Singapore's Monetary Authority on March 25 added Ripple to its BLOOM sandbox, a state-backed testing framework for tokenized settlement that now includes 10 institutional participants spanning central banking, payments infrastructure, and stablecoin issuance. The pilot pairs Ripple's RLUSD stable...
"Singapore continues to take a leading role globally in providing the regulatory clarity necessary for the digital asset space to thrive." — Fiona Murray, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Ripple
Singapore's Monetary Authority on March 25 added Ripple to its BLOOM sandbox, a state-backed testing framework for tokenized settlement that now includes 10 institutional participants spanning central banking, payments infrastructure, and stablecoin issuance. The pilot pairs Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin — which has reached a $1.5 billion market capitalization in 15 months — with supply chain finance firm Unloq's SC+ platform to automate cross-border trade payments on the XRP Ledger.
The move positions Singapore's regulatory apparatus at the center of a global race to replace the $2.5 trillion trade finance gap identified by the Asian Development Bank with programmable digital settlement. BLOOM's participant roster — Circle, DBS, OCBC, UOB, Partior, Stripe, Ant International, StraitsX, Coinbase, and now Ripple — represents an unusual convergence of traditional banks, payment processors, and crypto-native firms operating within a single regulatory sandbox.
BLOOM — Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency — launched in October 2025 as a MAS framework for testing settlement using two categories of digital assets: tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins. The initiative extends MAS's earlier Project Orchid, which explored digital Singapore dollar infrastructure.
The sandbox operates with three stated focus areas:
BLOOM supports settlement in multiple currencies, including G10 and Asian currencies, for both domestic and cross-border transactions. Initial applications target wholesale banking use cases: trade finance, corporate treasury management, and automated "agentic" payments.
The framework is not a proof-of-concept exercise. MAS has paired it with a memorandum of understanding with Deutsche Bundesbank on cross-border digital asset settlements and a planned 2026 pilot for tokenized government bills settled in wholesale central bank digital currency. Three major Singaporean banks — DBS, OCBC, and UOB — have already used the CBDC infrastructure for overnight interbank lending.
The economic rationale for BLOOM's trade finance focus is grounded in persistent structural inefficiency. The ADB's 9th Global Trade Finance Gap Survey, released January 15, 2026, reported the global trade finance gap at $2.5 trillion — approximately 10% of global trade, down marginally from 10.6% in the prior survey period.
The survey analyzed data from more than 110 trade finance providers representing roughly one-third of the global market. SME rejection rates for trade finance applications stood at 41%, nearly matching the 40% rejection rate for large and mid-cap corporates — the first time these rates have converged.
Traditional trade finance relies on layers of manual verification, documentary credits, and correspondent banking relationships. Settlement windows span days to weeks. The World Bank reports an average cost of approximately 6.2% for sending $200 cross-border, more than double the 3% target set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
These inefficiencies fall disproportionately on small and mid-sized exporters in developing economies, where financial systems are less equipped to support high-volume cross-border trade finance at competitive terms. The ADB notes that demand for trade finance is expected to rise further as companies diversify markets, deepen intra-regional trade, and reconfigure supply chains.
The Ripple-Unloq pilot tests a specific workflow: automated payment release triggered by verified commercial events, replacing manual documentary processes.
Technical architecture:
SC+ bundles three elements into a single execution layer: trade obligations, settlement terms, and financing workflows. When agreed conditions materialize — for example, when a logistics partner or port confirms that goods have been shipped and match the contract — the system automatically triggers payment in RLUSD. The stablecoin moves on the XRP Ledger within minutes, compared to the multi-day settlement typical of correspondent banking.
Unloq is not untested. In February 2026, the firm completed its first live trade financing deal using stablecoin settlement. The transaction involved Chemtank, a Singaporean supplier, receiving funding against confirmed invoices while the buyer retained normal payment terms. That deal used XUSD; the BLOOM pilot shifts to RLUSD on the XRP Ledger.
Letitia Chau, Unloq's President and Chief Risk Officer, stated the pilot aims to show how digital settlement integrates into existing workflows "without disrupting commercial relationships."
RLUSD launched in December 2024 and has scaled to a market capitalization of approximately $1.5 billion, with circulating supply of 1.43 billion tokens. That growth rate — from $132 million a year earlier — makes it the third-largest U.S.-regulated stablecoin.
The token's institutional adoption has moved beyond exchange trading:
The Singapore pilot represents a different category of use case. Rather than serving as exchange collateral or fund redemption infrastructure, RLUSD is being tested as a commercial settlement instrument — automating payment against verified trade events. This is the stablecoin equivalent of moving from financial plumbing to commercial plumbing.
Ripple positions RLUSD as a "bank-grade stablecoin," a designation that carries weight primarily through regulatory sandbox participation rather than self-declaration. MAS's acceptance of RLUSD into BLOOM provides a degree of credentialing that commercial marketing cannot.
