 
 
Ripple is expanding its footprint in Bahrain through a new tie-up with a local fintech ecosystem builder.
According to an Oct. 9 announcement, Ripple has partnered with Bahrain Fintech Bay, a major local fintech incubator that collaborates closely with government partners, to integrate blockchain and stablecoin infrastructure into regulated financial markets.
As part of the partnership, Ripple and Bahrain Fintech Bay will work together on pilot projects and educational programs in areas including cross-border payments, tokenization, and stablecoins in a bid to accelerate Bahrain’s digital asset ecosystem further.
According to Reece Merrick, Ripple’s Middle East managing director, the San Francisco-based company plans to offer Bahrain’s financial institutions its digital asset custody solution and its enterprise Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain has emerged as an early adopter of blockchain technology, and was one of the first jurisdictions globally to regulate cryptoassets,” Merrick quipped. “At Ripple we look forward to working with Bahrain Fintech Bay to continue laying the foundations for a thriving local blockchain industry, as well as ultimately offering our digital assets custody solution and stablecoin to Bahrain’s financial institutions.”
 
Bahrain Fintech Bay’s collaboration with Ripple comes months after the Central Bank of Bahrain unveiled a new framework for licensing and regulating stablecoin issuers in July.
The move in Bahrain extends Ripple’s presence in the Middle East, building on a Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) license secured earlier this year. The partnership also underscores increasing demand from Gulf institutions to adopt digital asset technologies under clear regulatory frameworks.
“Bahrain has long been recognised as a financial services hub, and today this legacy is being further enhanced in the digital assets and blockchain space,” stated Suzy Al Zeerah, chief operating officer at Bahrain Fintech Bay. “This partnership with Ripple reflects Bahrain FinTech Bay’s commitment to bridging global innovators with the local ecosystem, creating opportunities for pilots, talent development, and cutting-edge solutions that will shape the future of finance.”
The news comes on the heels of XRP dropping to the fifth-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, after a parabolic surge in Binance-linked BNB earlier this week propelled it past XRP to secure the third spot on the crypto market leaderboard.