In a recent announcement, Ripplethe American company that created and developed the Ripple payment protocol, acquired Metaco for $250 million, a Swiss company specializing in the custody of digital assets. This acquisition marks an important step for Ripple, which seeks to strengthen its position in the industry by expanding its service offerings. Let’s explore the details of this acquisition and its potential impact on the cryptocurrency landscape.
Ripple is ranked 6e crypto in terms of market capitalization, with around $23 billion, according to CoinGecko. More than half of the $250 million acquisition was paid for in cash, and the rest in stock, Ripple said.
Ripple expands its service offering with Metaco
Ripple made a strategic decision in acquiring Metaco, which offers technology solutions for financial institutions to store and manage digital assets. With this acquisition, Ripple aims to expand its services by integrating Metaco’s technology for the custody, issuance and settlement of tokenized assets. This opens new revenue opportunities for Ripple, while providing financial institutions with critical custody infrastructure to grow their business models in the crypto economy.
“By focusing on infrastructure…you’re not really subject to the same fluctuations of crypto winters”
“If you end up solving a clear problem at scale for those customers, there will be demand for that.”
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple
The impact of Ripple’s acquisition of Metaco
Ripple’s acquisition of Metaco has significant implications for the crypto industry. First of all, this reinforces Ripple’s position as a key player in digital asset management. Metaco counts among its customers renowned financial institutions such as Citi, BNP Paribas and the specialized arm of Société Générale (SG-Forge), allowing Ripple to consolidate its user base and strengthen its credibility in the market. Moreover, this acquisition comes at a time when investors are increasingly cautious about the security and management of digital assets, following incidents such as the freezing of withdrawals on certain cryptocurrency platforms. Ripple, by offering reliable custody services through Metaco, addresses this growing investor concern.
A major turning point
Ripple’s acquisition of Metaco marks a major turning point for both companies and for the crypto industry as a whole. By integrating Metaco custody solutions, Ripple expands its service offering and strengthens its position in the digital asset market. Financial institutions that use Ripple will now be able to benefit from a leading custody infrastructure, while Ripple itself will consolidate its user base and credibility. This acquisition also demonstrates the growing importance of secure management of digital assets in an evolving regulatory environment.