In a development that underscores the increasingly blurred boundaries between traditional banking and digital assets, AMINA Bank—a Swiss crypto bank known for its regulatory compliance—has become the first global financial institution to directly support Ripple’s USD stablecoin (RLUSD), offering custody and trading services that represent a significant institutional endorsement of what was, until recently, considered experimental financial technology.
The integration arrives at a particularly interesting juncture for Ripple, which has been methodically pursuing a national banking license in the United States—a move that would place RLUSD under federal regulatory oversight and potentially grant the company access to a Master Account with the Federal Reserve. One might wonder if this represents genuine institutional evolution or simply crypto’s latest attempt to dress up in traditional banking’s most respectable attire.
RLUSD’s meteoric rise tells a compelling story of market acceptance: the stablecoin’s supply surged nearly 490% in 2025, reaching over $455 million in circulation, while transaction volumes peaked at $2.6 billion in June alone. These figures suggest something beyond mere speculation—perhaps actual utility, a concept that occasionally surfaces in the cryptocurrency space despite frequent evidence to the contrary. This utility extends beyond traditional centralized platforms, as decentralized exchanges enable direct peer-to-peer trading of stablecoins without intermediaries through blockchain-based smart contracts.
The stablecoin’s dramatic growth hints at genuine utility—a surprisingly rare phenomenon in cryptocurrency’s speculative wilderness.
The Swiss bank’s adoption has generated tangible effects beyond mere headlines, contributing to XRP’s improved technical outlook after the token found support near $2. This price action reflects broader market confidence in Ripple’s regulatory strategy, which emphasizes transparency through monthly attestations verifying that RLUSD reserves are backed by cash and short-dated Treasury securities held in secure custody. The bank’s assets nearing $5 billion demonstrate the substantial financial backing supporting this institutional adoption of digital assets. Meanwhile, Ethereum has experienced its own institutional momentum, with ETF inflows reaching $40.7 million as BlackRock’s ETHA continues attracting significant capital.
Ripple’s compliance-focused approach extends to distancing itself from potentially problematic associations, particularly severing ties with Linqto, a private equity platform currently under SEC and DOJ investigation. The company ceased secondary approvals for Linqto-held Ripple shares in late 2024, demonstrating the kind of proactive regulatory housekeeping that has become essential for survival in today’s scrutinized crypto landscape.
AMINA’s pioneering support of RLUSD represents more than institutional validation—it signals a fundamental shift toward regulated stablecoin adoption within traditional banking infrastructure, potentially establishing new standards for compliance and investor protection in an industry still learning to navigate legitimacy.
