Ripple picks $50 trillion asset manager BNY as reserve custodian for RLUSD

Ripple has selected The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) as the primary custodian for the reserves backing its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin. BNY Mellon is the oldest bank in the United States, with $50 trillion in assets under custody

According to a company press release published at the start of July, the stablecoin issuer is trying to deepen regulatory ties and institutional trust in its stablecoin product, which launched in December 2024.

Washington is speeding up the passage of pro-crypto laws in the so-called “stablecoin summer.” The Trump administration has been loosening crypto regulations introduced under the Biden presidency. 

Ripple taps BNY Mellon to expand RLUSD compliance

The San Francisco-based digital payments firm known for serving institutional clients globally and its development of XRP, said the partnership will increase RLUSD’s transparency, compliance, and functionality. 

Emily Portney, BNY Mellon’s global head of asset servicing, described the collaboration as a natural evolution of the bank’s involvement in the crypto economy.

“As primary custodian, we are thrilled to support the growth and adoption of RLUSD by facilitating the seamless movement of reserve assets and cash to support conversions,” Portney reckoned. “We are proud to be working closely with Ripple to continue propelling the future of the financial system.”

BNY Mellon first dipped its toe into digital assets more seriously in 2021 when it launched its first crypto-focused unit. Since then, the institution has been involved in custodial services for Bitcoin and other digital tokens.

Ripple itself is also pursuing ways to integrate crypto banking into the US financial system. On July 2, the firm filed an application with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national banking license. 

The move preceded a separate request for a Federal Reserve master account, which would allow Ripple to directly access the central bank’s payment infrastructure and hold reserves without intermediaries.

Currently, RLUSD is regulated at the state level by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). A successful application for a national trust bank charter would change its oversight of RLUSD to the OCC, making Ripple one of the few crypto companies with federal banking privileges.

“The dual nature of that regulation would basically have set a new bar for transparency and compliance in the stablecoin market,” Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins explained.

Ripple’s institutional ambitions grow ahead of Congress’s action

The announcement is the latest in several developments of institutional interest in stablecoins. Companies like Amazon, Walmart, Uber, Airbnb, and Apple are reportedly looking at issuing their own stablecoins to enable stablecoin-based payments. 

On June 17, the US Congress advanced legislation that would formally integrate stablecoins into the broader financial system. The Genius Act would require stablecoin issuers to obtain a national bank license. It also requires banks and stablecoin issuers to maintain full 1:1 backing with fiat currencies and US Treasury securities.

To date, Anchorage Digital is the only federally chartered crypto bank. Circle, issuer of the $62 billion USDC stablecoin, has also submitted an application.

Ripple, which operates outside the US and supports institutional clients with cross-border payments using blockchain technology, has seen its own stablecoin, RLUSD, grow to a market capitalization of approximately $469 million, according to CoinMarketCap.

The company’s expanded banking ambitions have supposedly increased the interest in its token XRP. Following the news of the banking license application, XRP went up 4%, breaking above the $2.28 resistance level, a potential setup for a larger technical move.