BDACS, a licensed cryptocurrency custodian for South Korea's institutional market, has announced custody support for XRP and Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD. This marks the first tangible outcome of a collaboration initially unveiled in February 2024. BDACS emphasized XRP's status as one of South Korea's most widely held digital assets, enabling institutions to securely engage with it through Ripple's institutional-grade custody platform.
The service integrates with major Korean exchanges—Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit—providing seamless access to XRP across the country's most liquid trading venues. BDACS noted the partnership aligns with South Korea's Financial Services Commission regulatory roadmap, designed to accelerate institutional crypto adoption. The custodian also aims to drive innovation on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) for tokenization and stablecoin use cases.
Citing market research predicting crypto custody could manage $16 trillion in assets by 2030 (with tokenized assets representing 10% of global GDP), Ripple's Asia-Pacific managing director Fiona Murray highlighted growing institutional demand amid evolving regulations. BDACS CEO Harry Ryoo stated: "We provide secure custody to support Ripple’s blockchain initiatives, enhancing the digital asset ecosystem."
This development follows XRP's recent surge to a $3.60 all-time high—a 500% rally since the US elections—though some analysts caution that overwhelmingly positive media coverage, like a controversial USA Today article labeling XRP a "former meme coin," historically precedes market corrections.