Ifeanyi Jesse 
Ripple Acquires Metaco for $250 Million
Ripple aims to grow its foreign reach with Metaco deal
Ripple announced on May 17 that it had bought Metaco, a Swiss company that stores digital assets like cryptocurrency for clients. With this purchase, the company wants to grow its foreign reach and offer a broader range of services. Ripple has put about $250 million of its own money into the deal to make it happen. Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, said to CNBC,
“This is the largest deal we’ve seen in the last year.”
Garlinghouse also used Twitter to welcome Metaco and its CEO, Adrien Treccani, on board. With this purchase, Ripple has moved into the security business. The blockchain company will now be able to help customers with technology that will help them send, settle, and release any tokenized asset. Garlinghouse called this “massive” and said in the official release,
“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.”
https://twitter.com/bgarlinghouse/status/1658807933260660742?s=20
Time to play offense
The crypto business is still recovering from the winter. Garlinghouse said that now is a time when other companies are “closing their doors” or letting people go. The purchase of Metaco is a “significant signal” for the industry in this situation. The CEO of Ripple also said,
“It’s also a signal that Ripple’s in a strong position—we’re going to play offense.”
Garlinghouse also said he is “incredibly bullish” about Ripple’s future. This new purchase is a step that will help the blockchain company reach its long-term goals and increase the usefulness of crypto.
Coming out of one of the coldest crypto winters yet, I’m incredibly bullish about Ripple’s trajectory. Every day we’re thinking about the long-term opportunity of crypto utility, putting our money/minds behind that mission, and partnering with folks who share that vision. 3/3
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) May 17, 2023
Garlinghouse says that Metaco is a “good fit” from a strategy point of view. Several well-known financial companies are clients of the crypto custody business. Citi, BNP Paribas, BBVA, and Societe Generale are all the same way. Ripple said in its official release that the growing market for institutional crypto custody is expected to hit “a staggering” $10 trillion by 2030.
Metaco’s Treccani says that this deal will allow his company to “leverage Ripple’s scale and market strength” to reach its goals faster and give its clients more value.
📢 Today, we announce that Metaco becomes part of @Ripple, joining forces in providing exceptional mission-critical software infrastructure solutions that empower institutions to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital asset economy.
To learn more: https://t.co/U68za92n6o pic.twitter.com/scPwNrYfQi— Metaco (@metaco_sa) May 17, 2023