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VivoPower International’s electric-vehicle arm, Tembo, will start accepting Ripple USD (RLUSD) for payments, a move that could change how the company handles cross-border deals, a press release confirmed.

According to the company, the stablecoin will be used to speed up payments and cut the fees usually tied to bank wires.

Tembo Adopts RLUSD For Global Payments

Tembo serves clients in mining, agriculture, military, construction and humanitarian work. Many of those customers are in developing regions where bank transfers are slow and costly.

Based on reports, RLUSD can move value near-instantly across borders and at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. That is the main reason VivoPower gave for the change.

The Vehicles And The Services Around Them

Tembo builds electric utility vehicles designed for both on-road and tough off-road tasks. The fleet is aimed at jobs where reliability matters more than style.

Charging, financing, battery swaps and even microgrids are offered alongside the vehicles. Those services are now available to be paid for in RLUSD, which could make transactions simpler for local dealers and international buyers alike.

$VVPR – VivoPower’s
Tembo to Accept Ripple USD (RLUSD) Stablecoin for Payments
Partners with Doppler Finance for Institutional XRP and RLUSD Yield Programs: Maximizing Returns on Crypto Treasury Strategy
Low Float/ OS near 4.5M shares

1.1% PreM/ $5.02 pic.twitter.com/Z6rUJ9G3nz

— John Zidar aka/ Stock Wizard (@JohnZidar) September 8, 2025

Ripple Partnerships And Market Moves

Reports have disclosed that RLUSD’s market capitalization rose roughly 10-fold since January. Ripple has been extending RLUSD’s reach through tie-ups with firms such as Chipper Cash, Yellow Card and VARL, and it recently rolled RLUSD into the Horizon RWA market owned by Aave.

Those moves are being watched closely by firms that handle cross-border trade. Adoption in Africa, parts of Southeast-Asia and the Middle East is reported to be growing.

Total crypto market cap at $3.87 trillion on the daily chart: TradingView

VivoPower’s Broader XRP Strategy

VivoPower has been clear that this is more than a single payment option. The company said it is shaping itself into what it calls an XRP-focused digital asset enterprise.

Holdings in XRP and equity in Ripple Labs are being added to the corporate portfolio. Some of those assets are being held for treasury purposes.

Other parts are planned to support decentralized finance infrastructure and real-world blockchain use cases connected to Tembo’s business.

Implications For Treasury, Liquidity And Local Markets

Market observers have pointed to links with institutional sponsors like Doppler Finance, suggesting RLUSD could play roles beyond payments — for liquidity management and corporate treasury planning.

If that happens, the stablecoin may be used as a bridge between fiat rails and DeFi tools in places where traditional banking is weak.

Vendors and partners in regions where Tembo operates could see faster settlements and fewer conversion fees.

Featured image from Westend61/Getty Images, chart from TradingView

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Bitcoin analyst and investor Mark Moss argues that Bitcoin treasury companies are positioning themselves for history’s biggest wealth transfer, following a sophisticated playbook for capturing value and managing volatility. In other words: “using gas pipes to fund your electric future.”

Bitcoin treasury companies: history’s most obvious abritrage

He compares Bitcoin treasury companies (firms holding large bitcoin balances and building financial products around them) to smart factory owners of the 1910s, who installed electric wires despite having working gas pipes.

While most people thought they were wasting money and called their approach foolish, these owners were able to leverage existing infrastructure to pay for future needs.

When old technology and new technology exist simultaneously over a 10-20 year window, Moss argues that those running both systems, like Bitcoin treasury companies, emerge victorious:

“These factories didn’t wait for gas to disappear. They used profits from gas-powered production to install electric infrastructure. They looked inefficient. Redundant. Stupid. They were actually positioning for the most obvious transition in history.”

That’s exactly what corporations like Strategy are doing: extracting value from the existing system of debt and equity and transferring it into the new system: Bitcoin.

“Bitcoin treasury companies are doing the EXACT same thing… running history’s most obvious arbitrage.”

