Ripple Targets AI Agent Payment Market with XRP and RLUSD Support Expansion

Ripple is broadening the use of XRP Ledger (XRPL) in artificial intelligence (AI)-based payment areas. According to blockchain media The Crypto Basic, Ripple has added support for XRP and RLUSD within the 'Machine Payment Protocol' (MPP), developed by Stripe and Tempo.

This integration was made through XRPL AI Starter Kit version 1.1. Developers can now build AI agents that handle payments and manage blockchain wallets using this toolkit. Supported assets include not only XRP but also assets issued on XRP Ledger, with Ripple's dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD also included.

The payment scope covers various services and tools that AI applications need to automatically purchase, such as API access, computing resources, and data services. Ripple explained that this update allows AI agents to directly approve and process required payments.

Ripple has also introduced XRP Ledger payment channel functionality, which accumulates multiple small payments during service usage and settles the final amount on XRPL instead of processing each transaction on-chain. This feature currently focuses on XRP for efficient handling of recurring payments by AI agents.

New development tools were released as well, including a beta version 'xrpl-mpp-sdk' for MPP payments and 'xrpl-up' to simplify XRP Ledger development and testing. These tools aim to expand XRPL into a broader developer ecosystem.

However, this integration does not mean that XRP or RLUSD have been directly added to Stripe's existing payment products. The focus remains on supporting XRPL within MPP as an open standard for AI agent payments, rather than emphasizing Stripe's cryptocurrency adoption. The key future point will be developer adoption: if the structure of AI applications automatically purchasing computing resources and data tools becomes widespread, XRP and RLUSD may see practical use as machine payment methods.