Ripple finalizes acquisition of Standard Custody for stablecoin rollout

Ripple Labs has completed its acquisition of the crypto asset custodian Standard Custody. This decision, first announced earlier this year, is an important part of Ripple’s strategy to launch a United States dollar stablecoin and explore real-world asset tokenization.

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Standard Custody is an enterprise-grade custodian for crypto assets, regulated to ensure security and compliance. This acquisition allows Ripple to enhance its product offerings and venture into new areas, like stablecoins, while focusing strongly on regulatory compliance.

Ripple expands its regulatory and licensing portfolio

Completing this acquisition brings Standard Custody under Ripple’s wing as a limited-purpose trust company regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. It adds to Ripple’s extensive portfolio of nearly 40 money transmitter licenses across the U.S., a Major Payment Institution License from Singapore, and a Virtual Asset Service Provider registration with the Central Bank of Ireland.

These licenses will reportedly strengthen Ripple’s enterprise infrastructure, enabling it to better serve institutional customers in tokenizing, storing, moving, and exchanging value using blockchain technology. Following this acquisition, Ripple announced its plans to introduce a USD-backed stablecoin. This move aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and blockchain technology. Stablecoins are in high demand for their ability to offer trust, stability, and utility.

Ripple plans to leverage its extensive experience in building financial solutions for global institutions to meet this demand. The new stablecoin will be integrated into Ripple’s payment solutions alongside XRP, serving enterprise customers worldwide. It will be issued on the XRP Ledger.

Ripple enhances market influence

Standard Custody is Ripple’s second major acquisition within a year, following its purchase of Metaco in May 2023. Metaco is a leading provider of institutional digital asset custody solutions. These acquisitions highlight the expanding importance of cryptos, including stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) like stocks, bonds, and real estate.

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Ripple has stated that it is committed to providing trust, utility, and liquidity to unlock new asset classes and drive the broader token economy forward. Ripple recently announced that tokenized gold will be coming to the XRP Ledger in 2024. Meld Gold, a digital finance company, partnered with Ripple to bring gold-backed stablecoins to the platform in the third quarter of this year.

This partnership also includes the launch of a silver-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. Meld Gold cited Ripple’s “reliability and stability” as key reasons for choosing the XRP Ledger for these tokenized assets.

Cryptopolitan reporting by Jai Hamid