Ripple Steps Out of SEC Shadow: The Middle East Becomes Strategic Foothold, Public Company Promotes XRP Reserves to Attract Investment from Saudi Prince
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Ripple Steps Out of SEC Shadow: The Middle East Becomes Strategic Foothold, Public Company Promotes XRP Reserves to Attract Investment from Saudi Prince
While settling with the SEC, Ripple is rapidly restarting its global expansion in the Middle East, with Dubai becoming a key hub for its tokenized real-world assets strategy.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy Weilin, PANews
As Ripple reaches a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it is rapidly restarting its global expansion in the Middle East, with Dubai becoming a key hub for its tokenized real-world assets (RWA) strategy.
Recently, the XRP Ledger, the blockchain supported by Ripple, was selected as the underlying network for Dubai’s government-backed real estate tokenization project, highlighting how Ripple and XRP's progress in public-private partnerships, cross-border settlements, and stablecoin infrastructure is evolving into a core business breakthrough.
Meanwhile, on May 29, Nasdaq-listed energy company VivoPower International announced the completion of a $121 million private placement, transitioning to a crypto asset reserve strategy centered on XRP. The $100 million portion of the financing was led by Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Abdulaziz Al Saud, signaling strong recognition and investment from Middle Eastern capital into the XRP ecosystem.
XRP Ledger Becomes Public Blockchain for Dubai's First Government-Backed Real Estate Tokenization Project
On May 26, Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced a partnership with asset tokenization platform Ctrl Alt to launch PRYPCO, the Middle East’s first government-led real estate tokenization initiative. Supported by Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Dubai Future Foundation, the project will use Ctrl Alt’s PRYPCO Mint platform to issue real estate assets on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), with a minimum investment threshold of 2,000 AED (approximately $545).
This initiative is a cornerstone of Dubai’s “Real Estate 2033 Strategy,” aiming to build a tokenized real estate market worth 60 billion AED (about $16.3 billion) by 2033. Ctrl Alt has obtained broker-dealer and issuer licenses from VARA and reports having already tokenized nearly $295 million in assets.
Ripple, a major contributor and advocate of XRPL, assumes the role of a government-endorsed technical provider for asset tokenization, marking the protocol’s expansion beyond cross-border payments into RWA-backed applications. XRPL uses the mining-free Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA), enabling second-level transaction settlement without energy-intensive mining.
XRPL is also actively advancing its stablecoin ecosystem. SG-FORGE announced plans to launch EURCV, a euro-pegged stablecoin on XRPL in 2025; Braza Group will also introduce BBRL, a Brazilian real-pegged stablecoin on XRPL—laying a solid foundation for multi-asset, multi-use case tokenization on the network.
At the same time, XRP has gained favor from Middle Eastern investors. On May 29, Nasdaq-listed energy firm VivoPower International (VVPR) announced completion of a $121 million private funding round, pivoting to an XRP-centric crypto asset reserve strategy. Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Abdulaziz Al Saud led the $100 million investment, while former SBI Ripple Asia executive Adam Traidman will serve as chairman of the advisory board. According to SEC filings, the company plans to issue 20 million common shares at $6.05 per share.
Accelerating Middle East Strategy: Secures DFSA License, Acquires Brokerage Firm Hidden Road
Ripple’s focus on the Middle East is no coincidence. As early as November 2020, Ripple established a regional headquarters in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), citing uncertainty in U.S. crypto regulation and the possibility of exiting the U.S. In December of the same year, the SEC first sued Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen, alleging they conducted unregistered securities offerings through sales of XRP since 2013. The SEC claimed Ripple raised $1.3 billion through these sales, while Ripple maintained XRP is not a security. After years of legal proceedings, the Middle East now accounts for approximately 20% of Ripple’s global client base.
In March this year, Ripple received regulatory approval from Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), becoming the first compliant blockchain payment provider in DIFC and officially launching regulated crypto cross-border payment services in the UAE. In May, Ripple announced partnerships with UAE digital bank Zand Bank and fintech firm Mamo to integrate Ripple’s cross-border payment system into their financial infrastructure, supporting 24/7 international settlements. Zand Bank also plans to launch an AED-pegged stablecoin to enhance local digital payments.
