Ripple and Zand expand RLUSD and AEDZ stablecoin use for UAE on-chain payments
Ripple and UAE digital bank Zand have expanded a partnership to increase use of Ripple’s US dollar stablecoin RLUSD alongside Zand’s dirham-pegged AEDZ. The deal enables RLUSD support within Zand’s regulated digital-asset custody, on-chain issuance of AEDZ on the XRP Ledger, and direct liquidity solutions to facilitate multi-currency on-chain payments, settlement, liquidity management and tokenization of assets. The collaboration focuses on regulated on-chain finance use cases rather than XRP token usage directly, though traders view institutional integrations as supportive of XRP’s utility story. At publication XRP was trading near $1.41 (up ~1.3% in 24 hours). Key themes: Ripple partnership, RLUSD stablecoin, AEDZ (Zand AED), regulated custody, UAE on-chain payments and tokenization.
Bullish
The announcement is likely bullish for XRP’s market narrative. While the deal centers on stablecoins (RLUSD and AEDZ) and regulated custody/service integration rather than direct XRP issuance, it strengthens Ripple’s institutional footprint in a major regional market (UAE) and increases real-world use cases for payments, settlement and liquidity solutions tied to the XRP Ledger. Such partnerships historically support market sentiment around Ripple and XRP because traders interpret expanded institutional adoption as positive for long-term utility and demand. Short-term price impact may be modest and transient (small upticks like the reported ~1.3% move) since the news does not alter circulating supply or immediate token economics. Over the medium to long term, deeper stablecoin and payment integrations on the XRP Ledger could increase on-chain transaction volume and institutional interest, which could be supportive for XRP’s price if adoption leads to greater utility and demand; however, impact depends on adoption scale and regulatory clarity.