Act again within the year! Ripple splurges $200 million to acquire Rail, doubling down on stablecoin payment layout.

Cryptocurrency company Ripple announced on Thursday that it will acquire stablecoin payment platform Rail for $200 million. A few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump signed a bill, sparking expectations in the market that cryptocurrencies are entering the mainstream. Ripple, a cryptocurrency company that issues the XRP token and its stablecoin RLUSD, has invested heavily in stablecoin infrastructure in recent months. The company stated that the acquisition, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year (pending regulatory approval), will allow Ripple and Rail to "jointly create the most comprehensive stablecoin payment solution in the market." The announcement mentioned that this transaction will also enhance Ripple's existing payment capabilities with virtual accounts and automated backend processes. Ripple President Monica Long stated in an interview, "As the regulatory framework becomes increasingly clear and the industry continues to mature, the opportunities for stablecoin payments are fully ripe. The acquisition of Rail will solidify our leading position in the stablecoin payment field." Based in Toronto, Rail is supported by Galaxy Ventures and Accomplice, and its core business is conducting cross-border payments using stablecoins. The company claims that compared to fiat payments, its settlement process has lower transaction costs and can be cleared within a few hours. Rail's website indicates that the company handles 10% of the global volume of stablecoin payment transactions. In July of this year, Trump signed a bill aimed at creating a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. Analysts believe that this move may make digital assets a common way of daily payments and fund transfers. Stablecoins are designed to maintain value stability, usually pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, and their use has seen explosive growth, especially among cryptocurrency traders transferring funds between different tokens. In April of this year, Ripple announced its acquisition of multi-asset brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, one of the company's largest acquisitions to date, aimed at enhancing the practical value of RLUSD. Ripple launched the stablecoin RLUSD pegged to the US dollar last year, aiming to disrupt the market dominated by Tether and Circle's USDC. In July of this year, Ripple followed in the footsteps of stablecoin issuer Circle by applying for a Bank of America Corp license to bring digital asset business under federal regulatory framework. Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD pegged to the US dollar will also be within the regulatory scope of the OCC. The token is currently regulated at the state level by the New York State Department of Financial Services.