Ripple (XRP) Makes Bold Move: Files for US Banking License in 2025 Power Play

Ripple just dropped a regulatory bombshell—and Wall Street’s legacy banks might need a Xanax.

The crypto giant filed for a US banking license, a direct challenge to the antiquated financial gatekeepers who still think SWIFT is cutting-edge tech. If approved, XRP could bypass correspondent banking entirely—imagine Visa, but without the 3-day settlement delays and 1970s infrastructure.

Why this matters now: With the SEC lawsuit finally in the rearview, Ripple’s going full throttle. Their on-demand liquidity corridors already process $15B+ annually. A banking charter would let them cut out middlemen completely—something Jamie Dimon’s team definitely won’t toast to over their usual $20 martinis.

The cynical twist? This application drops just as Congress debates the ‘Digital Dollar Pilot Act.’ Coincidence—or Ripple’s chess move to become the bridge between crypto and the very system it aimed to disrupt? Either way, the irony’s thicker than a Tether reserve report.

Being granted a national trust bank charter would also place Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin within the OCC’s remit. Ripple would likely also consider offering other crypto services through its banking license if approved. “The dual nature of that regulation would basically have set a new bar for transparency and compliance in the stablecoin market,” said Jack McDonald, senior vice president of stablecoins at Ripple.

Presently, crypto custodian Anchorage Digital is the only digital-currency firm in the country with a federal bank charter. Circle, the USDC stablecoin issuer, also recently applied for a national bank charter. While Ripple boasts a far smaller market cap than those two, its popularity in the crypto sector has exploded in the past two years, in part thanks to its high-profile case against the SEC.

According to the WSJ, separately, Ripple subsidiary Standard Custody & Trust Company applied for a Federal Reserve master account on Monday. If granted, the account WOULD allow Ripple to custody the reserves directly with the Fed, and issue and redeem stablecoins outside of normal banking hours.

Ripple’s native XRP cryptocurrency is up on Wednesday following the platform’s US banking license application. In the last 24 hours, the altcoin is up nearly 4%.