Ripple acquires Metaco for USD 250 million

Founded in 2015 in Switzerland, Metaco offers secure custody infrastructure for institutions to scale new business models in the crypto economy. Its primary offering Harmonize is the institutional standard for digital asset custody and tokenization infrastructure, chosen by the world’s largest global custodians, top-tier banks, financial institutions and corporates. Metaco’s technology solutions are currently offered across various jurisdictions, including Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, among others.

Ripple and Metaco share strong crypto DNA, top-tier institutional customers, and a long history of working with regulated entities to create secure enterprise-grade solutions. With this acquisition, Ripple will expand its enterprise offerings, providing customers with the technology to custody, issue, and settle any type of tokenized asset. Metaco will dramatically accelerate its growth trajectory through access to Ripple’s established base of hundreds of customers, capital to address new demand, and resources to continue delivering on its commitment to banking and institutional clients.

“Metaco is a proven leader in institutional digital asset custody with an exceptional executive bench and a truly unmatched customer track record,” said Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. “Through the strength of our balance sheet and financial position, Ripple will continue pressing our advantage in the areas critical to crypto infrastructure. Bringing on Metaco is monumental for our growing product suite and expanding global footprint.”

Adrien Treccani, Founder and CEO at Metaco 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.”

Ripple will become the sole shareholder of Metaco, which will continue to operate as an independent brand and business unit led by Founder and CEO Adrien Treccani. Investors of Metaco included Giesecke+Devrient, Standard Chartered Bank, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Verve, Swisscom, SICPA, Avaloq and Swiss Post.

Best known for its flagship payments products, Ripple was the first company to address the multi-trillion dollar pain points in cross-border payments utilizing blockchain and cryptocurrency. The company focused on solving the hardest problems – such as building blockchain-enabled payments infrastructure from the ground up – before expanding its product offerings to address new use cases like liquidity management and tokenization, including Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Today, Ripple serves hundreds of customers in over 55 countries and 6 continents with payout capabilities in 70+ markets.

(Press release / SK)