Ripple Backs Institutional Lending Push on XRP Ledger with Clearpool and Cicada
Ripple is backing a new initiative to bring institutional lending to the XRP Ledger. The project, led by Clearpool and Cicada Partners, aims to provide a more traditional source of return in decentralized finance (DeFi) through interest paid by operating businesses.
The lending infrastructure will use RLUSD, Ripple's regulated dollar stablecoin, as the credit asset. Borrowers are expected to include fintech and payments companies that already use stablecoins for treasury and cross-border activity.
Clearpool has facilitated over $930 million in institutional loans since 2021, while Cicada has underwritten more than $860 million. The initiative targets the 98% of DeFi yield still driven by market mechanisms, such as looping, arbitrage, basis trades, and liquidity incentives.