Ripple Labs has signed a strategic partnership with BDACS, a South Korean digital asset custody provider, to support institutional custody for XRP and Ripple USD.
The partnership, announced on Feb. 26, will enable BDACS to integrate Ripple Custody, the company’s institutional crypto and digital asset custody solution, to safeguard XRP (XRP), Ripple USD (RLUSD) and other crypto assets for financial institutions in South Korea.
Source: Ripple
Ripple president Monica Long highlighted the importance of institutional-grade custody amid growing enterprise interest in crypto.
“South Korea is gearing up for a wave of institutional crypto adoption — very excited for Ripple Custody to plant another flag in APAC with BDACS for XRP and RLUSD,” Long said in a statement.
Ripple aligns with South Korean regulatory requirement
According to Ripple, the partnership aligns with the roadmap for regulatory approval of institutional participation set by South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC). The company stated:
“This partnership will support the growth of XRPL developers and its ecosystem, expand the usability of Ripple’s stablecoin (RLUSD), and leverage synergies with Busan, Korea’s blockchain regulation-free zone.”
BDACS CEO Harry Ryoo said his firm is committed to ensuring a secure infrastructure for institutional crypto adoption.
“BDACS will provide a secure and reliable custody service to support Ripple’s pioneering blockchain initiatives. Ultimately, this partnership will enable both companies to enhance and expand the digital asset ecosystem,” Ryoo said.
Ripple Custody said it expects the total amount of custodied cryptocurrencies to reach $16 trillion by 2030.
Related: South Korea sanctions Upbit with 3-month ban on servicing new clients
Working on a future-ready infrastructure
Alongside the partnership with the South Korean crypto custodian, Ripple Labs unveiled a new roadmap for building an institutional decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem on the XRP Ledger blockchain network.
Ripple unveiled its roadmap for institutional DeFi. Source: Ripple Labs
The proposal roadmap includes a permissioned decentralized exchange (DEX), a credit-based DeFi lending protocol and a new token standard, multi-purpose token (MPT), as shown in the graph above.
XRP Ledger’s roadmap builds on top of existing infrastructure, including price oracles and an automated market maker.
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