TL;DR
- Ripple aims to integrate custody, payments, and stablecoin issuance into a single platform for financial institutions.
- The acquisitions of Metaco, Standard Custody, and Hidden Road strengthened its infrastructure to compete in a $16 trillion market.
- The company is driving the tokenization of traditional assets and betting on RLUSD to boost activity on the XRP Ledger.
Ripple is moving quickly with its plan to offer digital asset custody services. The company, known for its XRP token, seeks to provide comprehensive solutions to financial institutions interested in operating with blockchain technology. Its plan is to establish itself as a provider of custody, payments, and stablecoin issuance services within a single platform.
Over the past two years, Ripple closed acquisitions that shaped this new phase. The purchases of Metaco and Standard Custody, completed in 2023 and 2024, gave the firm the infrastructure and expertise needed to compete in a digital asset custody market projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030. These moves also included the acquisition of Hidden Road, a specialized broker, which strengthens the company’s ability to integrate financial and blockchain services.
Attorney John Deaton emphasized that this expansion process is not only about cryptocurrency custody but also about offering tokenization of traditional assets such as stocks and real estate through customized solutions for banks and financial entities. This offering, built on Ripple’s infrastructure, will allow physical goods to be digitized and transferred into blockchain-based environments in a secure, regulated manner.
Ripple Must Promote the Use of RLUSD for XRP to Grow
In addition, the company is promoting the growth of its stablecoin RLUSD, a key component within its ecosystem. Deaton argues that the adoption of RLUSD will be decisive in facilitating tokenization and increasing transaction volumes on the XRP Ledger. Industry analysts project that if RLUSD captures a market share comparable to USDT, XRP’s price could see substantial gains.
However, the blockchain-based financial services ecosystem remains highly competitive. Ripple faces direct competition from other companies rapidly expanding in the same market. One of them is Circle, which recently launched its own real-time payment system.
Ripple’s accelerated growth is unfolding in parallel with the resolution of its prolonged litigation with the SEC. According to Deaton, the company is speeding up its plans to reclaim the ground it lost during those years of regulatory disputes.
