Ripple and Zand Bank Launch RLUSD–AEDZ Stablecoin Liquidity Bridge on XRP Ledger
Ripple and UAE-based Zand Bank have launched a stablecoin liquidity bridge connecting Ripple’s dollar-backed RLUSD and Zand’s UAE dirham-backed AEDZ on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Zand Bank will offer regulated custody for RLUSD and is onboarding AEDZ to XRPL, enabling direct swaps between RLUSD and AEDZ without multi-step conversions. The partnership expands on a prior payments deal between the two firms and aims to bolster on-chain tokenization, liquidity and institutional access in the UAE digital economy. Key implications include improved FX-style stablecoin liquidity on XRPL, regulated custody that may attract institutional participants, and broader stablecoin interoperability in the Middle East.
Bullish
This development is bullish for XRP Ledger and stablecoin markets for several reasons. First, adding AEDZ to XRPL and enabling a direct RLUSD–AEDZ liquidity bridge increases on-chain stablecoin liquidity and reduces friction for FX-like stablecoin swaps — a feature useful to traders, remitters and businesses operating across USD/AED flows. Second, Zand Bank’s regulated custody for RLUSD lowers institutional barriers to entry; regulated custody tends to reduce counterparty and custody risk, encouraging larger capital inflows. Both factors can raise transaction volumes and on-ledger demand for settlement, which typically supports token utility and trading activity. Historically, similar initiatives (e.g., regulated fiat-stablecoin integrations and cross-chain stablecoin rails) have led to higher on-chain volumes and improved market confidence, producing short-term upticks in related token activity and longer-term growth in utility. Short term: expect increased trading flow between USD- and AED-pegged stablecoins on XRPL and possibly higher XRPL network activity. Long term: improved institutional adoption and regional stablecoin use-cases could support sustained liquidity and deeper markets on XRPL. Risks: the impact may be muted if adoption is slow, regulatory shifts occur, or competing rails (other chains or centralized FX corridors) capture the flow.