Ripple has announced strategic investments in two United Kingdom-based financial technology companies, ZILO and Licuido, as part of a broader push to scale tokenized fund infrastructure on the XRP Ledger. The strategic backing adds transfer agency capabilities, token issuance tools, secondary trading functionality, and collateral mobility services to Ripple’s institutional digital asset suite.
Financial terms of the transactions, including the capital amounts invested and resulting ownership stakes, were not disclosed by Ripple or the target companies.
Expanding Transfer Agency and Asset Issuance Capabilities
The investments target core operational hurdles faced by asset managers transitioning traditional funds onchain. ZILO specializes in transfer agency and fund administration software, launching a unified platform that enables financial institutions to manage conventional fund units alongside tokenized share classes within a single operating system. The technology translates fund rules, jurisdiction requirements, and ownership records into onchain logic, removing the need for fragmented IT systems during settlement, corporate actions, and regulatory reporting.
Licuido addresses the market interface and secondary distribution layer. Its platform manages asset tokenization, primary distribution, and secondary market trading, with an architecture structured to allow tokenized fund units to be mobilized as financial collateral. Licuido operates as an appointed representative of Sapeno Partners LLP, an entity authorized and regulated by the US and UK regulatory authorities, allowing it to offer regulated services under the oversight of its principal firm.
Delivery-versus-Payment Settlement via RLUSD
A key architectural component of the partnership involves integrating Ripple USD (RLUSD) as the primary cash leg for delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlements. By executing both the asset transfer and payment settlement simultaneously on the XRP Ledger, the process eliminates timing mismatches and counterparty exposure, allowing tokenized fund shares to be pledged as collateral immediately upon issuance.
The deals build on existing institutional deployments on the XRP Ledger. Aviva Investors recently launched a tokenized share class for its US Dollar Liquidity Fund on the ledger, utilizing a partner network that includes ZILO and Licuido for ongoing administration and distribution. The model also aligns with Ripple’s ongoing collateral management pilots with traditional institutions like Franklin Templeton and DBS. Further adoption will depend on technical rollout timelines, active client onboarding, and verified transaction throughput across the combined stack.