Moss highlights the strategic flexibility of Bitcoin treasury companies to issue equity, raise capital, and leverage structural advantages unique to this asset class, positioning them for gains far beyond traditional tech or financial stocks.

He points out that savvy operators in this sector blend balance sheet strength with deep risk management, making them well-equipped to weather volatility and even exploit it for outsized performance.

Market sentiment remains cautious

Despite Moss’s bullish stance, market sentiment remains wary. Bitcoin treasury companies like Strategy are trading at just a 1.6x multiple on their Bitcoin holdings, a stark contrast to the S&P 500’s average price-to-earnings ratio, which sits at 30x. The gap is so pronounced that it defies conventional logic, as The Bitcoin Therapist pointed out:

“Not a f**king chance. Market is wrong.”

Recent price action only exacerbates these tensions. As of August 2025, Bitcoin hit a record high above $124,000, yet many Bitcoin treasury stocks failed to keep pace, with some trading flat or down amid $1 billion in leveraged liquidations and more than $290 million in ETF outflows.

The market’s apparent mispricing, punishing innovation with discount multiples, stands in sharp contradiction with the risk appetite normally seen for tech and growth stocks. Is the spread temporary, or is the market missing the forest for the trees? Relying on gas pipes to fuel an electric future?

There’s no doubt that investors can make millions of dollars by investing in electric car stocks. Just ask long-term holders of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). Despite heavy ups and downs over the years, shares are up by more than 22,000% since 2010.

Looking for the next Tesla? The two EV stocks below are for you.

This EV maker should double its sales in 2025

If you’re looking for EV stocks with huge growth potential, start with Lucid Group (LCID -2.15%). Compared to the other stocks on this list, Lucid is growing the fastest today, and there’s reason to believe high growth could be achievable for several more years to come.

Last year, Lucid only had one EV on the market: The Lucid Air. This model came in several variants, but all essentially came down to a luxury electric sedan priced between $70,000 and $250,000, depending on options. The Air was an impressive initial vehicle for Lucid, helping grow the company’s sales to nearly $1 billion. But the Lucid Air had severe limitations. Its high cost priced out most of the market, while its sedan form factor deterred anyone looking for something roomier, like an SUV.

Earlier this year, Lucid solved half of that challenge with the launch of its Gravity SUV platform — essentially doubling its lineup. Analysts expect sales to grow by 82% this year, and another 91% next year, due to demand for Lucid’s SUV platform. But with a start price of nearly $100,000, the Gravity still prevents Lucid from tapping the mass market. That could all change in 2026, however, when the company expects to launch several new vehicles, all priced under $50,000.

There’s a lot of risk to this story. Ramping production of several new models over the next 12 to 24 months will put a strain on Lucid’s already constrained financial position. When it comes to raw growth potential, Lucid tops the list of “next Tesla” candidates. But for balancing growth and value, the next stock is actually my favorite right now.

RIVN PS Ratio data by YCharts. PS = price-to-sales.

My favorite electric car stock this decade

Despite Lucid’s rapid expected growth rates in 2025, Rivian (RIVN 2.71%) remains my top electric vehicle stock this decade. This story is a bit more complicated, but if you dig in, it’s clear that Rivian shares provide a huge opportunity for patient shareholders.

Like Lucid, Rivian only has two luxury models on the market, with high initial price points: The R1S and the R1T. But in roughly 12 months, the company expects to start production on three new affordable vehicles — the R2, R3, and R3X. By all accounts, Rivian is further along in getting its lower-priced vehicles to market than Lucid. Plus, the company has billions in additional cash with a current sales base more than five times that of Lucid. So which company is more likely to see its new affordable models get to market? I believe Rivian is better positioned.

Right now, Rivian’s valuation is far below Lucid’s, largely due to lackluster expected sales growth this year. But when you look beyond the next 12 months, I expect these growth rates to pick up considerably when its new models hit the roads. While more patience will be required for Rivian, this business has the best long-term growth potential at a reasonable valuation today.