Ripple’s cross-border payments story may be picking up steam after a major partner, Thunes, rolled out real-time U.S. settlement capabilities that could deepen XRP’s practical use in global remittances and institutional flows.
What happened
- Thunes announced a direct connection with a Tier 1 U.S. bank that unlocks ACH, Same-Day ACH and all real-time payment rails in the United States, according to XFinanceBull on X.
- That connection has been integrated into the same network that leverages Ripple’s blockchain payments infrastructure and uses XRP as a bridge asset, meaning more seamless on-ramps and off-ramps into U.S. banking corridors.
Why it matters
- Thunes already has broad regulatory coverage in the U.S., holding 50 Money Transmitter Licenses that let it operate in every state and territory — mirroring Ripple’s institutional access to U.S. clearing systems.
- The company’s network spans roughly 140 countries, supports 90 currencies, and connects to more than 12 billion mobile wallets, stablecoin wallets and bank account endpoints. Plugging direct U.S. real-time settlement into that network gives over 140 countries a pathway to send money into the U.S. via rails tied to Ripple technology.
- Ripple’s payments infrastructure itself claims near-global reach, with 90+ payout markets processing over $70 billion in volume. The Thunes tie-in effectively creates a direct route from that ecosystem into Tier 1 U.S. banking through a fully-licensed partner.
How this fits with broader institutional adoption
- The XRP Ledger’s real-world asset (RWA) segment crossed $3 billion in tokenized value in April, driven by a diverse set of asset types, according to analyst BankXRP on X and insights from Luke Judges, Partner Director at RippleX, shared at Istanbul Blockchain Week.
- Market watchers say the next frontier for tokenization will likely focus on cash and cash-equivalent instruments — money market funds, U.S. Treasury bills — alongside tokenized equities. These assets are viewed as prime candidates for infrastructure disruption, paving the way toward a globally distributed financial system where regulated assets can trade across classes via unified order books.
Bottom line
Thunes’ U.S. real-time settlement integration strengthens the practical plumbing that can route global flows through Ripple’s tech stack and XRP. Paired with growing institutional interest in tokenized real-world assets on the XRP Ledger, the move could accelerate liquidity paths and product development that bring blockchain-enabled payments and asset tokenization closer to mainstream finance.
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