Ripple is still fighting the SEC in court over the question of whether XRP is a security or not. While it is expected that the lawsuit will come to an end this year, the company is making big moves on the international market. Recently the company acquired Metaco, one of the big players in institutional custody solutions for digital assets. The deal fits perfectly into the bigger picture. Ripple has always focused on providing solutions for international payments and remittances. Solutions that are meant for institutional customers and not retail clients.

What is Metaco, and why is its acquisition so important for Ripple?

Metaco offers custody solutions 

Metaco provides digital custody solutions for institutional customers, such as banks, investment funds, exchanges, or companies that fall under the umbrella term fintech. The company is situated in Switzerland.

Ripple bought Metaco for $250 million and is now the company's sole shareholder. Its core product, Harmonize, provides access to dozens of blockchains and their native digital assets. It is a gateway for corporate structures to blockchain-driven technologies like DeFi, Web3, and cryptocurrencies.

The XRP Ledger is open and public, but Ripple is building platforms and solutions on top of that technology. Both companies have perfect synergy because these solutions are built for institutional customers.

Ripple plans a CBDC platform

Yesterday, Ripple announced its very own CBDC platform. The press release says the platform will be built on a private ledger. This ledger is still underpinned by XRPL'S technology. Over 90% of the countries are looking into CBDC; some have been active in this field for several years. China even introduced a digital central bank currency in 2020 as a pilot.

Ripple wants to explore new options by becoming an infrastructure provider for CBDCs. This is where Metaco comes into play. Along with Ripple's distributed ledger technology, it already has a set of products and solutions offering easy access to Ripple's DLT products.

It remains to be seen if countries will opt for a private company to handle their digital currency. Several nations and their central banks have started experimenting with CBDC by adopting technologies or developing their own, including the EU and the ECB. While the XRP token plays no role in these plans, the market reacted positively to both news. XRP gained over 8% in price this week. 

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