Ripple backs Flutterwave at $3.2B to push RLUSD and XRP…

Ripple has invested in African fintech Flutterwave as part of the company's Series E funding round, valuing Flutterwave at $3.2 billion. The deal will embed Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin and the XRP Ledger into Flutterwave's payments and remittance infrastructure, targeting faster and cheaper cross-border settlements across the continent. Financial terms of Ripple's stake were not disclosed.

Why it matters

Flutterwave operates one of Africa's most extensive payments networks, and plugging RLUSD and Ripple Payments directly into that infrastructure gives Ripple a meaningful distribution channel in a region where remittances and cross-border commerce are economically critical. Stablecoins are increasingly displacing traditional correspondent banking rails for international settlements, particularly in markets where access to U.S. dollar liquidity is constrained. Reece Merrick, Ripple's managing director for MEA, said the investment is designed to "establish RLUSD within that infrastructure, with Flutterwave driving stablecoin flows over the XRPL and deepening its role as a settlement layer for real-world payments across the continent."

Market impact

RLUSD currently carries a $1.6 billion supply, up more than 20% this year, but still trails Tether, Circle, and Paxos in the broader stablecoin market where total supply has reached $300 billion. The Flutterwave partnership is Ripple's most concrete move yet to close that gap through real-economy adoption rather than trading volume. For XRP Ledger, embedding as a settlement layer for African cross-border flows adds a durable, non-speculative use case that could support network activity regardless of broader crypto market conditions.