Ripple has released a study suggesting that banks could unlock up to $100 million in additional revenue by integrating digital asset services with specialized custody infrastructure. The research, conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), focuses on regional banks with balance sheets between $200 billion and $300 billion. According to Ripple, custody is evolving into a foundational layer for digital finance, supporting stablecoins, tokenized assets, and blockchain payments as they move beyond pilot phases.
The study highlights that custody now secures over 30% of digital assets when centralized exchange holdings are excluded. Institutions are increasingly prioritizing governance, approval policies, and compatibility with existing financial systems. Security and cryptographic key management remain critical, especially with rising bot and AI activity necessitating stronger transaction authorization controls.
Garanti BBVA Kripto, a subsidiary of Turkish bank Garanti BBVA, exemplifies this trend by combining Ripple Custody with IBM technology to safeguard customer assets. BCG anticipates market consolidation favoring providers that offer modular infrastructure, allowing institutions to integrate components into their existing systems.
Standard Chartered is collaborating with Ripple and LMAX Group to enable Ripple USD ($RLUSD) as eligible trading collateral. The bank opened institutional $RLUSD custody on the XRP Ledger on Oct. 12, with plans to use these holdings to support trading positions at LMAX. Implementation is pending final documentation, testing, regulatory approvals, and jurisdictional readiness.