Ripple Makes New AI Bet As XRP Ledger Targets Agentic Payments

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It seems that Ripple, the ever-ambitious tech giant, has decided to place its bets on something a little more futuristic than the usual blockchain jazz. In a move that could be classified as “next-level,” Ripple has tossed a cool $5 million into the coffers of t54, an AI infrastructure startup that is positioning itself at the very edge of the “agentic economy.” Yes, you heard that right-autonomous payments and software agents that can make financial decisions. How quaint. As autonomous agents go from mere assistants to full-fledged economic actors, Ripple wants to make sure its XRP Ledger is there to catch the economic fallout-or better yet, capitalize on it.

Ripple And The XRP Ledger Enter The Agentic Payments Race

On February 25, t54 proudly announced the completion of its seed round, which, to no one’s surprise, was led by Anagram, PL Capital, and Franklin Templeton. Ripple, alongside Virtuals Ventures, Blockchain Coinvestors, and ABCDE (yes, they’re all apparently important), also chipped in. t54’s self-proclaimed mission is to be the “trust layer for the agentic economy,” or in simpler terms, they aim to solve the problem that everyone is suddenly realizing: when autonomous agents start making big financial decisions, how on earth do you trust them? How do you know if they’re not out there buying up the last batch of limited-edition sneakers with your savings?

Ripple’s President, Monica Long, echoed these concerns (and added a touch of self-promotion) by tweeting on X: “As autonomous agents begin managing and transacting with real capital, trust infrastructure becomes a foundational piece of the equation.” And of course, she’s “proud” to be “at the forefront of AI innovation,” calling out t54 as a team that’s building just the right trust framework for the brave new world of AI-driven financial transactions.

The company’s big idea is that financial systems were designed for humans. Shocking, right? But with the rise of autonomous agents, we need new systems that can handle their robotic needs. As t54 founder Chandler Fang puts it:

“We are building trust infrastructure for the agentic economy. Financial systems were designed around human identity and human decision-making. As agents become autonomous participants, we need agent-native financial primitives-verifiable agent identity (KYA), real-time risk assessment, and programmable accountability-built for how agents operate.”

This isn’t some theoretical fluff either. t54’s platform is grounded in four solid pillars: identity and verification, risk and fraud, credit, and a more expansive operating platform that combines controls with settlement. Essentially, they want to make sure that autonomous agents, when tasked with spending your money, are as trustworthy as your overly cautious aunt when it comes to budgeting. It’s all about giving financial institutions the tools to bind agents to verified developers or human operators, monitor behavior in real-time, and, of course, decide if they should be allowed to make any financial moves.

And, yes, t54’s dream of an agentic utopia includes a token of faith in cryptocurrency, with their “XRPL x402 Facilitator,” which will allow AI agents to pay for services using XRP and RLUSD. Don’t worry though, it’s not just Ripple’s XRP involved-t54 is spreading the love across multiple chains like Solana and Base, while also touting an open-source secure layer on x402. Ripple’s XRP Ledger, however, is likely to be the VIP in this ecosystem.

The real kicker comes from Ripple’s Markus Infanger, SVP at RippleX, who summed it up perfectly: “Autonomous systems are becoming participants in economic activity, not just tools. The financial infrastructure that supports them must evolve accordingly.” So, Ripple isn’t just investing in technology. Oh no, they’re making sure they’re there when AI agents decide to flex their economic muscles.

Not to be outdone, Tony Pecore, SVP at Franklin Templeton, added his two cents: “As institutions embrace tokenization and autonomous systems, the infrastructure layer must evolve to match. t54 is building the trust and verification framework that institutional finance will require as AI agents become participants in financial markets.” Yes, yes, we get it-autonomous AI agents need a digital ID, and they need to be held accountable. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned paperwork?

t54 isn’t just talking the talk either. They’ve backed up their bold claims with some eye-opening statistics. A recent YouGov study revealed that 42% of US consumers would let an AI agent make purchases on their behalf, but only if it could snag them the lowest price. As for cybersecurity professionals, 86% believe that these AI agents should have unique, dynamic digital identities. Well, I guess when you leave the shopping to bots, you’re going to want to keep them in check.

As for Ripple and its beloved XRP Ledger, the strategy is clear. If autonomous agents are going to start using payment rails, Ripple wants to make sure XRP is front and center in the mix. Who wouldn’t want to be part of the “future” of finance, right?

At press time, XRP traded at $1.4397. Just saying.

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2026-02-26 19:11