Bloomberg, Long addressed rumors that Ripple was planning to go public after the company reached a $40 billion valuation in November. The Ripple president said the company was focused on growth following the $500 million fundraise headed by Citadel Securities and Fortress Investment Group that led to its valuation. “Currently, we still plan to remain private,” said Long, expanding on her comments in November after the fundraise. "Often the strategy driving an IPO is to get the access to the investors and the liquidity of the public markets [...] We're in a really healthy position to continue to fund and invest in our company's growth without going public.” Read more
The conditional approvals clear a path for major crypto companies to operate as national trust banks under the supervision of the US OCC. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved five national bank charter applications for companies tied to the digital assets industry. In a Friday notice, the OCC said it had conditionally approved BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos to convert their existing state-level trust companies into federally chartered national trust banks. In the same announcement, the regulator said it had conditionally approved new applications from Circle and Ripple for national trust bank charters. “New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy,” said Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, adding: “The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance and su...
Ripple Payments partnered with Swiss crypto bank Amina to plug its fiat-to-stablecoin payment infrastructure into the FINMA-regulated institution. The payments subsidiary of blockchain services company Ripple has partnered with Swiss bank Amina to provide it with access to its payment infrastructure. According to a Friday Ripple Payments announcement, the company will allow Amina to “settle transactions more efficiently without relying on traditional payment infrastructure, making transactions faster, lower cost, and with increased reliability and transparency.” This builds on a previous relationship between the companies, with the bank’s integration of the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin happening back in July. The move also reinforces Ripple’s presence in Europe, with Amina being a Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority-regulated financial institution. The bank’s Austrian subsidiary also holds a license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) granted by Austria’s Financial ...
Singapore’s MAS has widened Ripple’s MPI license scope, enabling regulated token services, end-to-end payments and major growth across Asia-Pacific. MAS has expanded Ripple’s MPI license, allowing the company to offer a much wider range of regulated payment services and marking a notable regulatory milestone for the company’s operations in Singapore. Ripple first secured a full MPI license in 2023, enabling digital payment token services but limiting comprehensive end-to-end payment capabilities until the restrictions were removed in the 2025 expansion. The upgraded license now permits full cross-border payment processing, regulated XRP and RLUSD services, liquidity solutions, on/off-ramps and enterprise-grade settlement tools under Singapore’s strict oversight. Read more