Ripple has announced a significant partnership with Securosys, a Swiss-based cybersecurity firm, and Figment, a prominent staking infrastructure provider for proof-of-stake networks. This collaboration, detailed in a statement released on Monday, February 9, aims to enhance Ripple’s institutional custody platform focused on XRP.
Industry analysts believe this strategic move will simplify the processes banks and custodians face in delivering custody and staking services, alleviating the burden of managing their own validators or key management systems. Ripple has been proactive in fortifying its custody offerings, notably through its acquisition of Palisade, a French-regulated digital asset custody and wallet provider, combined with the incorporation of Chainalysis compliance tools. These enhancements allow regulated institutions to securely handle cryptographic keys, utilizing either on-site or cloud-based Hardware Security Modules (HSMs).
One of the key features of this upgraded custody platform is the ability for users to stake on prominent networks like Ethereum and Solana. The integrated compliance checks that provide real-time monitoring further solidify Ripple’s commitment to security and regulatory adherence.
In its ongoing quest to assert its dominance in the blockchain sector, Ripple has broken down these enhancements into clear objectives, emphasizing that they will facilitate quicker deployment and encourage the launch of institutional custody services. The fintech company aims to expand beyond its core payments business into areas such as custody, treasury, and post-trade services specifically tailored for regulated entities.
Ripple, recognized as a technology firm and digital payment network, provides innovative payment and custody solutions for financial institutions. Notably, it issues the XRP token and recently launched RLUSD, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, in late 2024. This announcement coincided with Ripple’s unveiling of a corporate treasury platform designed to integrate conventional cash management systems with digital asset technologies.
The surge in interest surrounding proof-of-stake technology among institutional players has not gone unnoticed, particularly as the regulatory climate remains uncertain. Figment, which has also strengthened its collaboration with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, introduced new features in October last year, enabling clients of Coinbase Custody and Prime to stake a variety of proof-of-stake assets, including Ether, across several networks like Solana, Sui, Aptos, and Avalanche.
As competition has escalated within the blockchain ecosystem, other firms have also made notable enhancements to their services. Anchorage Digital, which is a leading regulated institutional crypto platform, announced last year the launch of staking support for the Hyperliquid ecosystem, including HYPE staking alongside its established custodial services. This functionality is available via the Singapore-based Anchorage Digital Bank and its self-custody wallet, Porto, with Figment overseeing validator operations.
Lastly, as institutions continue to explore yield generation avenues on proof-of-stake networks, new opportunities have arisen for generating yield from Bitcoin without relying on staking. For instance, Fireblocks, a leading enterprise-grade platform, has signaled its intention to adopt the Stacks blockchain to broaden institutional access to Bitcoin-based lending and yield products.
