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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.