Ripple has expanded its USD-backed stablecoin RLUSD into Türkiye through new partnerships with BiLira, Bitexen and Bitlo, giving local institutions access to the asset in one of the most active crypto markets in the MENA region.
The launch, announced on June 2, marks another step in Ripple’s push to position RLUSD as an enterprise-grade stablecoin for payments, tokenization and collateral use cases. The company said RLUSD, which launched in late 2024, has reached $1.7 billion in market capitalization, citing growing institutional demand for a compliance-focused digital dollar.
“RLUSD has rapidly gained traction in financial use cases, serving as a vital bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management,” said Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple. “As enterprise demand scales globally, launching in Türkiye represents a milestone in our expansion. Türkiye sits at the crossroads of traditional finance and the digital economy, with one of the world’s highest rates of crypto adoption.”
McDonald added that Ripple is positioning RLUSD as a regulated dollar asset for businesses seeking access to liquidity beyond local markets. “By providing a stable, USD-backed asset that is both transparent and fully regulated, we are empowering Turkish businesses to access global liquidity,” he said.
Ripple Moves RLUSD Into A High-Adoption Market
Ripple’s Türkiye rollout is built around three local digital asset platforms with different roles in the domestic market. BiLira operates across stablecoin issuance, exchange services and market-making, while Bitexen offers trading, custody and related services across Türkiye, the Middle East, South Africa and Europe. Bitlo, founded in 2018 by Mustafa Alpay and Hakan Baş, operates a crypto trading platform that lists major assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Solana.
The choice of Türkiye is notable. Ripple cited Chainalysis’ 2025 Geography of Crypto Report, saying the country remains the dominant crypto market in the MENA region, facilitating nearly $200 billion in annual transaction volume and outpacing regional peers by nearly fourfold.
Ripple framed that adoption as both a notable. Ripple cited Chainalysis’ 2025 Geography of Crypto Report, saying the country remains the dominant crypto market in the MENA region, facilitating nearly $200 billion in annual transaction volume and outpacing regional peers by nearly fourfold response to economic conditions and a product of regulatory development.
According to the company, the Capital Markets Board’s implementation of a licensing framework in 2024 helped move the market from speculative retail activity toward a more structured institutional ecosystem. That legal certainty, Ripple said, created a clearer path for global companies to work with domestic partners.
For BiLira, the partnership is being presented as an extension of its existing role between fiat and crypto rails. “BiLira exists to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the digital future,” said Sinan Koç, Co-Founder of BiLira. “Our partnership with Ripple is rooted in a shared dedication to regulatory integrity. By prioritizing the availability of RLUSD, we are providing our clients with a gold-standard asset designed for the next era of finance.”
Local Partners Pitch RLUSD As Institutional Digital Dollar
Bitexen described the RLUSD launch as the beginning of a wider rollout across its global platform. “We are pleased to introduce RLUSD to our users in Türkiye as the first step in a broader rollout across the Bitexen Global platform,” said Alphan Göğüş, CEO at Bitexen MENA. “At Bitexen, we operate a multi-jurisdiction digital asset infrastructure, connecting local markets to global liquidity across Türkiye, the Middle East, South Africa and Europe through our regulated entities. Supporting RLUSD aligns with our strategy to provide trusted, USD-denominated instruments within a compliant and scalable framework.”
Bitlo’s CEO Mustafa Alpay positioned the integration around access to dollar-denominated digital finance and volatility management. “Bitlo is proud to be the gateway where global excellence meets local ambition, so by bringing RLUSD to our platform, we are excited to offer the Turkish crypto ecosystem with a direct, secure gateway to global financial markets,” Alpay said.
“Our users are looking for secure, digital-native means to manage their wealth and hedge against volatility. By integrating a regulated, enterprise-grade stablecoin like RLUSD, we’re providing our customers with the highest standard of digital dollars for enterprise needs.”
Ripple said RLUSD is now available globally through a broader list of partners that includes Binance, Bitso, Bitstamp, ByBit, Gemini, Kraken, LMAX and OKX, alongside the new Turkish platforms.
The company also used the Türkiye announcement to expand its academic footprint, naming Istanbul Technical University as the latest partner in its University Blockchain Research Initiative. The partnership, funded via RLUSD, will support research initiatives, graduate fellowships and the establishment of an XRP Ledger validator on ITU’s campus.
At press time, XRP traded at $1.26.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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