Ripple is expanding the reach of its RLUSD stablecoin into Turkey, signing up three local crypto platforms — BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo — to make the token available to institutions. The company also inked a research partnership with Istanbul Technical University (ITU) as part of its University Blockchain Research Initiative, funding graduate fellowships and setting up an XRP Ledger validator on campus.
Why Turkey matters
Turkey processes roughly $200 billion in annual crypto transaction volume, according to a 2025 Chainalysis report, making it the largest in the MENA region. That scale, combined with a population that has adopted crypto faster than many peers, makes the country a natural beachhead for a stablecoin trying to gain institutional traction. “Turkey is at the crossroads of traditional financial and digital economy,” said Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple.
Three platforms, one rollout
Each partner has a slightly different angle. Alphan Göğüş, CEO at Bitexen MENA, called the collaboration “the first step in a broader rollout across Bitexen Global.” BiLira co-founder Sinan Koç argued that RLUSD is “uniquely equipped” to accelerate blockchain adoption in Turkey. And Bitlo CEO Mustafa Aplay framed the deal as a “direct, secure gateway to global financial markets.” The partnership gives institutions a way to access a dollar-pegged token without leaving the Turkish crypto ecosystem.
Where RLUSD stands now
RLUSD launched at the end of 2024 and has a market cap of about $1.81 billion, ranking it the 48th-largest digital asset. It’s already listed on major exchanges Binance, OKX, and BNY Mellon. The Turkey push is the latest sign Ripple wants RLUSD to compete with established stablecoins like USDT and USDC in high-volume markets, not just sit on exchange order books.
The ITU component, meanwhile, is longer-term. An XRP Ledger validator on campus and funded research positions Ripple in the academic pipeline — a play that could shape how future engineers and regulators in Turkey think about Ripple’s tech.
For now, the roadmap is clear: roll RLUSD across the three platforms, then see if the broader rollout Göğüş mentioned materializes. With $200 billion in local volume, even a slice could lift RLUSD’s market cap meaningfully.
