Jeonbuk Bank is set to adopt Ripple’s 24-hour cross-border payments service for corporate transfers, although it remains unknown whether the transactions will be settled using XRP or Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin.

XRP fell below the $1 threshold during Asian trading Tuesday, touching approximately $0.98 and reaching its lowest level since November 2024.

The decline coincided with Ripple announcing its latest South Korean banking partnership. Jeonbuk Bank will become the first regional lender in the country to use Ripple Payments for international transfers.

The agreement marks Ripple’s third partnership in South Korea this year, following earlier deals with Kyobo Life Insurance and Kbank involving digital-asset custody and wallet infrastructure.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Jeonju, Jeonbuk Bank is the leading lender in South Korea’s southwestern region.

Ripple said its payments platform enables near-instant settlement for cross-border transactions using stablecoins, but it did not specify which token will power Jeonbuk Bank’s implementation.

Traditional international payments often move through intermediary banks via the SWIFT network, potentially taking several days to settle. Ripple says its system can process transactions within seconds or minutes and operates continuously.

Jeonbuk Bank plans to make the service available to corporate clients, including importers, exporters, IT startups and online content businesses.

Ripple Strengthens Its Korean Banking Push

Fiona Murray, Ripple’s Asia Pacific managing director, said the partnership reflects increasing demand for digital-asset infrastructure among South Korean financial institutions.

According to Murray, banks are building digital-asset capabilities and looking for infrastructure partners capable of supporting their operations over the long term. She also emphasized the role regional banks play in the real economy.

Ripple has spent the past year positioning RLUSD, its dollar-pegged stablecoin, as an institutional settlement asset.

Ripple had not immediately responded to CoinDesk’s request for clarification on whether XRP or RLUSD will be used for Jeonbuk Bank’s transactions.

That distinction may help explain why Ripple’s growing number of financial partnerships has not generated a similar boost for XRP.

XRP Weakens Despite Ripple’s Growing Network

XRP traded above $3 during last year’s rally but has steadily lost ground this month, eventually falling below $1, according to CoinDesk data.

The decline has continued even as Ripple expands its relationships with banks, custodians and asset managers.

The growing importance of RLUSD is also reflected on the XRP Ledger. Tokenized real-world assets on the network are valued at about $1.38 billion, with roughly $845 million represented by RLUSD.

The stablecoin therefore accounts for more than 60% of the total value issued on the ledger.

Despite XRP’s recent weakness, derivatives traders remain positioned for a possible rebound.

XRP futures open interest stood at roughly $2.78 billion this week. On Binance, long positions outnumbered shorts by more than three to one, while OKX showed a similar imbalance.

That bullish derivatives positioning contrasts with increasingly negative XRP sentiment across social media, which has reached its weakest level in around three months.