Ripple Secures Full MiCA License, Clears EEA Path for XRP

Ripple received full Crypto Asset Service Provider authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, allowing the company to operate across the 30-country European Economic Area with passported services.

The authorization covers Ripple’s payment rails, custody and liquidity services and its dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD. Under the MiCA framework, Ripple no longer needs separate approvals in each EEA member state to offer those services to regulated financial firms.

Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s managing director for the UK and Europe, posted on X on July 6 that the company is “fully licensed in Europe.” The firm says the license simplifies compliance and makes it easier for institutions to connect to blockchain payment infrastructure under a single legal framework.

The authorization permits banks, payment firms and other regulated financial institutions to access XRP Ledger liquidity routes through compliant infrastructure. Ripple Payments and related services may now be offered across the EEA under the CASP authorization.

Ripple’s model on the XRP Ledger uses two assets: RLUSD for some settlements and XRP for liquidity and transaction fees. Evernorth, an XRP treasury company, noted that RLUSD transfers, swaps and trades on the ledger still rely on XRP for transaction fees and final settlement.

Describing XRP as the company’s “North Star,” CEO Brad Garlinghouse has linked products such as Ripple Payments, Ripple Prime, Treasury, Custody and RLUSD to efforts to increase utility and liquidity on the ledger. Other firms have reported operational use of XRP for payroll and cross-network transactions.

Technical features of the XRP Ledger cited by Ripple include settlement times of three to five seconds, transaction costs below one penny and more than four billion completed transactions to date. Garlinghouse has pointed to roughly $16 trillion in annual payments and clearing activity across businesses acquired by Ripple as a reference for potential market scale.

The MiCA authorization replaces country-by-country approvals with an EU-level legal framework and permits passporting of Ripple’s regulated services across the EEA.