In a move to grow its overall stablecoin infrastructure, Ripple has announced it will be acquiring a stablecoin payments platform called Rail by the fourth quarter of 2025. On Thursday, August 7, Ripple said it is purchasing the Toronto, Canada-based platform for $200 million.
Rail is expected to add virtual accounts and automated back-office infrastructure to Ripple’s exiting stablecoin payment network, the XRP-issuer said in its statement.
“Stablecoins are quickly becoming a cornerstone of modern finance, and with Rail, we are uniquely positioned to drive the adoption of stablecoins and blockchain in global payments,” said Monica Long, the president of Ripple commenting on the development.
The coming together of Rail and Ripple will let users facilitate USD payments without having to hold crypto on their balance sheets. Individuals will also be allowed to manage multiple types of payments including third-party ones.
The merger will also, “support payments across a variety of digital assets like RLUSD, XRP and others, and provide competitive pricing on high-value tickets and enable customers to transact with digital assets without the need to open dedicated crypto bank accounts or wallets on centralized exchanges,” the statement by Ripple explained.
Ripple has been foraying into the stablecoin network, one step at a time. In December last year, Ripple launched its own stablecoin, dubbed the RLUSD.
In order to compete with the likes of other stablecoin players like Tether and Circle, Ripple is seemingly exploring ways to grab an edge in-terms of services.
With the acquisition of Rail, for instance, Ripple plans to connect users to a 24/7/365 global payment network and deliver regulated and secure payment flows under an enterprise-grade compliance regime.
“Over the last four years, Rail built the fastest way to settle business payments internationally using stablecoins, and in 2025, Rail is forecasted to process over 10 percent of the $36 billion global B2B stablecoin payments. Ripple shares our vision,” said Bhanu Kohli, Rail CEO.
As of now, Ripple claims to have invested $3 billion in acquisitions and strategic opportunities.