Ripple Teams with Cicada, Clearpool on Institutional Credit Fund

Ripple is backing a new institutional credit fund that will lend its RLUSD stablecoin to fintech and payments companies on the XRP Ledger, alongside lending platform Clearpool and credit manager Cicada Partners.

The fund will provide working-capital loans denominated in RLUSD, with Cicada sourcing borrowers, setting loan terms and monitoring credit risk. Clearpool is building the infrastructure used to create and manage the lending pools, while Ripple provides capital as an investor alongside other institutions.

Cicada says it has underwritten more than $860 million of credit and will act as both fund general partner and credit-pool manager. Clearpool says it has facilitated more than $930 million of institutional loans since 2021. Ripple participates as a limited partner on the same terms as other investors rather than guaranteeing losses.

The RLUSD demand play is expected to benefit Ripple's dollar-pegged stablecoin, which crossed $1 billion in market capitalization less than a year after launch. XRP itself will solely cover transaction fees and minimum balances required for accounts on the ledger.