- Ripple and BDACS partner to offer institutional-grade XRP and RLUSD custody in South Korea.
- XRPL Upgrade Introduces Smart Features and EVM Sidechain for Enhanced Programmability.
Ripple has announced a strategic partnership with BDACS, a leading South Korean digital asset custody provider, to introduce institutional-grade custody solutions for XRP and RLUSD. This collaboration aligns with South Korea’s Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) roadmap, which aims to facilitate institutional adoption of digital assets.
BDACS will leverage Ripple Custody, a bank-grade custody service, to securely manage XRP, RLUSD, and other supported digital assets. Ripple views this partnership as a crucial step in expanding its footprint in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, reinforcing its role in the growing institutional digital asset market.
Ripple Expands Custody Offerings in South Korea
Ripple launched its Custody solution during October 2024 to deliver compliant digital asset secure storage for banks as well as exchanges and custodians. BDACS seeks to boost its custody services by implementing this solution to provide a secure platform that serves South Korean institutional clients. Ripple continues expanding its operations by focusing on institutional crypto custody after its commitment to moving beyond payment services.
Today, we are partnering with BDACS to expand institutional crypto custody in South Korea: https://t.co/DhgeumFCn8@BDACSKorea will use Ripple Custody to provide secure infrastructure for XRP, RLUSD, and other crypto assets—supporting institutional adoption, XRPL developer…
— Ripple (@Ripple) February 27, 2025
Ripple stated the global custody market will expand to $16 trillion during 2030, while tokenized assets are projected to increase significantly. Institutional-grade custody emerges as a strategic foundation for digital asset transformation because it gives financial institutions all the security and regulatory compliance assets they need to participate in digital assets. Ripple recognizes South Korea’s modern regulatory structure, which creates the perfect conditions for its business expansion.
Executives Weigh In on the Partnership
Harry Ryo from BDACS emphasized that the joint operation between BDACS and Ripple would enhance blockchain projects at Ripple and assist BDACS in expanding its institutional digital asset business activities. He explained that secure custody solutions serve as essential elements for building trust in digital assets, so institutions will broaden their adoption across the investor base.
The APAC Managing Director of Ripple, Fiona Murray, identified the collaboration as important for expanding Ripple custody services in South Korea. The regulatory guide issued by the FSC creates new options for institutions to enter crypto markets, which makes this strategic collaboration possible.
Monica Long from Ripple stated that South Korean authorities are getting ready for more institutional adoption of digital assets. She declared the partnership to represent a major development that demonstrated Ripple’s ongoing investment efforts in the APAC region. Long emphasized the necessity of secure crypto storage solutions since institutions require solutions to handle the changing crypto market.
South Korea is gearing up for a wave of institutional crypto adoption — very excited for Ripple Custody to plant another flag in APAC with @BDACSKorea for XRP and RLUSD. The importance for secure, institutional-grade custody technology can’t be overstated, especially as… https://t.co/dw98azf5rr
— Monica Long (@MonicaLongSF) February 27, 2025
Strengthening the XRP Ledger Ecosystem
The strategic alliance between Ripple and BDACS creates extensive effects for XRP Ledger (XRPL) market expansion. The partnership advances XRP and RLUSD security and usability through institutional-grade custody services, which should enhance the institutional adoption of both assets. RLUSD could ramp up its status as a stablecoin meant for DeFi and conventional financial systems through a properly regulated custody solution.
The Korean port city of Busan functions as a South Korean blockchain regulation-free zone that creates favorable conditions for Ripple and BDACS to create their custody solutions. The city’s regulatory sandbox allows for controlled experimentation, which could support faster adoption and integration of institutional digital asset solutions.
Ripple keeps prioritizing institutional adoption because it relates to its fundamental objective of developing the XRPL ecosystem. A major XRPL system update entered the market, according to Ethnews reporting. The XRPL network rolled out in 2013 has integrated decentralized exchanges (DEXs) along with escrows; however, users could not customize the system functions.
The most recent XRPL upgrade adds “Smart Features,” which offer developers a way to change and expand their system functionality by using compact “extensions.” The core financial purposes of XRPL remain intact because its creators are adding programmability features to an already established platform, unlike Ethereum. Through the new upgrade, the EVM sidechain provides Ethereum developers access to deploy Solidity-based applications within the XRPL ecosystem, thus expanding its operational scope.
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