Ripple buys Toronto's rail system in a $200 million deal, aiming to enhance stablecoin payment applications.
In a strategic move to strengthen its leadership in the stablecoin-powered payments market, San Francisco-based Ripple has announced the acquisition of Toronto-based fintech Rail for $200 million. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close in Q4 2025, reflects Ripple's continued investment in M&A, with over $3 billion spent to date on strategic expansion.
Rail, formerly known as Layer2 Financial, has emerged as a leader in stablecoin payments, processing around 10% of the $36 billion global B2B stablecoin payment market. This acquisition positions Ripple to capture a significant market share and transactional volume in this fast-growing segment.
The key benefits of the acquisition include expanding Ripple’s global stablecoin payment dominance, enhancing payment infrastructure and speed, addressing enterprise pain points, boosting regulatory compliance and trust, supporting institutional adoption and treasury solutions, and strategically positioning Ripple in the evolving digital finance landscape.
Rail's advanced API-driven platform offers virtual account capabilities and automated back-office infrastructure, which will be integrated with Ripple’s existing XRP Ledger and RLUSD stablecoin ecosystem. This integration is expected to improve payment speed, reduce costs, and enhance liquidity by combining Ripple’s global infrastructure with Rail’s technology.
Bhanu Kohli, CEO of Rail, shared his excitement about the acquisition, stating that Rail shares a vision with Ripple and is eager to bring their innovation to the millions of businesses that move money internationally. Monica Long, President of Ripple, emphasised that stablecoins are quickly becoming a cornerstone of modern finance.
The combined companies aim to meet rising demand for stablecoin-based flows by enabling fast, compliant, and seamless cross-border transactions. The deal will combine Rail's virtual account infrastructure and back-office automation with Ripple’s existing global payments platform, delivering the most comprehensive stablecoin-powered payments platform on the market.
With the acquisition of Rail, Ripple is uniquely positioned to drive the next phase of innovation and adoption of stablecoins and blockchain in global payments. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2025, pending regulatory approvals.
The acquisition of Rail, a fintech leader in stablecoin payments, allows Ripple to boost its business expansion by strategically investing in the fast-growing fintech industry. With the combined companies' advanced technologies, they aim to capture a significant market share in the global B2B stablecoin payment market, offering faster, more compliant, and seamless cross-border transactions.
