South Korean crypto custodian BDACS has officially launched institutional XRP custody South Korea, marking a major milestone in its partnership with Ripple. This new service enable regulated institutions across Korea to securely store and move XRP in compliance with evolving local regulations.
2. What Is the BDACS–Ripple Custody Partnership?
In February, Ripple and BDACS agreed to roll out institutional-grade custody for XRP and Ripple’s enterprise stablecoin, RLUSD. Now live, the service uses Ripple Custody, an enterprise-grade infrastructure designed for compliance and security in institutional asset management.
3. Aligning with South Korea’s Regulatory Framework
This launch supports the Financial Services Commission’s roadmap for institutional crypto adoption in Korea. Unlike previous dependence on foreign custodians, BDACS now enables compliant, local custody directly within South Korea.
4. Institutional Capabilities & Network Integration
BDACS custody is integrated with top Korean exchanges, including Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit, allowing institutions to deploy XRP seamlessly across regulated trading platforms.
Institutions like banks, investment firms, and OTC desks can now securely acquire, store, and transact XRP—all with regulatory oversight.
5. XRP’s Relevance in Korea
In South Korea, XRP is the most traded cryptocurrency and it comprises about 20 percent of the trading amount in the Korean exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb. Its introduction to the market through institutional custody also makes it useful to the corporate and investment stakeholders.
6. Strategic Implications & Ecosystem Growth
BDACS’s integration supports broader XRPL use cases—like tokenization, RLUSD adoption, and XRPL development zones such as in Busan’s blockchain sandbox. Ripple estimated that global crypto custody assets could reach $16 trillion by 2030, with tokenized assets representing roughly 10% of global GDP.
7. Benefits for Institutions
Institutional clients gain:
- Enterprise-grade custody with multi-sig and compliance controls.
- Local custodial access, reducing reliance on international service providers.
- Seamless deployment of XRP on regulated platforms with AML/KYC compliance.
8. Risks & Considerations
- Ripple and BDACS will have to wrangle possible regulatory oversight, in the domain of token classification and privacy regulations.
- Institutions should ensure BDACS’ AML/KYC and reporting standards meet internal compliance policies.
- Crypto market volatility may impact initial adoption rates and price stability.
9. Outlook: What’s Next?
- Expect more XRPL-based enterprise solutions in Busan’s blockchain zone via RLUSD adoption and tokenization protocols.
- Enhanced XRP custody options could boost investor confidence and expand institutional participation in Ripple-based applications.
- Future developments, such as RippleNet expansion or token pairing with Korean banks, may further legitimize institutional XRP use.
10. Conclusion
The announcement of institutional XRP custody in South Korea by BDACS on top of the Ripple Custody platform marks a new standard when it comes to regulated crypto asset services. Not only is this partnership provider of XRP with more institutional access in Korea, but it also affirms Ripleigh in its strategic expansion efforts in Asia as the digital asset market grows. Banks and other financial institutions with exposure to XRP currently have a compliant secure and local solution- the road to wider acceptance and integration has begun.