Ripple has acquired Standard Custody & Trust Company, a digital asset custodian regulated by the New York Division of Financial Services (NYDFS). This strategic acquisition is part of Ripple’s plans to expand into the growing stablecoin market, offering its users a stablecoin issued by a NYDFS-regulated entity.
Those following Ripple’s ongoings first heard of its interest in purchasing the custodian a few months ago – now it has transpired. Standard Custody is the second custodian to witness integration into the Ripple family. Ripple acquired Metaco over a year ago for a tremendous $250 million.
Ripple’s moves to consolidate numerous offerings within its ecosystem make it a powerhouse for institutional and enterprise activity – the purpose the Ripple blockchain was built for. With low fees and high transaction throughput, Ripple is the perfect layer for entities needing blockchain utility.
Now, with two regulated custodians in its bag, it can offer numerous services to its customers on top of the applications deployed on its blockchain layer. Think of DeFi dApps for end-users deployed by institutions or enterprises, with the needed third-party asset storage and settlement features available within the ecosystem.
Moreover, as blockchain and digital assets captivate institutions and businesses, Ripple will offer the ability to deal with synthetic tokens or RWAs, depicting prices of off-chain assets like stocks and bonds on-chain. It will also introduce a new stablecoin soon.
Ripple’s motivation behind introducing its stablecoin lies in its utility of making transactions convenient for users and acting as the on-chain version of fiat. Essentially, users can move in and out of their positions effortlessly using stablecoins. Ripple wants to bring a trustable stable asset for institutions and enterprises to indulge in blockchain-related processes simpler.
As it launches the stablecoin, Jack McDonald, CEO of Trust Custody, will assume the role of Ripple’s Senior Vice President of stablecoins. This is an exciting time for Ripple as it gracefully moves past its long-embroiled battle with the SEC. However, the SEC may not want to let Ripple go easily – they stated that the stablecoin is an unregistered asset.
