Buying Ripple Seals Standard Custody marks a new Stablecoin lead

Ripple has officially completed the acquisition of Standard Custody & Trust Company, a regulated entity providing high-quality digital asset custody solutions. This acquisition, first announced earlier this year, has received the green light from all necessary regulatory authorities, including the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which oversees the activities of limited liability trust companies. This approval represents a significant step forward for Ripple, further strengthening the compliance framework across existing and future product lines.

Ripple completes second acquisition in one year

The closing of this transaction expands Ripple’s already significant portfolio of regulatory licenses. The company has nearly 40 money transfer licenses across the United States, a major payment institution license in Singapore and a virtual asset services provider registration with the Central Bank of Ireland. These credentials enable the company to offer enhanced institutional blockchain solutions that facilitate tokenization and the flow of digital assets, with a focus on compliance and security.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, expressed his delight with the acquisition: “We want to be pioneers in the blockchain sector, seamlessly integrating it into the global financial ecosystem. Standard Custody’s knowledge and experience and our newly expanded regulatory approvals make us ideal candidates to lead in this rapidly evolving space.”

The news comes shortly after Ripple announced a $1 billion XRP fund to support innovation in the XRP Ledger ecosystem in Japan and South Korea. Moreover, the company recently announced its intention to launch a USD-backed stablecoin. This product aims to capitalize on the growing demand for reliable digital currencies that can provide stability, trust and usability. The company intends to leverage its extensive experience in creating financial solutions for the global market to launch a stablecoin that could significantly increase the utility of digital transactions and liquidity on the XRP ledger.

The stablecoin to be issued on XRPL is intended to play a dual role: increasing the liquidity of XRPL’s native decentralized exchange (DEX) and enabling a wider range of financial applications for developers, businesses and users. This initiative demonstrates Ripple’s strategy to bridge the gap between traditional financial systems and decentralized blockchain technology, making digital currencies more accessible and functional to audiences around the world.

To lead the development and launch of the stablecoin, Ripple has appointed Jack McDonald as Senior Vice President of Stablecoins. McDonald, while retaining his role as CEO of Standard Custody, brings extensive experience working with investment banks, asset management firms and fintech companies specializing in digital assets. His expertise is expected to be key in driving Ripple’s stablecoin strategy.

Commenting on his new role, McDonald said: “As part of the closing of the transaction, I am excited to join Ripple as Vice President of Stablecoins. I am focused on leading the team that will launch the Ripple stablecoin later this year, leveraging XRPL’s robust capabilities to support more efficient and scalable financial transactions.”

Via X Garlinghouse added: “2 major acquisitions in ~1 year under Ripple with Metaco and Standard Custody and a big welcome to Jack McDonald! Jack is no stranger to the XRPL ecosystem (and me!) – he is excited to join the Ripple team leading our stablecoin initiatives.”

The acquisition of Standard Custody comes on the heels of Metaco’s May 2023 acquisition of another leader in institutional digital asset custody solutions. These strategic acquisitions underscore Ripple’s ambition to expand its influence and capabilities in the digital asset market, underlining the company’s commitment to fostering the trust, utility and liquidity necessary to access new asset classes such as tokenized real-world assets, stablecoins and potentially digital banks central currencies (CBDC).

At press time, XRP was trading at $0.48394.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from tradingView.com