Ripple and Robinhood Expand Partnership to Use RLUSD for Settlement, Treasury and Financing
Key Facts
Ripple and Robinhood announced a strategic partnership on October 27, 2026, linking the RLUSD stablecoin to institutional settlement, treasury management and financing through Bitstamp by Robinhood. Robinhood will use the stablecoin for institutional settlement on the XRP Ledger, while it was available at the time of the announcement on Robinhood Chain and Bitstamp by Robinhood. Ripple said it is expected to become available in the Robinhood app later this year. Robinhood will also integrate Ripple Treasury into its operations, while Ripple Prime will provide lending and margin financing services to Bitstamp. Ripple President Monica Long said the partnership “reflects growing institutional demand for integrated solutions” that serve customer offerings and core financial operations.
The Ripple Treasury integration extends to cash and liquidity management, cash flow forecasting, payments, risk management and intercompany clearing. These functions link the stablecoin’s use in settlement to Robinhood’s daily treasury operations. On the financing side, Ripple Prime’s services include lending and margin financing across about 20 digital assets on Bitstamp by Robinhood. Ripple Prime clients will also be able to trade spot markets on Bitstamp. Ripple said support for perpetual futures trading on the platform will come later this year.
The partnership announcement came a day after Ripple unveiled a new orchestration layer in Ripple Treasury connecting cash identification, forecasting, reconciliation, liquidity management and payments functions. The platform includes a 24/7 Returns feature, which may allow eligible clients to earn returns on eligible digital assets in a Ripple wallet, including RLUSD, subject to program requirements. Ripple said companies including American Airlines, Trax, Christian Louboutin, Subway, Adecco and Kingfisher use the platform to manage cash, liquidity and payments around the clock. The company cited the 2026 AFP Liquidity Survey, saying 46% of institutions increased their U.S. cash balances over the previous year. The survey also found, according to Ripple, that 86% of treasury professionals choose instant money market funds if their investment policies allow.
The day after the partnership announcement, Ripple said RLUSD’s market capitalization reached $2.6 billion on October 28, up more than 88% since the start of the year. The partnership statement issued on October 27 had said total stablecoin supply exceeded $300 billion and RLUSD’s market capitalization had topped $2.4 billion since its launch in December 2024. Ripple and Coinbase announced on October 28 that RLUSD would be available through Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Exchange and the Coinbase app for retail and institutional clients. The availability includes deposits and withdrawals through the XRP Ledger, Base and Ethereum, with conversion of dollars and supported dollar-denominated stablecoins to RLUSD at a 1:1 ratio. Ripple said availability to Coinbase Global Exchange clients, including its use as collateral, would come later.
In its third-quarter 2026 results, Robinhood reported net revenue of $1.42 billion, up 12% year over year, while transaction revenue rose 19% to $867 million. That revenue included $173 million from event contracts, $399 million from options and $121 million from equities, while crypto revenue fell 55% to $120 million. Net income declined 14% to $476 million, and diluted earnings per share fell 16% to $0.51. The company said net income included unrealized losses of $67 million, or $0.07 per share, mainly related to the mark-to-market valuation of Robinhood Ventures Fund I. Funded customers totaled 28.7 million, an increase of 1.9 million, or 7%, year over year.
The weak quarterly results were reflected in the stock’s trading; Reuters reported that Robinhood shares fell 8% in premarket trading on October 28 after earnings missed Wall Street expectations as the crypto market retreated. Quarterly earnings per share were 51 cents, compared with expectations of 55 cents, according to LSEG estimates, while crypto revenue fell to $120 million. Reuters noted that Bitcoin had fallen about 28% over the previous three months amid shifting expectations for U.S. interest rates, outflows from bitcoin exchange-traded funds and bouts of risk aversion. On flows, Robinhood’s chief financial officer said net deposits in October exceeded $13 billion through October 27, including $6 billion from the Dell family’s contribution to Trump Accounts. Ripple said on October 28 that it was targeting annualized product revenue of $900 million by the end of 2026, with more than 1,700 institutions and companies accessing its digital infrastructure.