Ripple, a global blockchain-based enterprise solutions provider for both traditional and digital finance, has announced its participation in BLOOM, an initiative spearheaded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). 

BLOOM, standing for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, is designed to expand settlement capabilities involving tokenised bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins.

Collaborative pilot to transform trade settlements

In partnership with Unloq, a supply chain finance technology provider, Ripple will pilot a use case aimed at reshaping cross-border trade settlements. This collaboration seeks to showcase a practical model for Singapore’s ongoing efforts to develop innovative and interoperable settlement infrastructures.

The project leverages Unloq’s SC+ trade finance platform, which integrates trade obligations, settlement conditions, and financing workflows into a single, streamlined execution layer. This solution is built on Ripple’s institutional-grade XRP Ledger (XRPL) and utilises Ripple USD (RLUSD), a secure, enterprise-grade stablecoin tailored for business applications.

Fiona Murray, Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Ripple, quoted, “Singapore continues to take a leading role globally in providing the regulatory clarity necessary for the digital asset space to thrive. Ripple is incredibly excited to be part of BLOOM, an initiative that perfectly aligns with our commitment to compliant, real-world utility for blockchain technology.

Addressing inefficiencies with digital settlement assets

By employing digital settlement assets such as stablecoins and tokenised bank liabilities, Ripple and Unloq aim to tackle longstanding inefficiencies in cross-border trade settlements. 

Letitia Chau, President and Chief Risk Officer at Unloq, said, “BLOOM marks a significant advancement in modernising trade finance infrastructure within a regulated framework. Through SC+, we demonstrate how digital settlement rails can seamlessly integrate with existing trade and financing workflows without disrupting commercial relationships”

“Our collaboration with MAS and Ripple allows us to explore scalable, interoperable solutions for cross-border trade,” he added.

Payments are programmed to release only upon fulfilment of predefined commercial conditions, such as confirmation of shipment, thereby enhancing risk transparency and facilitating better financing access for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Unloq’s SC+ platform, powered by smart contracts on the XRP Ledger, uses RLUSD to automatically trigger payments once shipment verification occurs. Launched in December 2024, RLUSD targets institutional use and has grown to a market value of approximately $1.5 billion, ranking among the larger digital assets used for payments.  

Ripple is also pursuing expansion beyond Asia, including plans to obtain an Australian Financial Services License through the acquisition of BC Payments Australia Pty Ltd.

Unloq’s supply chain expertise and Ripple’s secure blockchain infrastructure aim to accelerate global trade processes while increasing transparency.