- Ripple is acquiring Standard Custody & Trust Co. to obtain a New York trust charter, expanding its ability to offer financial services to US clients.
- The acquisition brings crypto custody and settlement capabilities in-house for Ripple, enabling asset tokenization services for institutional customers.
- Despite legal uncertainty with the SEC, Ripple sees major growth potential in the US and is pushing ahead with expanding its offerings through acquisitions like Standard Custody.
Ripple, the global payments company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, has struck a deal to acquire Standard Custody & Trust Co. The acquisition will secure a New York trust charter for Ripple, allowing the company to expand the financial services it offers in the US market.
The Deal Provides More Flexibility for Ripple’s US Operations
Despite Ripple’s legal issues with the SEC and focus overseas, the company still aims to stretch its capabilities in the US. The limited purpose trust charter held by Standard Custody will enable Ripple to offer more in-house services to financial firms, especially those looking to tokenize assets.
Ripple is pushing beyond just payments into other areas where institutional clients can benefit from blockchain technology. “We want to offer more and more of these infrastructure pieces to financial institutions,” said Ripple President Monica Long. “We see this as giving us a lot of flexibility.”
Long called it a long-term project and said Ripple is still working to complete money transmission licensing in the US.
Acquisition Adds Crypto Custody and Settlement Business
The Standard Custody acquisition, pending approval from New York regulators, brings a crypto custody and settlement business into Ripple’s portfolio. This will allow customers to maintain custody with Ripple instead of needing an outside partner.
The deal follows Ripple’s 2022 purchase of the cryptocurrency custody firm Metaco.
Ripple Continues US Expansion Despite Legal Uncertainty
Ripple is known in the US for its ongoing court battle with the SEC over whether XRP is an unregistered security. Despite largely winning so far, the case continues through appeals.
Long said this specific legal issue is not Ripple’s main concern in the US, rather the general regulatory uncertainty around digital assets. But she believes the US can still emerge as a leader in blockchain innovation.
The Standard Custody acquisition shows Ripple still sees a major growth opportunity in the US market, despite the challenging legal landscape. The trust charter and custody capabilities will position Ripple to better serve institutional clients as they adopt digital assets.
