Ripple achieves double success: Singapore secures key license, instant Naira remittance launched in the African market.

Blockchain payment giant Ripple has made breakthrough progress on both the global regulatory and market application fronts. In Singapore, its subsidiary Ripple Markets APAC has received approval from the Monetary Authority, expanding the scope of its major payment institution license, paving the way for the widespread application of XRP and the upcoming stablecoin RLUSD under a regulated framework. Meanwhile, the fintech platform RedotPay announced the integration of Ripple Payments, launching the feature “send crypto assets, receive Nigerian Naira”, achieving minute-level settlement from crypto assets to fiat. These two developments, one 'above' and one 'below', together outline Ripple's clear strategy of accelerating the expansion of its global payment landscape with compliance licenses as a fulcrum and practical applications as a lever.

Strategic Heights Achieve Another Victory: Key License in Singapore Realizes Business Expansion

This week, Ripple achieved a decisive victory in Singapore, one of its global strategic cores. The Monetary Authority of Singapore officially approved its application for the expansion of its MPI license, allowing its local subsidiary to conduct a wider range of payment services. This license is a globally recognized top-tier payment business license, and this expansion signifies Ripple's deeper recognition by regulators of its business model. Ripple President Monica Long stated that Singapore's forward-looking regulatory environment provides a solid foundation for innovation, and the expanded license will help the company increase investments in the region and build an efficient payment infrastructure serving financial institutions.

This regulatory victory has multiple strategic significances. First, it solidifies Ripple's compliance foothold in the Asia-Pacific region. Since entering in 2017, Singapore has become one of Ripple's global operational hubs. Even during the difficult times of responding to the U.S. SEC lawsuit, its business in Singapore has continued to advance steadily, and it obtained the MPI license for the first time in 2023. The current expansion is undoubtedly a strong push amid the easing of its global legal pressures. Second, Singapore, as a benchmark for global digital asset regulation, has policy trends that serve as a demonstration effect. Ripple's success here provides a compelling case for applying for similar licenses in other markets such as Europe and the Middle East.

Ripple Singapore Compliance Process and Impact

2017: Ripple entered the Singapore market.

October 2023: Ripple Markets APAC obtained a major payment institution license in Singapore.

2024: MPI license approval expands business scope, allowing for a wider range of digital payment token services.

Core Value: Opens the channel for regulated applications of XRP and RLUSD in key financial centers.

Regional Radiation: Based in Singapore, serving the Asia-Pacific, the fastest-growing digital asset market in the world.

Application Scenarios Driven by Dual Forces: XRP and RLUSD Gain Clear Utility Support

The most direct technical impact of the Singapore license expansion is the clarification of the core status of XRP and RLUSD in the Ripple Payments system. According to the plan, Ripple Payments will act as a “ramp” connecting traditional banks with the world of digital assets, providing a one-stop service for fund collection, holding, exchange, and payment. Among them, XRP will continue to play its classic role as a “bridge asset,” providing liquidity for the conversion between different fiat currencies through its fast settlement speed and extremely low cost. Meanwhile, RLUSD, as Ripple's upcoming native stablecoin, will provide stability in USD pricing to serve traditional payment scenarios that are sensitive to cryptocurrency volatility.

This arrangement injects solid practical value into the two assets. For XRP, having an irreplaceable settlement function in a payment network recognized by the world’s top financial centers is the fundamental basis for its long-term value. As for the yet-to-be-launched RLUSD, having locked in real, compliant, and large-scale application scenarios from its inception is undoubtedly a key chip for breaking through in the fiercely competitive stablecoin market. Fiona Murray, Vice President of Ripple Asia-Pacific, revealed that the on-chain activity growth rate in the region is 70%, with Singapore at the center of this growth. The expansion of licenses provides the necessary regulatory tools to capture this explosive demand.

Market Landing Precision Strike: RedotPay Collaboration Achieves Minute-Level Remittance Arrival in Africa

While solidifying its compliance foundation in Singapore, Ripple's market reach extends into the most urgent African markets through partnerships. Fintech company RedotPay has announced the integration of Ripple Payments, launching a “Send Crypto, Receive NGN” feature aimed at Nigeria. Users can send supported crypto assets to the platform, and through Ripple's payment network, funds can be converted into Nigerian Naira and deposited into local bank accounts within minutes. This feature currently supports mainstream assets such as USDT, USDC, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, and will also include RLUSD in the future.

This move directly addresses the long-standing pain points in the global remittance market. Remitting to emerging markets like Nigeria through traditional channels has an average cost of 6.49% and takes 1 to 5 working days. RedotPay leverages Ripple's Blockchain infrastructure to significantly reduce intermediaries, achieving cost transparency and accelerated Settlement. RedotPay CEO Michael Gao stated that their goal is to make stablecoin payments as easy as using local cash. Ripple's APAC business head Jack Cullinane pointed out that this collaboration vividly demonstrates how Blockchain technology can effectively reduce friction in cross-border transactions and enhance the accessibility of financial services. This is not only a business cooperation but also a precise financial inclusion practice targeting specific market pain points.

Global Layout Logic Emerges: Dual-Driving Strategy of Compliance and Application

Connecting Singapore's licensing breakthroughs with remittance implementation in Africa, one can clearly see the internal logic of Ripple's current global strategy: “regulatory compliance” and “market application” as dual driving forces. On one hand, obtaining a comprehensive license in a mature regulatory environment like Singapore, a core financial hub with an excellent reputation, provides the highest level of credit endorsement and compliance passage for its technological solutions. On the other hand, by collaborating with regional fintech pioneers like RedotPay, they can quickly penetrate high-growth markets with huge remittance demands like Nigeria, validate the practical value of their technology, and rapidly acquire users.

This “top-down” and “bottom-up” combined approach demonstrates Ripple's adept strategy in navigating the complex global regulatory environment. It no longer relies solely on direct collaborations with large banks but empowers numerous flexible fintech companies like RedotPay to cover a wider long-tail market in a more agile manner. Whether for institutional clients or individual users, the underlying liquidity and settlement network are inseparable from the combination of XRP and RLUSD as digital assets. Singapore's license ensures the compliance of this combination, while practical applications around the world continuously prove its economic viability.

Interpretation of Ripple Payment Network's Three-Layer Architecture

To understand the above progress, it is necessary to analyze the architecture of the Ripple payment ecosystem. The first layer is RippleNet, a blockchain information network that connects global financial institutions and is responsible for transmitting payment instructions. The second layer is the Settlement layer, historically achieved through ODL using XRP as a bridge currency for instant, low-cost cross-border settlements. The third layer is the upcoming stablecoin layer, represented by RLUSD, which provides price-stable settlement options for the network. The expansion of the Singapore license essentially paves the way for the collaborative operation of the second and third layers under strict regulation; while the partnership with RedotPay is a vivid example of how these three layers work together to serve end users.

From the approval letter of the Monetary Authority of Singapore to the arrival notification in the bank accounts of users in Nigeria, Ripple is demonstrating that blockchain payments are no longer just a conceptual demonstration through a coordinated operation that transcends regulatory heights and market depressions. Once the compliance bridge is established, practical vehicles will naturally flow continuously. On the long track of global payment system reform, Ripple's “dual-line advancement” strategy indicates that true breakthroughs require not only looking up at the stars to obtain legal road rights but also being down-to-earth, delivering efficiency and affordability to every specific street and alley. This may be the inevitable path for fintech to move from disruption to integration.