Ripple has been accepted into Singapore’s BLOOM sandbox, a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) initiative testing settlement infrastructure for tokenized assets and regulated stablecoins. The pilot, announced on March 25, pairs Ripple with supply chain finance firm Unloq to test RLUSD-powered automated payments for cross-border trade. If shipment conditions are verified on-chain, payments release without manual intervention, replacing a process that typically takes days of paperwork and bank confirmations.
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a fixed value, usually pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, so it can serve as a reliable medium of exchange rather than a speculative asset.
Key takeaways
- Ripple joins MAS BLOOM alongside Circle, DBS, Stripe, and five other firms to test stablecoin-based settlement infrastructure.
- The pilot with Unloq automates cross-border trade payments using RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, triggering settlement when shipment conditions are confirmed.
- RLUSD has grown to a $1.5 billion market cap since its December 2024 launch, with $3.5 billion in adjusted transaction volume over the past 30 days.
- MAS acceptance signals that Singapore’s central bank views the RLUSD-on-XRPL stack as credible enough for regulated experimentation in trade finance.
What BLOOM is and why Ripple’s inclusion matters
BLOOM stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency. MAS launched it in October 2025 to build settlement infrastructure for tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins across multiple currencies, including G10 and Asian currencies. The program is not speculative. It targets wholesale use cases: corporate treasury management, trade finance, and what MAS calls “agentic payments,” where software agents execute transactions based on predefined rules.
The existing participant list reads like a who’s who of global payments. Circle, DBS, OCBC, UOB, Stripe, Partior, Ant International, and StraitsX are already in the program. Ripple is the latest addition, and the first to bring a non-USDC stablecoin into the sandbox.
Fiona Murray, Ripple’s Asia Pacific managing director, said the company is “incredibly excited to be part of BLOOM, an initiative that aligns with our commitment to compliant, real-world utility.” Getting into the MAS program signals that Singapore’s central bank considers the RLUSD-on-XRPL stack credible enough for regulated experimentation, which matters more for Ripple’s enterprise pipeline than another exchange listing.
How the Unloq pilot works
The pilot targets a specific pain point in international trade: the gap between when goods ship and when sellers get paid. Traditional trade finance involves layers of documentation, manual verification, and multi-day settlement windows through correspondent banks. Mid-sized exporters feel this most, often waiting weeks for payment while absorbing financing costs.
Unloq’s SC+ platform bundles trade obligations, settlement conditions, and financing workflows into a single execution layer. RLUSD on the XRP Ledger handles the actual money movement. When predefined commercial conditions are met, such as shipment verification or customs clearance, payments release automatically. No manual reconciliation. No bank officer signing off on paperwork at 3 PM on a Friday.
Letitia Chau of Unloq emphasized the system works “without disrupting commercial relationships,” meaning existing trade partners and banks stay in the loop. The technology slots into current workflows rather than replacing them.
RLUSD’s rapid growth
RLUSD launched in December 2024 and has since grown to a $1.5 billion market cap. The stablecoin processed 515,000 transactions in the last 30 days, with adjusted transaction volume reaching $3.5 billion. About 82% of RLUSD supply sits on Ethereum, with the remaining $348 million on the XRP Ledger.
Ripple plans to expand RLUSD onto Ethereum Layer 2 networks including Optimism, Base, Ink Chain, and Unichain later in 2026, pending regulatory approvals. Binance added RLUSD on XRPL earlier this year, and the stablecoin is now the third-largest US-regulated stablecoin behind USDC and PYUSD.
What comes next
MAS is preparing to test tokenized government bills settled in wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) as part of the broader BLOOM roadmap for 2026. The authority has also signed memoranda with Deutsche Bundesbank on cross-border settlement and is advancing tokenized securities infrastructure across Southeast Asia.
For Ripple, the BLOOM pilot connects its stablecoin ambitions to a concrete commercial application under central bank oversight. If the Unloq integration proves that RLUSD can reliably settle trade finance transactions on the XRP Ledger, it opens the door to similar pilots in other BLOOM member countries and use cases beyond trade, including corporate treasury and supply chain financing.
The pilot has no publicly disclosed timeline for completion or volume targets, but MAS typically runs sandbox experiments over 6 to 12 months before deciding on broader adoption.
FAQ
What is MAS BLOOM and why is it significant for crypto?
BLOOM is a Monetary Authority of Singapore initiative launched in October 2025 to test settlement infrastructure using tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins. It is significant because MAS is one of the world’s most respected financial regulators, and acceptance into BLOOM signals a central bank views a stablecoin as credible for real-world use.
How does RLUSD differ from other stablecoins like USDC?
RLUSD is Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin that runs on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. Unlike USDC, which is issued by Circle, RLUSD is designed to integrate with Ripple’s existing cross-border payments infrastructure. It has a $1.5 billion market cap and is the third-largest US-regulated stablecoin.
What problem does the Ripple-Unloq pilot solve?
The pilot automates cross-border trade payments that currently take days of manual verification and paperwork. When shipment conditions are confirmed on-chain, RLUSD payments release automatically on the XRP Ledger, reducing settlement time and financing costs for mid-sized exporters.
