Ripple Doubles Down on Tokenized Capital Markets With Zilo and Licuido Investments

Ripple Backs Tokenization Infrastructure to Unlock Collateral Potential

Ripple announced strategic investments in two UK-based firms—Zilo and Licuido—as it accelerates efforts to unlock the potential of tokenized financial assets on its blockchain infrastructure. The move positions the fintech company to expand access to regulated issuance and transfer capabilities that could reshape how financial institutions manage collateral and tokenized funds on a distributed ledger.

Zilo specializes in global transfer agency and asset solutions designed for wealth managers, while Licuido provides tokenization expertise as a regulated provider under the UK Financial Conduct Authority. By combining the complementary strengths of these two firms, Ripple aims to address a critical inefficiency in the tokenized asset ecosystem: idle collateral that generates no productivity during the issuance process. Through these partnerships, the company expects to bring regulated transfer agency services, streamlined issuance processes, and enhanced collateral mobility directly to the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Under this framework, tokenized funds could function as collateral immediately upon creation, eliminating friction and opening new avenues for institutional participation in blockchain-based finance.

Building on Recent Momentum in Institutional Tokenization

Ripple’s announcement comes as the institutional tokenization space gains tangible traction. Just days prior, London-based asset manager Aviva Investors launched a tokenized version of its US Dollar Liquidity Fund on XRPL, having received approval from the Central Bank of Ireland. The move validated Ripple’s infrastructure for institutional-grade deployments. Separately, Ripple unveiled Ripple Mint in recent weeks, a platform enabling financial institutions to issue, manage, and redeem its dollar-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), further consolidating the ecosystem for regulated tokenization. Together, these initiatives underscore Ripple’s methodical expansion of infrastructure specifically designed for real-world asset tokenization at institutional scale.

Measuring Opportunity in a Growing RWA Ecosystem

While Ripple did not disclose the financial terms of either investment, public records show Zilo has raised $58.7 million in total equity funding to date. The broader tokenization sector is expanding rapidly. XRPL currently hosts $368 million in tokenized real-world assets, positioning it as the 11th-largest blockchain network for RWAs by volume. Ethereum leads the sector with $17.1 billion in tokenized assets, illustrating both the substantial opportunity ahead and the current market gap Ripple is attempting to narrow. Across the entire tokenized assets ecosystem, momentum is accelerating: the number of holders surged 50 percent to 1.57 million over the past month, while the total value of tokenized assets increased 1.5 percent to $37.3 billion. As regulated tokenization providers gain mainstream acceptance and institutions accelerate their adoption of blockchain-based capital markets infrastructure, Ripple’s strategic positioning could prove critical in capturing meaningful share of the multi-trillion-dollar shift toward digital financial systems.

Source: Ripple, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.