Key Takeaways:
Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla said on April 30 that a proposal to grant stablecoin issuers limited-purpose accounts at the Federal Reserve could position XRP as a key rail for moving dollars within the U.S. payment system.
"A ‘master account’ at the Fed is the top of the payments plumbing," Asheesh Birla, CEO of XRP treasury company Evernorth, said in a post on social media platform X. "The proposal would allow certain federally chartered stablecoin issuers to open a narrower version of a Federal Reserve master account... If the proposal advances and RLUSD qualifies, settlement still happens at the Fed. But XRP becomes a movement rail for dollars inside the US payments stack."
The policy discussion centers on creating "skinny" master accounts that would give eligible stablecoin issuers direct access to Federal Reserve payment rails like Fedwire and FedNow for the first time. This model, supported by proposals from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), would allow issuers to settle dollar transactions directly with the central bank, reducing reliance on commercial sponsor banks and shortening settlement chains. The framework aligns with the GENIUS Act, which established federal standards for payment stablecoin reserves and compliance.
This potential shift in market structure could create a distinct, two-part role for Ripple's assets. The company's stablecoin, RLUSD, would be the regulated settlement asset, while the XRP token itself would provide a high-speed rail for transferring value across the network once settlement occurs. The next key milestone would be the finalization of rules by the Fed, OCC, and FDIC and a determination of which issuers qualify.
Birla noted that Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is well-positioned for such a framework, as it is issued by Ripple’s New York-regulated trust company. Since its launch in December 2024, RLUSD has grown its market capitalization toward $1.6 billion, according to market data. The stablecoin has also been integrated into institutional use cases, including with Securitize for exchanging shares of BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized fund and a pilot with Mastercard and Gemini to settle credit card flows.
Under the proposed structure, RLUSD would represent the regulated dollar, while XRP could act as the underlying bridge for liquidity and fast transfers between participants in the new payment stack. This move would position Ripple’s infrastructure more deeply within regulated US financial systems, a goal the company has pursued through its application for a national trust bank charter. If approved, the model could create more direct competition for closed-loop payment providers like PayPal by fostering open digital dollar networks with direct central bank settlement access.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
