Ripple has expanded availability of its USD-backed stablecoin RLUSD to institutions in Türkiye through new partnerships with BiLira, Bitexen and Bitlo, positioning the asset inside one of the world’s most active digital asset markets. The rollout gives Turkish institutional users access to Ripple’s enterprise-grade stablecoin as the company continues to build distribution through regulated and regionally established crypto platforms.
Ripple Brings RLUSD to Turkish Institutions
Ripple announced that RLUSD, its USD-backed stablecoin, is now available to institutions in Türkiye through integrations with BiLira, Bitexen and Bitlo. The company described RLUSD as an enterprise-grade stablecoin built around trust, liquidity and regulatory compliance, and said the asset has reached $1.7 billion in market capitalization since launching in late 2024.
Another RLUSD milestone as @Ripple’s USD stablecoin is now available to institutions in Türkiye
New partnerships with @BiLira_Kripto, @Bitexencom and @bitlocom are bringing our regulated, enterprise-grade USD-backed stablecoin to one of the world’s most active crypto markets.…
— Reece Merrick (@reece_merrick) June 2, 2026
Jack McDonald, Ripple’s SVP of Stablecoins, framed the Turkish rollout as part of a broader institutional expansion strategy for RLUSD. “RLUSD has rapidly gained traction in financial use cases, serving as a vital bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management,” McDonald said. “As enterprise demand scales globally, launching in Türkiye represents a milestone in our expansion. Türkiye sits at the crossroads of traditional finance and the digital economy, with one of the world’s highest rates of crypto adoption.”
The market context is central to Ripple’s push. Türkiye facilitated nearly $200 billion in annual crypto transaction volume and remains the dominant crypto market in the MENA region, outpacing regional peers by nearly fourfold, Ripple said, citing the Chainalysis 2025 Geography of Crypto Report. The company also pointed to the Capital Markets Board’s 2024 licensing framework as a key development that helped move the local market toward a more institutional structure.
BiLira, Bitexen and Bitlo Lead Local Rollout
BiLira, Bitexen and Bitlo will serve as the local partners bringing RLUSD to Turkish institutions. BiLira operates across stablecoin issuance, exchange services and market-making, and its TRYB stablecoin is pegged 1:1 to the Turkish lira with reserves held in local Turkish banks. The company also operates BiLira Kripto, described in the announcement as the largest local OTC desk in Turkey, and records approximately $300 million in monthly trading volume through its market-making operations.
Sinan Koç, Co-Founder of BiLira, said the partnership is centered on regulated access to digital dollars for local clients. “BiLira exists to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the digital future,” Koç said. “Our partnership with Ripple is rooted in a shared dedication to regulatory integrity. By prioritizing the availability of RLUSD, we are providing our clients with a gold-standard asset designed for the next era of finance. RLUSD is uniquely equipped to accelerate blockchain adoption in Türkiye.”
Bitexen and Bitlo also positioned the rollout as part of broader efforts to connect Turkish users with global digital asset liquidity. “We are pleased to introduce RLUSD to our users in Türkiye as the first step in a broader rollout across the Bitexen Global platform,” said Alphan Göğüş, CEO at Bitexen MENA. “At Bitexen, we operate a multi-jurisdiction digital asset infrastructure, connecting local markets to global liquidity across Türkiye, the Middle East, South Africa and Europe through our regulated entities. Supporting RLUSD aligns with our strategy to provide trusted, USD-denominated instruments within a compliant and scalable framework.”
Ripple’s Türkiye expansion adds another regional market to RLUSD’s growing distribution network, which already includes platforms such as Binance, Bitso, Bitstamp, ByBit, Gemini, Kraken, LMAX and OKX. The company also announced Istanbul Technical University as the latest partner in its University Blockchain Research Initiative, with the RLUSD-funded partnership supporting research, graduate fellowships and an XRP Ledger validator on campus. For Turkish institutions, the immediate development is access to a regulated USD-backed stablecoin through three domestic platforms with existing market infrastructure.
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