Journalist

Tanzeel Akhtar

Journalist

Tanzeel Akhtar

About Author

Tanzeel Akhtar is a seasoned journalist who has been reporting on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology since 2015. Her work has appeared in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal,…

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Last updated: 

July 9, 2025

Ripple has appointed the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) as the primary custodian for its enterprise-grade stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD).

According to Ripple this is a step forward to driving institutional adoption of digital assets, with BNY Mellon growing its role in bridging traditional finance and the digital asset space.

RLUSD: Built for Institutional-Scale Use

RLUSD stands out in the crowded stablecoin market for its focus on regulatory compliance, transparency, and enterprise utility.

Issued under a New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Trust Company Charter, RLUSD is designed to meet the operational and risk requirements of financial institutions. RLUSD aims to improve the speed, cost, and efficiency of cross-border payments.

BNY Mellon Brings Proven Custody Infrastructure

By choosing BNY Mellon as the primary reserve custodian, Ripple said it is leaning on the bank’s expertise in digital asset infrastructure. BNY will provide not only custody services but also transaction banking capabilities that support RLUSD’s operations.

The partnership builds on BNY’s track record in stablecoin servicing and reflects its strategic interest in enabling interoperability between digital and traditional financial systems.

“BNY brings together demonstrable custody expertise and a strong commitment to financial innovation in this rapidly changing landscape,” said Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple.

“This makes it the ideal partner for Ripple and RLUSD.”

A Step Forward in Digital Asset Integration

This latest partnership is a shift in how legacy financial institutions are responding to the digital asset revolution. BNY Mellon’s involvement strengthens the credibility of RLUSD.

“As primary custodian, we are thrilled to support the growth and adoption of RLUSD by facilitating the seamless movement of reserve assets and cash to support conversions,” said Emily Portney, Global Head of Asset Servicing at BNY.

Swiss Bank Embraces Ripple’s RLUSD

Switzerland-based AMINA Bank became the first international lender to offer custody and trading services for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin.

XRP is also up by an impressive 400% in the past year, making it one of the best-performing top-100 coins within this timeframe. And with XRP ETFs likely to gain approval later this year, the long-term XRP price prediction continues to look very encouraging.

In the past day, Zug-based AMINA has revealed that it has become the first bank in the world to support RLUSD, with the Swiss lender planning to expand its related services in the coming months.

Other RLUSD expansion news includes the stablecoin also gaining regulatory approval from Dubai’s financial regulator.

Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist from Queens, surged to a convincing win over former governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic primary election. 44% of Democrats chose Mamdani as their first pick in the ranked-choice vote, enough to make victory all but certain. Cuomo, who conceded early and called Mamdani to congratulate him, won 36% of first-pick votes. City financial officer Brad Lander trailed at 11%, with Adrienne Adams on 4%.

Cuomo has suggested he may run as an independent in November’s mayoral election irrespective of whether Democrats nominated him. But the unexpected margin of Mamdani’s victory suggests a more united party than political pundits hoped for.

The former governor’s loss marks the “biggest upset in modern NYC history,” Trip Yang, a political strategist, told the BBC.

“A massive win for Zohran Mamdani that shows that when Donald Trump is President, New York Democrats want to see their leaders fight with enthusiasm and courage, and that’s what Zohran showed voters.”

Cuomo resigned from the governorship in disgrace after admitting inappropriate conduct with multiple staffers, but was nonetheless the “establishment favorite,” as the BBC put it. His cruise to a comeback nomination was capsized by Mamdani’s energetic and approachable campaign, which eventually cut into Cuomo’s early polling lead. The gap had evaporated by the last week of the race and now appears to have been something of a mirage.

Mamdani’s platform includes free public buses, universal childcare, freezing rent in subsidised units, and city-run grocery stores – all paid for by new taxes on the rich. “This is a city where one in four of its people are living in poverty, a city where 500,000 kids go to sleep hungry every night,” he told the BBC at a recent event.

“And ultimately, it’s a city that is in danger of losing that which it makes it so special.”

Lion Group Holding Ltd. (LGHL) and Eyenovia Inc. unveiled separate major financing moves this week to launch cryptocurrency treasury strategies centered on Hyperliquid’s HYPE token.

LGHL announced it has secured a $600 million facility to launch the first and largest HYPE treasury in Asia. The Singapore-based trading and financial services firm also revealed intentions to include Solana (SOL) and Sui (SUI) in the reserve as secondary reserve assets.

Custody and staking will be managed by BitGo Trust Company.

As part of its expansion, LGHL plans to evaluate secondary listings on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Singapore Exchange to broaden its reach. CEO Wilson Wang said the move reflects the company’s conviction that decentralized on-chain execution is the future of trading.

Wang said in a statement:

“We view protocols like HYPE, with delegated sequencing, as foundational to building scalable DeFi systems.”

Meanwhile, Eyenovia announced a $50 million private placement to build a reserve of HYPE, positioning itself as the first U.S.-listed company to add the crypto to its treasury.

The ophthalmic technology firm expects the transaction to yield about $150 million if warrants are fully exercised. The funding agreement enables Eyenovia to acquire over 1 million HYPE and participate as a top validator for the Hyperliquid network.

Eyenovia CEO Michael Rowe said:

“We are pleased to join the growing number of companies who have adopted similar strategies for diversification, liquidity and long-term capital appreciation potential that cryptocurrency represents.”

The company appointed Hyunsu Jung as Chief Investment Officer to oversee the treasury initiative.

Both announcements come amid broader adoption of major Layer-1 cryptos as treasury reserves by public companies seeking digital asset diversification and yield generation.

Eyenovia expects its private placement to close around June 20, pending customary approvals. LGHL did not specify a timeline but said its initiative marks the relaunch of its crypto operations after prior restructuring.

The post Two public firms announce plans to adopt HYPE as primary reserve asset for treasury appeared first on CryptoSlate.