Why did Ripple invest in ZILO and Licuido?

The full answer

What did Ripple announce?

The press release is titled “Ripple Strengthens Digital Capital Markets Infrastructure with Investments in ZILO and Licuido”. Ripple announced on August 3, 2026, in London, that it has made strategic investments in ZILO, a global transfer agency asset technology provider, and Licuido, a tokenization and trading platform for digital ownership and asset liquidity [1]. Ripple described the move as deepening its push into capital markets [1].

These reasons are Ripple’s own statements.

Yahoo Finance reported on August 4, 2026 that these were equity investments in two UK-based firms, turning existing commercial partnerships into ownership positions [2]. Ripple itself said the investments build on existing partnerships between the companies [1].

Why did Ripple say it invested?

Ripple said the investments add regulated transfer agency, issuance and collateral mobility to its infrastructure on the XRP Ledger [1]. In its August 3, 2026 announcement, Ripple described a problem shared by issuers, investors and liquidity providers: collateral that sits idle instead of being put to work, settlement that takes longer than it should, and no easy way to free up liquidity and mobilize collateral securely, confidentially and compliantly [1].

Ripple said its infrastructure combines issuance, custody, collateral utility, multi-currency enabled investment and atomic settlement, with its stablecoin RLUSD as the regulated cash leg for delivery-versus-payment transactions [1]. It added that tokenized funds can be used as collateral from the point of issuance, and that trades settle atomically on the XRP Ledger [1].

Nigel Khakoo, Ripple’s SVP of Trading and Markets, said in the release that tokenization of assets is only the starting point, and that the real value lies in what can be done with a token, including using it as collateral to borrow, lend or post margin [1].

What does each company do?

Ripple said ZILO’s transfer agency and fund administration technology gives asset managers, custodians and transfer agents digital record-keeping that supports tokenized share classes as funds move onchain. Ripple said this gives institutions the regulated record they need to run lending and collateral markets [1]. Licuido is described as a tokenization solution and trading platform for digital ownership and asset liquidity [1]. Ripple said the two together provide regulated digital transfer agency infrastructure and liquidity for issuance and collateral mobility [1].

The release ties the deals to earlier work. Ripple said it announced a collaboration with Aviva Investors earlier in 2026 to tokenize traditional fund structures on the XRP Ledger. In that work Ripple defines the token standard and works with partners including ZILO and Licuido on regulated issuance, distribution, custody and further use cases [1]. A Yahoo Finance article of August 12, 2026 repeated that Ripple has backed ZILO and Licuido to build custody, transfer-agency and trading tooling around the ledger [3]. The wider idea is covered on the page about collateral mobility and the two firms, and the Aviva work on the page about Aviva Investors on the XRP Ledger.

How much did Ripple pay, and how does it fit its other deals?

Ripple’s announcement gave no investment amounts [1]. Separately, Ripple said on December 4, 2025 that it had invested nearly $4 billion into the crypto ecosystem through strategic investments and acquisitions [4]. That figure predates these two deals, and Ripple has not said how much of any later total they represent.

What is the case for caution?

Every stated reason above is Ripple’s own account of its strategy, as of August 3, 2026. The release is a company announcement, and it gives no usage figures for the combined stack. Whether tokenized funds are actually being posted as collateral through ZILO and Licuido is not shown in the announcement. How far such collateral can be turned into cash or credit is covered on the page about tokenized Treasuries and funds as collateral.

The release also names RLUSD, not XRP, as the cash leg. Readers asking what the deals mean for the token can start with the page on how many XRP exist for supply context, and with whether tokenization needs XRP.