- Ripple signs Jeonbuk Bank as the first regional bank in South Korea to deploy Ripple Payments for cross-border remittances, aiming to replace slow SWIFT-based transfers.
- Despite the partnership, XRP's price dipped below $1 for the first time since November 2024, as the settlement asset for the deal was not disclosed.
- Ripple Prime, the company's prime brokerage, raised $275 million in a private placement of senior unsecured notes to support its expanding US business.
- Ripple's broader Korean expansion includes partnerships with Kyobo Life Insurance and Kbank, but no Korean won stablecoin has been launched on the XRP Ledger so far.
Ripple, the blockchain-based enterprise payment solutions provider, has announced a new partnership with Jeonbuk Bank, marking the first time a regional bank in South Korea will deploy Ripple Payments for cross-border remittances. The deal, announced on August 18, 2026, is designed to offer near real-time settlement for businesses that have traditionally relied on the SWIFT network, where transfers can take days to process. This move is part of Ripple’s broader strategy to expand its footprint in South Korea’s institutional financial sector, following earlier partnerships with Kyobo Life Insurance and Kbank.
The announcement comes at a time when XRP, the cryptocurrency associated with Ripple, has been struggling to maintain its value above the $1 mark. Despite the positive news, XRP’s price fell to around $0.98 during Asian trading hours on the same day, its lowest level since November 2024, before recovering to $1.01. This has led to questions about whether the Jeonbuk Bank deal will have any meaningful impact on XRP’s price, especially since neither Ripple nor Jeonbuk Bank has disclosed which settlement asset will be used for the payments.
What the Jeonbuk Bank Deal Covers
Jeonbuk Bank, founded in 1969 and based in Jeonju, is the dominant lender in North Jeolla Province and part of JB Financial Group. The bank will use Ripple Payments to provide faster, more transparent, and cost-effective remittance services to its business customers, including import-export companies, IT startups, and online content creators. These are firms that have historically relied on correspondent banking, where a payment hops between intermediary banks and can take days to arrive. Ripple Payments, by contrast, completes transactions in seconds to minutes and operates 24/7, including weekends and holidays.
Fiona Murray, Ripple’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific, highlighted the significance of the partnership, stating that regional banks play a vital role in the real economy. She noted that as the first regional bank in Korea to deploy Ripple Payments, Jeonbuk Bank is extending near real-time cross-border settlement directly to the businesses it serves. Park Choon-won, President of JB Jeonbuk Bank, echoed this sentiment, saying the partnership would allow the bank to move beyond its role as a regional bank and emerge as a digital finance leader that meets global standards.
However, neither company has confirmed whether the payment system will use XRP, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, or direct fiat-to-fiat transfers. Ripple’s payment documentation lists support for South Korean won (KRW) for business-to-business transfers of up to $2 million per transaction, but the specific settlement asset for the Jeonbuk deal remains undisclosed. This has led analysts to caution that the partnership, while significant for Ripple’s business expansion, may not necessarily translate into increased demand for XRP.
Ripple’s Growing Korean Footprint
The Jeonbuk Bank deal is Ripple’s third major institutional partnership in South Korea this year. In April, Ripple partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance, the country’s largest life insurer, to explore on-chain settlement of South Korean government bonds. Later that month, Ripple signed an agreement with Kbank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank, to deploy institutional wallet-as-a-service infrastructure through Ripple Custody. These partnerships demonstrate Ripple’s ability to sell different products to different institutions, ranging from payments to custody to tokenized securities.
Despite this growing momentum, the Korean market has been building won stablecoin rails without XRP. KB Financial Group, the country’s largest banking group, completed a won stablecoin pilot in May with KG Inicis, using the blockchain platform Kaia and fintech firm OpenAsset. The pilot included a cross-border remittance to Vietnam that took under three minutes and cost roughly 87% less than SWIFT. KB is also working with Circle on converting won into USDC, while other banks have partnered with Solana and Kaia. None of these pilots have used the XRP Ledger, raising questions about XRP’s role in Korea’s future payment flows.
Ripple Prime Raises $275 Million
In a separate announcement, Ripple revealed that Ripple Prime, its prime brokerage formerly known as Hidden Road, closed an upsized $275 million private placement of senior unsecured notes. The notes, which received a BBB investment-grade rating from KBRA, were sold to a diverse base of institutional investors across major financial markets. Proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes within a regulated entity as the brokerage expands its US operations.
Ripple Prime clears more than $3 trillion annually across markets and serves more than 300 institutional customers. Its platform spans digital assets, foreign exchange, precious metals, exchange-traded derivatives, over-the-counter swaps, and fixed-income repo. The financing follows a $200 million debt facility secured from Neuberger Specialty Finance in May, which was designed to increase Ripple Prime’s lending capacity and provide additional margin financing to customers. Ripple acquired Hidden Road for $1.25 billion last year, adding clearing, execution, and financing to its cross-border payments business.
XRP Price Action and Market Sentiment
Despite the positive news surrounding Ripple’s partnerships and financing, XRP’s price has remained under pressure. The token fell to about $0.98 on August 18, its lowest level since November 2024, before recovering above the $1 threshold. Data from CryptoSlate shows that XRP traded around $1.06 later in the day, but the price action reflects a distinction between growth in Ripple’s businesses and direct demand for the cryptocurrency. Ripple has not disclosed which settlement assets Jeonbuk Bank will use, and the $275 million financing was raised for working capital rather than purchases of XRP.
Meanwhile, on-chain data indicates a significant increase in whale activity. Analyst Ali Martinez noted that ledger transactions valued at over $1 million increased by 280% within 24 hours, with over 38 large transfers taking place. However, whale activity does not necessarily confirm buying interest, as transfers can occur between wallets or involve depositing or withdrawing funds from exchanges. The increase in open interest on Binance, which climbed to about $461.3 million from $360 million at the beginning of August, suggests that more capital is tied up in XRP derivatives contracts, but it does not reveal whether those positions are predominantly bullish or bearish.
Looking ahead, the $1 level remains a critical battleground for XRP. A sustained recovery accompanied by rising open interest could signal fresh positions entering alongside higher prices, while continued weakness could raise liquidation risk for leveraged positions. Ripple’s expansion into South Korea and its growing institutional footprint are positive developments for the company, but they have yet to translate into a comparable lift for XRP. The market is waiting for clearer evidence of structural demand for the token, whether through a named settlement asset for a Korean corridor or a won stablecoin launching on the XRP Ledger.
In the meantime, Ripple continues to build its presence in one of Asia’s most active digital-asset markets, with three Korean institutions now using its products across payments, custody, and tokenization. The company’s ability to sell multiple solutions to different types of financial institutions is a testament to its platform’s versatility, but the impact on XRP’s price remains uncertain. As the market watches the $1 level, the next few weeks will be crucial in determining whether XRP can regain its bullish momentum or if bears will remain in control.