BLOOM's 10 participants span four categories of financial infrastructure:
| Category | Participants | Role | |---|---|---| | Domestic Banks | DBS, OCBC, UOB | Tokenized bank liabilities, interbank settlement | | Stablecoin Issuers | Circle, StraitsX | Regulated stablecoin supply | | Payment Networks | Stripe, Ant International, Partior | Cross-border payment rails | | Crypto-Native | Coinbase, Ripple | Exchange infrastructure, stablecoin settlement |
The diversity is the point. BLOOM's value proposition is not any single pilot but the co-existence of traditional banking, payment processing, and blockchain-native settlement within a shared regulatory framework. DBS testing tokenized bank liabilities alongside Coinbase testing exchange-grade settlement generates data on interoperability that isolated pilots cannot produce.
Partior, the JPMorgan and DBS-backed interbank settlement network, represents a particularly significant inclusion. Its presence suggests BLOOM may eventually test settlement interoperability between tokenized bank money and regulated stablecoins — the core question that central banks worldwide are attempting to answer.
BLOOM does not exist in isolation. MAS has constructed a multi-layered approach to digital money that spans wholesale CBDC, regulated stablecoins, and tokenized commercial bank money.
Layer 1: Wholesale CBDC. MAS plans a 2026 pilot for tokenized government bills settled in wholesale central bank digital currency. The move follows a successful 2025 trial with DBS, JPMorgan, and Standard Chartered. Three banks have already used the CBDC for overnight interbank lending.
Layer 2: Regulated stablecoins. MAS has finalized its stablecoin regulatory framework, with draft legislation expected in 2026. The rules cover single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore dollar or major global currencies. Issuers must maintain full reserves, enable rapid redemptions, and comply with anti-money laundering standards.
Layer 3: Tokenized bank liabilities. Through BLOOM, commercial banks are testing tokenized versions of their own deposit liabilities — digital tokens representing bank-issued money rather than central bank money or third-party stablecoins.
Layer 4: Programmable commercial settlement. The Ripple-Unloq pilot occupies this layer, testing whether stablecoin-based settlement can automate commercial workflows that currently require manual intervention.
This four-layer stack gives Singapore a regulatory and infrastructure advantage in the global race to digitize cross-border settlement. The framework accommodates multiple forms of digital money rather than forcing a single model.
The cross-border payments market is projected to reach $238 billion in revenue in 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence, with total transaction values expected to hit $290.2 trillion by 2030. The market's structural inefficiencies — high costs, multi-day settlement, and opacity — have attracted a convergence of traditional and blockchain-native competitors.
Visa settled $4.5 billion annualized in stablecoins as of January 2026 and is piloting stablecoin prefunding through Visa Direct, with limited availability expected by April 2026. Visa and Stripe's Bridge subsidiary plan to launch stablecoin-backed cards in 100 countries. Mastercard acquired stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for up to $1.8 billion.
Monthly B2B stablecoin volumes reached $6.4 billion in late 2025, according to Fireblocks data. A Fireblocks survey of 295 financial institution executives found 48% cited faster settlement as the primary stablecoin payment benefit. Early commercial adopters include ship brokers and steel traders in Asia already using stablecoin settlement.
Singapore's BLOOM occupies a specific niche in this landscape: it is the only sandbox that simultaneously tests regulated stablecoins, tokenized bank liabilities, and wholesale CBDC within a single regulatory perimeter. The resulting data on interoperability and compliance may inform standards adopted by other jurisdictions.
MAS BLOOM now has 10 institutional participants spanning banks, payment processors, stablecoin issuers, and crypto-native firms, creating the most diverse digital settlement sandbox currently operating.
The global trade finance gap remains at $2.5 trillion, according to the ADB's January 2026 survey, providing the economic rationale for programmable settlement pilots.
RLUSD has reached $1.5 billion in market capitalization in 15 months, with institutional integrations including BlackRock, LMAX Group, and Deutsche Bank.
Unloq completed its first live stablecoin trade finance deal in February 2026 with Singaporean supplier Chemtank, demonstrating the commercial viability of the workflow now entering the BLOOM sandbox.
Singapore's four-layer digital money stack — wholesale CBDC, regulated stablecoins, tokenized bank liabilities, and programmable commercial settlement — represents the most comprehensive regulatory architecture for digital settlement currently in production.
Cross-border stablecoin settlement is scaling: Visa at $4.5 billion annualized, monthly B2B volumes at $6.4 billion, and Mastercard's $1.8 billion BVNK acquisition signal infrastructure-level commitment from legacy payment networks.
Singapore's approach to digital settlement infrastructure is notable for what it avoids: ideological commitment to a single technology. BLOOM accommodates stablecoins alongside tokenized bank deposits alongside wholesale CBDC. The Ripple-Unloq pilot adds a concrete commercial use case — automated trade finance settlement — to a sandbox that has thus far focused on financial plumbing.
The $2.5 trillion trade finance gap provides a measurable addressable market. Whether programmable stablecoin settlement can meaningfully compress that gap depends on factors beyond technology: regulatory harmonization across jurisdictions, corporate willingness to restructure treasury operations, and the interoperability of competing settlement assets.
What Singapore has built is a testing environment where those questions can be answered with data rather than speculation. The results will matter beyond the city-state's borders.