Ripple has announced a strategic partnership with BDACS, a prominent digital asset custody firm in South Korea, on Thursday. The collaboration aims to advance institutional-grade custody services and expand the digital asset ecosystem, particularly for XRP and RLUSD, within the country’s evolving regulatory landscape.

Monica Long, President of Ripple, shared her enthusiasm on X, stating: “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. The importance for secure, institutional-grade custody technology can’t be overstated, especially as enterprises prepare for an influx of crypto interest.”

The partnership aligns with the Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) recently announced roadmap for regulatory approval of institutional participation in the digital asset market. By securing XRP and RLUSD custody services for institutional investors, the fintech and BDACS aim to facilitate the growth of XRPL developers and the broader ecosystem, expand use cases for Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD, and leverage opportunities in Busan’s blockchain regulation-free zone.

In an official press release, Harry Ryoo, CEO of BDACS, expressed optimism about the initiative: “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.”

The partnership will see BDACS deploying Ripple Custody — an institutional-grade software infrastructure designed for custodians, exchanges, and OTC desks to securely store, manage, and access digital assets with bank-grade security. Industry forecasts indicate that total custodied crypto assets could reach $16 trillion by 2030, with 10% of the world’s GDP predicted to be tokenized in the same timeframe.

Fiona Murray, Managing Director of APAC at Ripple, underscored the partnership’s strategic significance: “We’re excited to partner with BDACS to bring Ripple’s custody solution to institutional investors in South Korea. With the crypto market surging and new opportunities emerging under the FSC’s regulatory roadmap, we view this collaboration as a critical step in expanding the digital asset ecosystem.”

BDACS will offer custody support for both XRP—the native asset on the XRPL—and RLUSD. The firm is among the first institutional-grade custody providers in the country, allowing investors to securely trade XRP, RLUSD, and other digital assets within Korea’s developing regulatory ecosystem. The firm has been expanding its global presence by focusing on tokenized securities (STO) and real-world asset tokenization (RWA), as well as forging alliances with major blockchain protocols like Avalanche and Polymesh. In December last year, BDACS entered a significant partnership with Woori Bank—one of Korea’s top commercial banks—to advance digital asset custody services.

Ripple’s push into South Korea builds on its growing momentum in the region. The company holds over 60 regulatory licenses and registrations worldwide, leveraging more than a decade of experience in the digital asset arena. Notably, earlier this week, DekaBank, a German financial institution managing approximately €377 billion in assets, launched crypto trading and custody services for institutional clients using Ripple Custody.

At press time, XRP traded at $2.22.

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