SMQKE, an XRP community figure and researcher, is rejuvenating community discussions on whether R3 still uses XRP for its Corda Settler platform.
Notably, he presented videos and documents in an attempt to show that the platform still leverages XRP. Specifically, his findings trace the timeline of R3’s early integration of XRP. However, recent data indicates that the partnership might have quietly shifted direction over time.
Demo Videos Showing R3 Corda Settler Uses XRP
SMQKE shared a demo video R3 released on December 5, 2018, shortly after it launched Corda Settler. In the video, R3 demonstrated how the platform could settle payments using XRP.
The demo showed two companies, Party A and Party B, engaging in a transaction where Party A requested payment in XRP. The flow involved fetching a real-time exchange rate, updating the obligation, and generating an XRP address.
Party B then sent the payment, submitted the transaction hash to the oracle, and completed the settlement once the oracle verified the transfer on the XRP Ledger.
A second video, also released in December 2018, highlighted the technical setup behind the process. R3 used four Corda nodes: Party A, Party B, a notary cluster, and an oracle. The oracle hosted both an FX rate oracle and an XRP settlement oracle.
Essentially, the walkthrough explained how an obligation in USD could be converted into XRP using live rates. After Party A added XRP settlement instructions, Party B executed the payment, and the oracle verified it by checking the XRP transaction hash.
Evidence from Multiple Documents
Meanwhile, SMQKE also referred to a March 2021 report from Credit Suisse titled. The report noted that Corda Settler supported XRP and highlighted R3’s collaboration with SWIFT’s gpi initiative.
2021 Credit Suisse document confirms “Corda Settler supports XRP.”✅
Documented.📝💨 pic.twitter.com/vW9CboHOgY
— SMQKE (@SMQKEDQG) May 27, 2025
In addition, SMQKE cited a February 2019 article by Carlo de Meijer, published on the TreasuryXL platform. The article stated clearly that R3 had selected XRP as the first settlement mechanism for Corda Settler. De Meijer explained that both R3 Corda and Ripple’s XRP shared an enterprise-oriented approach.
He quoted R3 co-founder Todd McDonald, who said the XRP integration demonstrated the potential for interoperability between blockchain networks. McDonald stressed that the integration served as a live example, but the platform would remain open to various payment systems.
R3 Corda Settler Codebase Points to XRP
SMQKE also presented evidence from GitHub. He found a December 2018 update to the official Corda Settler repository. The documentation confirmed that XRP was the first, and at that time, only, supported settlement asset for off-ledger transactions.
R3 Corda Repo:
“For off-ledger, there will be ONLY ONE OPTION FOR NOW: XRP SETTLEMENT.✅
Documented.📝💨 pic.twitter.com/Wbo2GFo6ac
— SMQKE (@SMQKEDQG) May 27, 2025
Interestingly, the readme file also described how Corda Settler could support any payment rail, as long as it provided cryptographic proof of payment.
Further, SMQKE quoted a passage from the book The Power of Micro Money Transfers.
The author described Corda Settler as a solution that R3 launched in late 2018 to allow settlement using both traditional and blockchain-based assets. The book specifically noted that XRP was the first digital currency integrated into the platform.
There’s a Catch
Despite this solid evidence, many have argued that the context has changed since those early days. By mid-2019, R3 executives had already started clarifying their intent.
While there is no evidence showing R3 depreciated XRP’s use or dumped the assets, in interviews, its executives stated that XRP served as an example, not a fixed component. R3 designed Corda Settler to support multiple currencies and assets, depending on client needs.
Moreover, in 2021, R3 began working closely with the XDC Network. That same year, R3 integrated XDC as the settlement token for its Decentralized Digital Asset Shared Ledger (DASL) Bridge.
This development made XDC the default token for Corda-based trade finance applications. Some commentators argue that unlike XRP, XDC came with an ecosystem more tailored to R3’s enterprise clients in trade and supply chain finance.
By 2023, developers and blockchain analysts noted that R3 had deprecated its XRP support. No recent updates to the Corda SDK included XRP integration. On-chain data also showed no significant XRP transactions involving R3 or Corda Settler.
