Through the acquisition of Metaco, Ripple expects to extend its enterprise offerings by delivering clients the technology to custody, issue, and settle any type of tokenised asset

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Metaco acquired by crypto solutions firm Ripple for $250m. (Credit: Pete Linforth from Pixabay)

Enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions firm Ripple has announced the acquisition of Metaco, a Switzerland-based digital asset custody and tokenisation technology provider, in a deal worth $250m.

Through the acquisition of Metaco, Ripple expects to extend its enterprise offerings by delivering clients the technology to custody, issue, and settle all types of tokenised assets.

Both parties are said to share a long history of collaboration with regulated entities to develop secure enterprise-grade solutions.

Ripple president Monica Long said: “As the go-to provider for traditional finance companies looking to integrate crypto and blockchain solutions, Ripple is uniquely positioned to address the growing institutional crypto custody market, expected to reach $10T by 2030.

“Custody is a key facet of the infrastructure required for enterprise crypto services. Adding these capabilities to Ripple’s already growing product solutions means we can continue to support customers as they look to utilise crypto and blockchain for real-world use cases across all phases of adoption.”

Metaco is also expected to drastically expedite its expansion trajectory by accessing Ripple’s established customer base, capital to meet increased demand, and resources to continue delivering on its commitment to banking and institutional customers.

Established in 2015, Metaco provides institutions with secure and versatile mission-critical custody infrastructure to scale new business models in the crypto economy.

The firm’s primary offering is Harmonize, which is claimed to be an institutional standard for digital asset custody and tokenisation infrastructure. It is said to be selected by global custodians, financial institutions, top-tier banks, and corporates.

Metaco founder and CEO Adrien Treccani said: “Our mission has always been to enable institutions to thrive in the digital asset economy with the help of our core infrastructure and expertise, and we are delighted to join forces with the team at Ripple, who share that passion.

“This deal will enable Metaco to leverage Ripple’s scale and market strength to reach our goals and deliver value to our clients at a faster pace. We look forward to continuing to serve unprecedented levels of institutional demand with the utmost excellence in delivery, as our clients have come to expect.”

Following the acquisition, Ripple will become the only shareholder of Metaco, and the latter will continue to operate as an independent brand and business unit.