What To Know:
- XRP edged higher as Ripple took part in a closed-door White House meeting on stablecoin regulation.
- US talks exposed divisions, with banks wary of yield-bearing stablecoins and crypto firms pushing for clearer rules.
- Ripple won in Europe, securing a Luxembourg EMI licence that enables passporting across the EU.
Ripple (XRP) jumped briefly amid its participation in a closed-door White House meeting focused on stablecoin regulation, while simultaneously securing a major regulatory win in Europe.
On Monday afternoon, Ripple representatives joined senior officials from the crypto industry, traditional banks, and payments firms at the White House for a two-hour discussion on stablecoin rules. The meeting witnessed executives and policy leads from companies including Coinbase, Tether, Kraken, Crypto.com, Paxos, Circle, and PayPal. There were also representatives from Fidelity, Cantor Fitzgerald, SoFi, and other established financial institutions.
Ripple Tracks Regulatory Developments in US and Europe
Stablecoin yield and rewards were the focus of discussion, an issue which remains an obstacle for development on broader market structure legislation in the United States. Banks say yield-bearing stablecoins behave like unregulated deposit products, diverting funds from licensed lenders and bypassing the established protections. Crypto companies, meanwhile, have said that yield designs are valuable for consumers and are like those of other conventional instruments that use digital assets to make money.
Eleanor Terrett reported that the issues were framed with an emphasis on defining boundaries acceptable to both sides. Brendan Pedersen, who covers financial policy, said participants described a split in negotiating tactics. Crypto representatives pushed to discuss concrete options for handling stablecoin yield. Banking trade groups largely avoided specific proposals and steered away from technical details.
Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said the administration has already made progress on several policy challenges that once appeared difficult to resolve. He expressed confidence that stablecoin yield could also be addressed through continued engagement. His remarks alluded that dialogue between the two sectors is viewed by the White House as a prerequisite for any kind of coherent framework to even come into existence.
As debates over regulations resumed in Washington, Ripple moved its compliance strategy even further afield. Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, has granted the company a full Electronic Money Institution licence after Ripple met all required conditions. The approval follows preliminary authorisation issued in January.
An EMI licence allows a firm to issue electronic money, provide payment services, and operate under strict regulatory oversight. Crucially, the Luxembourg approval gives Ripple passporting rights across the European Union. From today, by means of one licence the company is now able to provide services all over the European Economic Area without having to apply for separate national approvals.
Ripple’s Managing Director, Cassie Craddock for the UK and Europe, said the company has continuously regarded Europe as a key strategic region. She said the licence gives Ripple new-found capability to construct a compliant blockchain-based payment infrastructure across the region. The company intends to help European institutions that are embracing digital-first financial models while ensuring they stay compliant with the rules.
Ripple now manages this approach with the Luxembourg authorisation. Its added Luxembourg authorisation brings Ripple’s now-extensive list of approvals in excess of 75 licences worldwide. It is also coming after a recent approval in the United Kingdom, where the firm secured both an EMI licence and crypto-asset registration from the Financial Conduct Authority.
Market participants say the European licence could have implications beyond payments. Analysts and commentators have pointed to potential benefits for Ripple’s broader ecosystem, including XRP, the XRP Ledger, and the company’s US dollar stablecoin, RLUSD.
The regulatory momentum coincided with a modest rise in XRP’s market price. The token gained nearly 0.3 percent over a 24-hour period. It is trading around $1.60 at the time of writing.
Also Read: Ex-Ripple CTO Says Market Signals Do Not Support $100 XRP Narrative
