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US blockchain startup Ripple on Thursday made a major expansion of its crypto custody business, launching new services aimed at helping banks and financial technology companies store digital assets on behalf of customers.
The San Francisco-based company told CNBC that it is introducing a slew of features to enable its banking and fintech clientele to hold and service digital tokens – as part of a broader push into custody, an emerging business for Ripple under the Ripple Custody division, which was founded last year.
These features include pre-configured operational and policy settings, integration with Ripple’s XRP Ledger blockchain platform, anti-money laundering risk monitoring to maintain compliance, and a new user interface that is easier to use and engage with.
The move will help Ripple, which is best known for the XRP cryptocurrency and its Ripple Payments platform, to diversify beyond its core payment settlement business.
Ripple Payments is a messaging platform based on blockchain – the technology underlying cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin – that allows banks to share updates on the status of money movements across a global, distributed network.
Thursday’s development marks Ripple’s first major move to consolidate its custody products under one brand, Ripple Custody, and acquire a slew of companies that already offer products and services in this space, such as Coinbase, Gemini and Fireblocks.
Custodian
Custody is an emerging but rapidly growing space within the digital asset space. Custodians play a key role in the crypto market, helping customers secure private keys, the alphanumeric codes needed to unlock access to digital assets and authorize transactions.
Custodians don’t just store crypto. They also assist with payments and settlements, trading, and ensuring regulatory compliance with global laws regarding digital currencies. The crypto custody market is expected to reach at least $16 trillion by 2030 Boston Advisory Group.
Ripple said custody is one of the fastest growing areas for the startup, with Ripple Custody posting customer growth of more than 250% year-on-year this year and operating in more than 20 countries. Its customers include HSBC, the Swiss branch of BBVA, Societe Generale and DBS.
Ripple is betting that a growing number of real assets will become tradable as digital tokens in the future, and said it will allow customers of its custody services to tokenize real assets – think fiat currency, commodities like gold and oil or real estate – by using XRP Ledger.
Ripple said the integration with its
“With new features, Ripple Custody is expanding its capabilities to better serve fast-growing crypto and fintech companies with secure and scalable custody of digital assets,” Aaron Slettehaugh, senior vice president of product at Ripple, said in a statement Thursday. CNBC shared. .
Last year, Ripple acquired Metaco, a company that helps other entities store and manage their crypto, to launch its own crypto custody services. The company also acquired Standard Custody & Trust Company, another crypto custody company, this year.
Ripple’s diversification bid comes at a weak time for XRP. Last week, the price of the XRP cryptocurrency fell sharply after the US Securities and Exchange Commission appealed a 2023 court ruling that the token should be sold. are not considered a certainty when it is sold to private investors.
As the largest holder of XRP coins, Ripple has long battled the SEC over allegations that it sold the cryptocurrency through an illegal securities offering. Ripple denies that the cryptocurrency should be considered a security.