Ripple has made strategic investments in two United Kingdom-based firms, ZILO and Licuido, to expand the capabilities of its XRP Ledger for institutional tokenized finance. The company said the deals will introduce regulated transfer agency services, digital asset issuance and greater collateral mobility into its capital markets infrastructure.

Financial terms of the investments were not disclosed. The announcement comes days after Aviva Investors brought a tokenized share class of its US Dollar Liquidity Fund onto the XRP Ledger following approval from the Central Bank of Ireland.

Addressing Capital Markets Inefficiencies

Ripple described current capital markets as hampered by legacy systems that slow settlement and leave large amounts of collateral idle. Its institutional platform seeks to combine token issuance, custody, collateral management, multi-currency investment features and atomic settlement. Ripple’s US dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, is positioned as the regulated cash leg for delivery-versus-payment transactions.

Nigel Khakoo, senior vice president of trading and markets at Ripple, said tokenization itself is only the beginning. The greater opportunity, he stated, lies in enabling tokens to be bought, sold and settled instantly or deployed as collateral for borrowing, lending or margin.

Khakoo pointed to existing collaborations with Aviva Investors, Franklin Templeton and DBS as signs that major asset managers are preparing to scale tokenized investment products. He described the capabilities of ZILO and Licuido as essential for regulated digital transfer agency services and collateral mobility.

ZILO Focuses on Fund Administration and Transfer Agency

ZILO develops transfer agency and fund administration technology used by asset managers, custodians and transfer agents. The firm’s tools support the full lifecycle of investment products, including issuance, settlement, reconciliation, payments, corporate actions and regulatory reporting. Its platform is designed to handle both traditional fund units and tokenized share classes within a single system.

According to the company, configuration tools convert fund rules, share classes and jurisdictional requirements into on-chain logic while maintaining legal ownership records. ZILO has previously raised $58.7 million in equity funding. Phil Goffin, founder and chief executive of ZILO, said the Ripple investment would accelerate delivery of digital market efficiency to the institutions the firm serves.

Licuido Targets Issuance, Distribution and Collateral Use

Licuido provides technology for the issuance, distribution and trading of tokenized traditional financial assets. Its platform is structured so that tokenized fund shares can move as digital collateral through on-chain atomic settlement. Licuido Markets Limited operates as an appointed representative of an FCA-authorized principal firm.

Brian Lynch, chief executive and co-founder of Licuido, said tokenization alone does not unlock value. Institutions also need practical ways to put the assets to work. Ripple’s support, he noted, would help scale the firm’s infrastructure and collateral marketplace on the XRP Ledger, converting balance-sheet assets that have remained idle into usable liquidity.

Broader Context for XRP Ledger Tokenization

The investments build directly on the recent Aviva Investors launch and earlier partnerships that explore tokenized fund structures on the ledger. Ripple has also introduced tools such as Ripple Mint to give institutions additional ways to access, mint, redeem and manage RLUSD.

Data from RWA.xyz shows the XRP Ledger currently ranks 11th among blockchain networks by value of tokenized real-world assets, with approximately $368 million. Ethereum leads with $17.1 billion. Across the sector, the number of real-world asset holders rose 50 percent over the past 30 days to 1.57 million, while the overall value of tokenized assets increased 1.5 percent to $37.3 billion.

The XRP Ledger has processed more than four billion transactions since 2012, supports more than seven million active wallets and is maintained by 120 independent validators. Ripple presents these characteristics, together with the new partner capabilities, as the foundation for institutional-grade issuance, administration and collateral use of tokenized funds.

The company has not released timelines for specific product integrations or named additional clients beyond the existing partnerships already in progress.