Ripple secures South Korean bank deal and raises $275 million for institutional expansion

Ripple expands with South Korean bank and new funding

Ripple, a company focused on crypto payments, has secured two major deals. It partnered with Jeonbuk Bank in South Korea to provide faster cross-border payments. It also raised $275 million to support its institutional trading business.

Jeonbuk Bank is the first regional bank in South Korea to use Ripple’s payment system. The bank will offer near real-time transfers for businesses, replacing slower traditional methods that can take days. Ripple also raised funds through a private placement of notes rated investment-grade by KBRA.

Key details of Ripple’s recent moves

• Jeonbuk Bank will use Ripple Payments for cross-border transfers, completing transactions in seconds to minutes.
• Ripple raised $275 million through senior unsecured notes to support its prime brokerage business.
• The funds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes in the U.S.
• Ripple’s prime brokerage, Ripple Prime, clears over $3 trillion annually and serves 300+ institutional clients.
• Ripple Payments can settle transactions using traditional money (fiat), stablecoins (digital currencies pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar), or other assets.

Ripple’s growing presence in South Korea

Jeonbuk Bank is part of Ripple’s expanding footprint in South Korea. The country is already using Ripple’s services for digital asset custody (safe storage of digital assets) and tokenized securities (digital versions of traditional financial assets).

Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance to explore on-chain settlement of government bonds and with Kbank to deploy wallet infrastructure. These deals show Ripple’s push into multiple financial services beyond payments.

XRP’s role remains unclear

Despite Ripple’s expansion, it is not confirmed whether Jeonbuk Bank will use XRP, Ripple’s cryptocurrency, for its transactions. Ripple Payments supports multiple settlement options, including fiat and stablecoins like USDC and USDT.

XRP’s price recently fell to its lowest level since November 2024, trading near $1. Traders have increased leveraged bets on XRP, but it is unclear if these positions are bullish or bearish.

Ripple Prime’s $275 million funding is for general corporate purposes, not specifically for buying XRP. The brokerage provides exposure to XRP and plans to use the XRP Ledger for some post-trade activities, but this does not guarantee increased demand for XRP.

Why these developments matter

Ripple’s deals with Jeonbuk Bank and the $275 million funding show its growing role in traditional finance. The partnership with Jeonbuk Bank could encourage other banks to adopt faster cross-border payment solutions.

The funding for Ripple Prime strengthens its ability to serve institutional investors, bridging crypto and traditional markets. However, the impact on XRP’s demand and price remains uncertain, as Ripple’s services do not require the use of its cryptocurrency.

Sources

• CryptoSlate