Ripple Strengthens Presence In New York And Texas With New Licenses

Ripple announced that it has received two new Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs) in the U.S, one from New York and the other from Texas.

The licenses in these two states were important, as Ripple explained that it noticed strong interest in fast global payments from banks and crypto companies in New York and Texas.

With these new approvals, Ripple now has more than 55 US MTLs, covering its custody, payments, and stablecoin services. Ripple also holds a BitLicense in New York and a NY Limited Purpose Trust Company Charter.

Thanks To The US MTLs, Ripple Can Now Offer Cross-border Payments

Outside the United States, Ripple has other licenses. It has a Virtual Asset Service Provider registrations in Ireland and the Cayman Islands, a Major Payment Institution License in Singapore, and an in-principal license from Dubai’s DFSA.

With the US MTLs, Ripple can help its customers send and receive money across borders and handle full payment processes for them.

Joanie Xie, Managing Director of North America at Ripple stated that there is rising interest from banks and crypto companies that want to use crypto and blockchain for faster, cheaper, and 24/7 cross-border payments.

He added that with many years of experience in crypto and with banks, Ripple is ready to help companies that want to benefit from this technology.

Ripple shared that it has handled around $70 billion in payment volume on its blockchain. Over time, it has worked with many banks and financial companies. The firm also said the number of its North American customers using its payment services doubled last year.

The company has also faced challenges, including a long legal fight with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its XRP token. The SEC said XRP was an unregistered security. A court ruled that selling XRP to retail customers was lawful, but Ripple broke US laws when selling XRP to institutions and was fined $125 million.

Ripple Got Approval To Launch A Dollar-backed Stablecoin Called RLUSD

Despite this, Ripple remains hopeful about the future of crypto in the United States. The company noted that with the new US administration, the outlook for crypto is positive. Ripple highlighted that during Donald Trump’s presidency, two crypto-friendly leaders were chosen for key regulatory positions, and a group was formed to create digital asset policies.

With this optimism, Ripple is growing in the US by hiring more workers. Around 75 percent of its open jobs are now based in the US, and the company said it has doubled its US hiring compared to 2023.

A month ago, Ripple received approval from the New York Department of Financial Services to launch a dollar-backed stablecoin called RLUSD.

RLUSD will run on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchain. It will help with instant payments, converting fiat to crypto, and turning real-world assets into tokens.

The approval from NYDFS is a big step for Ripple as it grows in the US and competes with traditional bank payment systems.