Ripple and Stronghold: The Connection Between ISO 20022 and the XRP Ledger As we look deeper into Stronghold, an interesting connection begins to emerge between Ripple, ISO 20022, StrongholdNET, and the XRP Ledger (XRPL). First, there is a confirmed historical connection between Ripple and Stronghold. Ripple invested in Stronghold through Xpring, which later became RippleX. Xpring was an initiative created by Ripple to invest in and support companies and projects building around XRP, the XRP Ledger, and related technologies. This means that Ripple and Stronghold have not only shared technological interests, but also have a historical investment relationship. Stronghold later continued developing StrongholdNET, an infrastructure designed to connect traditional financial systems with distributed ledger technology. StrongholdNET has explored mechanisms that allow funds to move from U.S. bank accounts to DLT networks, with SHx used for on-chain settlement. This is where ISO 20022 becomes particularly important. Stronghold has explained that it does not operate its own proprietary DLT. Instead, it is designed to work across multiple distributed ledger networks. Because of this multi-network approach, ISO 20022 can play an important role in enabling standardized financial messaging between traditional financial institutions and blockchain-based infrastructure. Stronghold took this strategy further by acquiring 20022 Labs, a company specializing in ISO 20022. Stronghold has stated that the expertise and technology acquired from 20022 Labs would be integrated into Stronghold Payments and StrongholdNET, with the goal of improving interoperability between ISO 20022 financial messaging and blockchain-based payment infrastructure. At the same time, Ripple also has an important relationship with ISO 20022. Ripple participates in the ISO 20022 Registration Management Group (RMG), and Ripple has described itself as the first member focused on Distributed Ledger Technology. This creates an interesting parallel. Ripple is involved with ISO 20022 from the standards and DLT interoperability side, while Stronghold has acquired ISO 20022 expertise and is integrating it directly into its payment infrastructure. Then, in 2026, another important development occurred. Stronghold expanded SHx to the XRP Ledger through a cross-chain bridge. Stronghold's interest in XRPL goes beyond simply adding another fast and low-cost blockchain network. Stronghold has specifically highlighted the development of institutional and compliance-oriented infrastructure on XRPL, including Permissioned DEX functionality, Permissioned Domains, and verified counterparties. Stronghold has also indicated that as regulated liquidity environments develop on XRPL, SHx could be positioned to participate in those financial flows. These are the main points that can currently be confirmed from publicly available information. Viewed chronologically, an interesting pattern emerges. Ripple's Xpring invested in Stronghold. Stronghold subsequently continued developing StrongholdNET as infrastructure connecting traditional finance with DLT networks. Stronghold then acquired 20022 Labs and began integrating ISO 20022 expertise into Stronghold Payments and StrongholdNET. More recently, Stronghold expanded SHx to XRPL and has explicitly discussed the institutional liquidity infrastructure developing on the XRP Ledger. What Could This Mean? From this point forward, we move from confirmed facts into a possible future scenario. One potential direction for Stronghold is to provide infrastructure through which payment information originating from banks, payment service providers, and merchants can be processed using ISO 20022 and connected through Stronghold Payments or StrongholdNET to blockchain networks. With XRPL now becoming one of the networks accessible to the Stronghold ecosystem, it is possible that financial and payment flows entering through Stronghold's infrastructure could eventually interact with institutional liquidity environments on XRPL, including permissioned markets. In such a model, Stronghold would not need to become a bank or operate its own blockchain. Instead, its role could be to function as an interoperability layer between traditional financial infrastructure and multiple blockchain networks, using APIs and ISO 20022-compatible financial messaging to connect the two environments. The addition of XRPL therefore deserves particular attention. As XRPL continues developing compliance-oriented infrastructure for institutional finance, Stronghold could potentially provide one of the gateways through which traditional payment infrastructure interacts with that on-chain financial environment. However, an important distinction must be maintained. There is currently no confirmed public announcement that StrongholdNET will directly integrate with XRPL's Permissioned DEX, nor is there evidence proving that Ripple's original investment in Stronghold was made with this eventual ISO 20022 and XRPL architecture already planned. Those points remain hypotheses and should not be presented as established facts. Nevertheless, several important facts are now visible together: Ripple's Xpring invested in Stronghold; Ripple participates in the ISO 20022 standards ecosystem; Stronghold acquired 20022 Labs and is integrating ISO 20022 expertise into its infrastructure; and Stronghold has now expanded SHx to XRPL while explicitly recognizing the institutional liquidity infrastructure being developed on the network. Taken together, these developments suggest that Stronghold may be evolving beyond simply building an ecosystem around SHx. Its broader role could be developing into financial infrastructure connecting traditional payment systems with blockchain-based financial markets. The key development to watch next is whether the relationship between StrongholdNET and XRPL moves beyond simply bridging SHx and develops into direct payment and liquidity integration. If that happens, Stronghold could potentially become an interoperability layer connecting ISO 20022-based traditional financial infrastructure with institutional on-chain financial markets operating on the XRP Ledger. stronghold.co/ja/learn/you-v…

Buckley was VP for Luntz Research - the guy who wrote hasbara manuals and advised the Sackler family on their messaging over the OxyContin epidemic.