XRPL could capture billions in machine payments but only if AI agents choose RLUSD

On Feb. 25, t54 Labs announced that Ripple was a strategic investor in its $5 million seed round investment. t54 describes itself as the trust layer for the fast-rising agentic economy. The latest artificial intelligence move is small in dollar terms, but larger in what it signals about where Ripple sees the next fight in blockchain infrastructure. This is because Ripple is not backing a consumer chatbot or another token-branded AI product. It is backing the payment controls, identity checks, and risk infrastructure that could help determine whether autonomous software agents can transact in a way that businesses and regulated institutions are willing to use. Related Reading AI agents spend just $1.22 to shatter smart contract security exposing a terrifying economic reality Automated exploit discovery is becoming cheaper than a coffee, forcing a total rethink of how digital assets are secured. Dec 3, 2025 · Gino Matos That matters because Ripple is making the bet after saying it has already deployed $550 million into the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem. The new t54 investment suggests the company now wants to push XRPL deeper into what it sees as a coming market for machine-to-machine commerce, where software agents buy data, access computing resources, pay for services, and settle small obligations without human intervention. The pitch is simple. If software agents become meaningful economic actors on the internet, payments will need to happen inside workflows, not after them. And if those workflows touch regulated money, identity, and compliance become part of the transaction.