South Korean crypto custodian BDACS has launched institutional custody support for XRP following its February partnership agreement with Ripple. The move provides institutions with regulated access to one of the world’s most actively traded digital assets.
The rollout, announced via BDACS’s X account on Tuesday, enables institutions to securely store and manage XRP (XRP) using Ripple Custody, Ripple’s enterprise-grade custody solution.
“We’re thrilled to offer custody support for XRP, one of the most popular digital assets in Korea, to our institutional clients,” BDACS wrote. “This launch strengthens our long-standing partnership with Ripple and underscores our commitment to the Korean market.”
BDACS added that it has recently integrated with South Korea’s leading exchanges, including Upbit, Coinone and Korbit, allowing institutional clients to deploy XRP across the country’s top trading platforms in a “regulatory compliant way.”
Related: South Korea to target leveraged crypto lending services with new rules
Ripple, BDACS partner on institutional XRP custody
Earlier this year, Ripple Labs partnered with South Korean crypto custodian BDACS to offer institutional custody support for XRP and its US dollar–backed stablecoin, RLUSD.
At the time, Ripple said the deal aligned with South Korea’s regulatory roadmap for institutional crypto adoption, as the Financial Services Commission outlined. The company said the collaboration would also benefit the XRP Ledger ecosystem and expand RLUSD use cases, especially in Busan’s blockchain regulation-free zone.
Ripple cited projections that crypto custody could reach $16 trillion by 2030, and that tokenized assets could account for 10% of global GDP.
“South Korean politicians have been demonstrating strong interest in making the digital asset ecosystem a legitimate part of the financial infrastructure,” Agne Linge, head of growth at decentralized onchain bank WeFi, told Cointelegraph.
Linge said XRP has become a serious infrastructure candidate in Asia. She noted that Japan’s banks have also been interested in XRP, with reports showing that 80% of Japanese banks are set to embrace XRP for global payments.
Related: Bank of Korea to launch virtual asset committee to monitor crypto
Over 25% of Koreans aged 20–50 hold crypto
A recent report from the Hana Institute of Finance revealed that one in four South Koreans in their 20s to 50s own digital assets, with crypto making up 14% of their financial portfolios. The highest participation rate was among people in their 40s at 31%, followed by those in their 30s and 50s.
The study also showed increasing confidence in crypto as a wealth-building tool for retirement planning, especially among older investors. While 70% of respondents plan to increase crypto exposure, 42% said they would be more inclined to do so if traditional banks played a larger role in the sector.
The crypto craze in South Korea has also spilled into traditional finance players. At least three local banks, including Kakao Bank, Kookmin Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea, have recently filed for Korean won stablecoin trademarks.
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