Ripple Expands in Middle East with Riyad Bank Partnership

On Jan 26, 2026 at 1:40 pm UTC by · 2 mins read

Ripple has signed a partnership deal with Jeel, a subsidiary of Riyad Bank, to advance the financial future of Saudi Arabia through blockchain technology.

San Francisco-based blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc. has bagged a major deal with Riyad Bank in the Middle East. Reece Merrick, the Managing Director of Middle East and Africa at Ripple, announced the new development on X, citing that it is a move targeted at advancing Saudi Arabia’s financial future through blockchain innovation.

Jeel to Explore Tokenization with Ripple

Ripple’s deal is specifically with Jeel, a subsidiary of Riyad Bank. Together, they would be exploring advanced blockchain applications that focus on strengthening financial services across Saudi Arabia.

The goal is to develop a secure and transparent digital infrastructure that can support the Middle East. Merrick acknowledged this move as one that aligns with the country’s vision.

https://twitter.com/reece_merrick/status/2015717273752019127

These are key areas of opportunity for the Gulf region’s remittance and trade corridors. Crypto custody and tokenization are fast becoming two of the strongest innovations viewed as foundational components for the coming generation’s financial markets. It will allow the storage of digital assets as well as the representation of Real World Assets (RWAs) on blockchain networks.

Moreover, this is another development within the crypto space that demonstrates the increase in institutional demand for crypto assets.

Ripple Extends Business with Garanti BBVA

On one hand, Ripple has been taking some giant steps within the crypto space. A few days ago, its USD-pegged stablecoin RLUSD was listed on Binance, the industry’s biggest crypto exchange.

This is a significant move that can direct more liquidity to the Ripple ecosystem. In the meantime, it is only supported on Ethereum, with support for XRPL coming later.

Also, Ripple extended its collaboration with Garanti BBVA, a Turkish financial institution. The bank will continue using Ripple’s institutional-grade custody technology to secure major crypto assets, including BTC and ETH, for its users. This reflects the confidence that it has in the Ripple.

The San Francisco-based firm also secured preliminary approval for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in Luxembourg.

Share:

Related Articles

Ripple Prime Integrates Hyperliquid to Support Institutional Access to Onchain Derivatives Liquidity

By February 4th, 2026

Ripple Prime partners with Hyperliquid to offer institutional clients access to onchain derivatives trading within its unified prime brokerage platform.

Ripple Unlocks 1 Billion XRP Worth $1.63 Billion: Will Price Recover?

By February 2nd, 2026

Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP tokens valued at $1.63 billion as part of its monthly funding strategy, with 300 million tokens now reserved for February operations.

Ripple Labs Granted EMI License in Luxembourg in Latest Compliance Push

By February 2nd, 2026

Ripple has been granted a full Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license by Luxembourg’s CSSF, just weeks after receiving preliminary approval from the regulator.

Exit mobile version