LMAX Group inks major deal with Ripple as crypto firm backs rollout of RLUSD with $150M investment London-based financial technology firm LMAX Group has struck a strategic partnership with Ripple that includes a $150 million investment from the blockchain payments company and a plan to integrate Ripple’s USD-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, into LMAX’s institutional payment and trading infrastructure. What’s happening - RLUSD will be adopted as a key collateral asset inside LMAX’s institutional trading framework, enabling banks, brokers and buy-side firms to use the stablecoin for cross-collateralization and margining across spot crypto, perpetual futures and contracts for difference (CFDs). - The deal also links LMAX’s digital asset exchange to Ripple Prime, Ripple’s institutional liquidity and custody offering, creating a direct gateway for institutions to access RLUSD liquidity. Why it matters - Liquidity and settlement: RLUSD can serve both as settlement currency and collateral, improving liquidity for spot crypto and fiat transactions within LMAX’s venues. - Margin efficiency: Institutional clients will be able to use RLUSD as margin funding for perpetuals and CFDs, which the firms say should lower capital friction and boost cross-asset capital efficiency. - Security and interoperability: RLUSD holdings will be available through LMAX Custody with segregated wallets designed to preserve fungibility and transferability between traditional finance and digital assets. LMAX’s Kiosk onboarding feature will let institutions ramp into multiple FX and digital products using RLUSD as collateral and access markets 24/7. Executive reactions David Mercer, CEO of LMAX Group, called the partnership a “milestone,” saying greater regulatory clarity for fiat-backed stablecoins makes them a catalyst for convergence between traditional finance and digital assets, and asserting that “RLUSD is positioned at the forefront.” Mercer also highlighted plans to collaborate with Ripple’s leadership to build a “modern financial ecosystem” and an institutional cross-asset marketplace. Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoins at Ripple, said the tie-up will accelerate RLUSD adoption inside “one of the largest and most sophisticated trading environments,” noting RLUSD is already among the top five USD-backed stablecoins. Market context The announcement comes as the Ripple token XRP trades at about $2.09, down nearly 3% over the past 24 hours. Image credits: DALL·E; trading chart from TradingView.com (End) Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news