In a significant move bridging traditional finance and blockchain technology, Ripple, the prominent financial technology company, announced on Wednesday its participation in a pioneering cross-border trade settlement pilot. The initiative, part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) BLOOM program, will see Ripple collaborate with supply chain finance specialist Unloq to test programmable settlements using the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ripple’s institutional stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD).
The pilot project will leverage Unloq’s SC+ platform, a smart contract-driven infrastructure designed to consolidate trade obligations, settlement conditions, and financing workflows into a unified execution layer. This integration aims to automate the release of RLUSD payments only upon the satisfaction of pre-defined commercial terms, such as the delivery of goods or verification of documents. According to the announcement, this model is engineered to enhance transparency around settlement risk and democratize access to trade finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often face high barriers in traditional systems.
This development follows MAS’s approval in December 2025 for Ripple’s Singapore subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC, to expand its payment institution license scope—a regulatory milestone that paved the way for more advanced activities in the city-state. The BLOOM initiative itself, launched by MAS in October 2025, stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency. It is a deliberate framework to explore settlement efficiencies using tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins, positioning Singapore at the forefront of institutional digital asset experimentation.
Singapore’s Strategic Push for Tokenization
Singapore’s central bank has methodically advanced its tokenization agenda across multiple financial verticals, with the BLOOM pilot being a key component of this broader strategy. The consistent regulatory support and clear guidelines have made Singapore a global hub for prudent digital asset innovation.
Recent Milestones and Regulatory Clarity
Just weeks before the Ripple announcement, MAS revealed plans in November 2025 to issue tokenized MAS bills to primary dealers, with settlement to be conducted via its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). The authority indicated that further details on this trial would be shared in 2026, signaling a long-term commitment to modernizing debt markets.
Complementing these pilots, MAS updated its Guide on Digital Token Offerings on November 14, 2025. This revision provides critical clarity on how Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act (SFA) applies to tokenized capital market products and their issuers. The updated guide includes practical case studies, detailed disclosure expectations, and specific criteria for pilot programs, all aimed at fostering responsible development and investor protection in the tokenization space.
Ripple and Unloq have been contacted by Cointelegraph for further details on the pilot’s specific timeline and technical parameters. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently, in line with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy of independent, transparent journalism.
