Ripple Snaps Up Standard Custody, Eyes Stablecoin Dominance

• Ripple acquires Standard Custody, enhancing its regulated digital asset custody capabilities.
• Jack McDonald appointed as Senior VP of Stablecoins, leveraging his extensive financial experience.
• Ripple plans to launch a USD-backed stablecoin, expanding its blockchain financial solutions.

Ripple, the leader in enterprise blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions, has completed its acquisition of Standard Custody & Trust Company, a regulated custodian of digital assets. With this acquisition, which has secured all necessary regulatory approvals, Ripple aims to expand into new markets, including stablecoins, and enhance its existing product offerings. Ripple’s commitment to regulatory compliance is evident in its history of working with global regulators.

This transaction adds a New York Department of Financial Services-regulated limited purpose trust company to Ripple’s portfolio. Ripple already holds nearly 40 money transmitter licenses in the U.S., in addition to a major payment institution license from Singapore and a Virtual Asset Service Provider registration with the Central Bank of Ireland.

The acquisition is a strategic move to strengthen Ripple’s blockchain and digital asset-powered enterprise infrastructure. This will enable better institutional customer support for tokenizing, custodying, transferring, and trading value. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has emphasized the importance of integrating blockchain technology with regulatory and compliance frameworks for seamless adoption in the global financial system.

With this acquisition, Ripple plans to leverage its decade-long experience developing financial solutions for global institutions to launch a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin. There is a growing demand for stablecoins that offer reliability, consistency, and utility. By issuing its stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, Ripple aims to support a variety of financial use cases for developers, users, and businesses, while also enhancing liquidity on its native decentralized exchange.

Additionally, Ripple has appointed Jack McDonald as Senior Vice President of Stablecoins. McDonald, who will also continue as CEO of Standard Custody, brings over three decades of experience in investment banking, asset management, financial services, fintech, and digital assets. His extensive expertise is expected to guide the stablecoin team and effectively bring Ripple’s stablecoin to market.

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

Ripple’s moves underscore the need for trust, utility, and liquidity to unlock new asset classes and the broader token economy. The company intends to leverage its strong financial position and strategic acquisitions to drive growth in the digital asset space.