TL;DR:
Ripple announced the availability of its dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, in the Turkish market through three new agreements with BiLira, Bitexen and Bitlo. The partnership is part of the company’s strategy to position RLUSD as a reference instrument for financial institutions in emerging economies with high digital asset adoption.
Turkey consolidated its position as the largest digital asset market in the MENA region, with an annual transaction volume of nearly $200 billion, according to Chainalysis‘s Geography of Crypto 2025 report. That figure is nearly four times higher than its regional peers. The growth reflects a combination of economic necessity and a regulatory framework that matured significantly in 2024, when the country’s Capital Markets Board implemented a comprehensive licensing system that shifted the focus from speculative retail trading toward a more robust institutional ecosystem.
Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoins at Ripple, underscored that RLUSD allows Turkish companies to access global liquidity through a transparent and fully regulated asset. Since its launch in late 2024, RLUSD reached a market capitalization of $1.7 billion, reflecting enormous institutional demand for a stablecoin with a primary focus on regulatory compliance.
Beyond the commercial agreements, Ripple announced Istanbul Technical University (ITU) as a new member of its global University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI). The partnership, funded through RLUSD, includes the development of advanced research, postgraduate scholarships and the installation of an XRP Ledger validator directly on the ITU campus. The initiative aims to train the next generation of Turkish researchers in decentralized infrastructure.
The three new commercial partners offered distinct perspectives on the agreement. Alphan Göğüş, CEO of Bitexen MENA, noted that the platform operates digital infrastructure across multiple jurisdictions, connecting local markets with global liquidity in Turkey, the Middle East, South Africa and Europe. Mustafa Alpay, CEO of Bitlo, emphasized that his users seek digital instruments to manage wealth and protect themselves against volatility. Sinan Koç, co-founder of BiLira, stressed the shared commitment to regulatory integrity as the cornerstone of the agreement.
