Ripple adds Stripe-owned wallets to XRP Ledger as AI payments pass 14 million
The integration will let software pay for online services using XRP and RLUSD, while questions remain about how much real economic activity the transactions represent.
Ripple is bringing wallet technology from Stripe-owned Privy to the XRP Ledger, allowing financial applications and AI agents to create accounts, hold cryptocurrencies and make payments without requiring users to manage their own wallet software.
The move will allow developers to create wallets inside their products and authorize transfers involving XRP, Ripple’s dollar-pegged RLUSD stablecoin and other assets issued on the network, per a release shared with CoinDesk.
That could let a payments company offer dollar-linked transfers without requiring customers to manage the secret keys that authorize spending.
Privy handles the wallet infrastructure, reducing what the app builder needs to develop itself. Additionally, it supports exporting keys or a recovery phrase so wallets can be moved elsewhere.
Companies could also give AI agents — or automated bots that complete a user’s given tasks — a bunch of funded wallets to pay for online services. Privy said in its documents that wallets operated from a company’s servers can let software hold and spend funds, including through x402, a payment standard for buying access to data and other services.
An agent requesting paid data, for example, can receive a payment request, authorize payment and obtain the data once that payment is verified. Software can pay for each request without a person opening a checkout page every time.
CoinDesk asked the XRP Ledger Foundation about applications using the integration and for data showing how much payment activity on the network comes from AI agents.
The announcement comes as developers report a sharp rise in such transactions on the XRP Ledger.
RippleX Head of Engineering J. Ayo Akinyele said on X last week that the network had processed more than 13 million agent payments through x402, representing roughly 25% of ledger activity.
Figures from the XRPL AI Hub, operated by payment infrastructure developer t54, showed more than 14.3 million cumulative transactions across 169 registered merchants as of Wednesday.
But the total value transferred was considerably smaller than the transaction count might suggest.
The dashboard recorded approximately 6,991 XRP and 12,752 RLUSD in cumulative payments. Many of the transactions therefore involve very small amounts, consistent with software paying for individual requests rather than large financial transfers.
Ripple began offering developers tools for these payments in June, letting agents create wallets, check balances and pay for services using XRP or RLUSD. In September, it expanded the kit to support a payment standard developed by Stripe and payments blockchain Tempo, including a way to fund repeated requests with XRP instead of settling each one separately.
Tuesday’s release said the companies will deepen the integration over time, including policy controls and tools for covering users’ network fees.
Meanwhile, creating a wallet inside an app still leaves a funding step before it can transact.
Privy’s documentation says a new XRP Ledger account must first receive the network’s minimum reserve, currently 1 XRP, meaning someone must supply that XRP to activate the account even if the customer only wants to send dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years.
Asanat Analysis — Why it matters
Ripple's integration of Stripe-owned wallets into XRP Ledger signals a deliberate push toward payment infrastructure legitimacy. Stripe's involvement—particularly through its owned wallet solutions—carries weight because Stripe historically maintained distance from crypto rails, making this a notable credibility signal for XRP's utility narrative. The addition of RLUSD stablecoin support alongside XRP suggests Ripple is hedging for both volatile and stable settlement, a practical choice for merchant adoption that differs from pure speculative token plays.
The 'AI payments' milestone (14M transactions) requires scrutiny: transaction volume alone doesn't indicate economic substance. High-frequency, low-value automated transactions—common in AI agent systems—inflate headline numbers without proving genuine merchant adoption or replacing traditional payment rails. Ripple has a history of conflating settlement velocity with real economic displacement. The excerpt's caveat ('questions remain about real economic activity') is essential: this remains a proving ground for whether software-to-software XRP settlement captures actual commerce or merely circulates within a permissioned ecosystem.
For the sector: this represents Ripple's ongoing strategy to build enterprise payment rails rather than pursue retail DeFi. It differs materially from L1 competition focused on general smart contracts. The integration's real impact will depend on whether merchant adoption follows—currently, most crypto payment integrations show minimal real-world usage despite technical feasibility.