The stablecoin RLUSD is further enriching Ripple’s business ecosystem and fueling expansion. RLUSD not only offers annual percentage yields (APR) of up to 8–9% on Aave, quickly attracting around $150 million in deposits, but also launched on Euler Finance on May 29, allowing users to lend, borrow, and use RLUSD as collateral directly on the platform. Currently, RLUSD’s supply APY on Euler stands at 22.05%. PANews previously reported that Ripple recently partnered with Chainlink to boost RLUSD’s utility in DeFi; collaborations with Revolut and Zero Hash have expanded RLUSD’s market reach; and following its listing on Kraken, RLUSD has been integrated into Ripple Payments’ payment solutions for cross-border transactions used by clients such as BKK Forex and iSend.
Beyond payments, Ripple is intensifying its moves in brokerage, custody, and tokenization. On April 8, Ripple announced plans to acquire primary brokerage firm Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, aiming to expand services for institutional investors. CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated, “Ripple needs to ensure we have the right infrastructure to attract and scale to larger institutional players.” The deal will be paid primarily in cash, XRP, and stock, and is expected to close within the coming months pending regulatory approvals.
Upon completion, Ripple will “inject billions of dollars in capital to provide immediate scale and meet the demands of Hidden Road’s prime brokerage operations.” Garlinghouse added that the prime broker will integrate stablecoin RLUSD as collateral in its main brokerage products and explore using the XRP Ledger to “enhance settlement efficiency.”
According to public reports, Hidden Road plans to establish an office in Abu Dhabi, to be led by partner James Stickland. The firm has received in-principle approval (IPA) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and upon final approval, will offer clearing and prime brokerage services to institutional investors in the UAE.
Sources indicate that after securing final regulatory clearance, members of Abu Dhabi’s royal family may join the local entity’s board.
Can 'Tokenization-as-a-Service' Succeed? Ripple Reclaims Development Time Lost to SEC Enforcement
Supportive crypto attorney John Deaton said Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road is not just simple expansion, but a forward-looking move toward the convergence of DeFi and TradFi. He noted that Hidden Road processes over $3 trillion in trading volume annually and serves more than 300 institutional clients, acting as a bridge between traditional capital and on-chain settlement.
Deaton believes Ripple’s custody service, Ripple Custody, combined with its payment and stablecoin systems, forms a one-stop blockchain financial services platform. Its vision is to offer banks and financial institutions “Tokenization-as-a-Service” (TaaS), achieving end-to-end integration from asset tokenization and collateralized payments to clearing and circulation.
According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the digital asset custody market could exceed $16 trillion by 2030. In his view, Ripple is positioning itself to capture this opportunity by building a technological layer for global financial asset tokenization via the XRP Ledger.
Another reason for Ripple’s accelerated push in the Middle East lies in recent developments in its domestic U.S. regulatory landscape. On May 9, Ripple reached a settlement with the SEC, agreeing to pay a $50 million fine and withdraw certain injunctions. The SEC also dropped its appeal of prior rulings, marking the official end of the regulatory battle that began in 2020.
Then on May 28, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty submitted a supplemental letter to the SEC, reiterating that XRP itself does not constitute a security and arguing that most digital assets traded in secondary markets should not be classified as securities. He urged the SEC to adopt a “safe harbor” framework to provide clearer, actionable compliance guidance for the digital asset market.
Meanwhile, approval processes for a spot XRP ETF are advancing. On May 28, news emerged that the SEC had initiated a formal review of WisdomTree’s XRP Fund application filed by Cboe BZX Exchange. If approved, Ripple could see another wave of capital and user inflows.
Overall, after years of legal battles with the SEC, Ripple is leveraging the Middle East—a region with favorable regulation—as a strategic frontier to rapidly redeploy its global ambitions. With the XRP Ledger serving as its technological backbone, Ripple is taking on multiple roles—from payment infrastructure and stablecoin settlement to asset tokenization. If Ripple successfully implements its “tokenization-as-a-service” model, the Middle East could become a crucial testing ground for escaping regulatory shadows and achieving integration between DeFi and TradFi, and for bringing real-world assets on-chain.
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