Share this article
UK Central Bank Tests Ripple’s Interledger Protocol for Cross-Border Payments
The UK’s central bank has released new details about a proof-of-concept it has developed in partnership with distributed ledger startup Ripple.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 1:31 p.m. Published Jul 11, 2017, 9:00 a.m.
The Bank of England has released new details about a proof-of-concept it has developed in partnership with distributed ledger startup Ripple.
Among several fintech proofs-of-concept revealed by the UK central bank yesterday, one test involved Ripple's Interledger protocol, designed to facilitate transactions between different distributed ledger systems.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The trial centered on a cross-border payment scenario in which "two different currencies" were "executed simultaneously in two different simulated RTGS [real-time gross settlement] systems," with blockchain potentially serving as means for synchronizing the settlement of transactions.
According to its outline of the proof-of-concept, the Bank of England used the test in part as a springboard to investigate issues around liquidity, stating:
"Cross-border payments when applied to wholesale markets present different challenges than when compared with retail and corporate transactions, which the Ripple product is designed to handle. The availability of liquidity is one such challenge, and the PoC allowed the Bank and Ripple to begin exploring these questions."
The bank went on to indicate that it could conduct additional trials in this area "to extend its understanding of the dimensions of the synchronization concept."
The Bank of England launched its fintech startup accelerator last year as part of a bid to test new technologies including blockchain, and has been trialing solutions for months. While it has stopped short of green lighting any immediate plans to replace any of its internal infrastructure, the bank is planning for its next RTGS system to be compatible with the tech.
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Ripple.
Bank of England image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
ICP Rises, Keeping Price Above Key Support Levels
Internet Computer rose, keeping the price above the $3.40 support zone, with early session volume spikes failing to produce a sustained breakout.
What to know:
- ICP rose 0.6% to $3.44 as early session volume surged 31% above average before fading.
- Resistance near $3.52–$3.55 rejected multiple breakout attempts, keeping the token range-bound.
- Support between $3.36–$3.40 held firm, maintaining ICP’s short-term higher-low structure.
Top Stories
