Ripple and BNY expand digital asset custody

By Divya Shah

Why it matters: The partnership signals growing institutional interest in tokenisation and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. By combining digital asset custody, stablecoins and tokenised trade finance, Ripple and BNY are helping create new opportunities for FinTechs operating in payments, asset tokenisation, capital markets and trade finance.

Ripple, a provider of blockchain solutions for traditional and digital finance, expanded its collaboration with BNY to strengthen institutional digital asset custody services and explore new blockchain-based use cases, including tokenised trade finance. 

The partnership combines Ripple’s digital asset infrastructure and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with BNY’s custody, servicing and digital capabilities to support growing institutional demand for digital assets and tokenised financial products. 

Building on BNY’s existing role as the primary reserve custodian for Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, and its custody relationship with Ripple Prime, BNY expanded support for XRP, the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, and RLUSD through its Digital Asset Custody platform. 

The platform is designed to provide institutional clients with secure custody, storage and transfer capabilities for digital assets while operating within the governance, controls and resilience of BNY’s broader servicing framework. 

Monica Long, President of Ripple, said, “With BNY, we’re connecting the necessary components of financial infrastructure on the XRP Ledger so institutions can move from holding digital assets to using them within capital markets and trade finance seamlessly.” 

The expanded collaboration aims to support broader institutional adoption of blockchain technology by enabling clients to use digital assets beyond custody for payments, capital markets activities and trade finance applications. 

Carolyn Weinberg, Chief Innovation and Market Transformation Officer at BNY, said, “Future market infrastructure will deliver connectivity across payments, liquidity, collateral and securities, driven by architected bridges between traditional scaled systems and always-on blockchain technology. In collaboration with Ripple, we are working to shape a more continuous, efficient and resilient financial system, paving the way for broader institutional adoption.” 

As part of the initiative, BNY plans to expand support for tokenised assets and investment products issued on the XRP Ledger as institutional use cases continue to evolve. The bank also intends to work with Ripple to enable clients to mint and redeem RLUSD directly through BNY, supporting more efficient payment, settlement and collateral workflows. 

The companies additionally plan to explore tokenised trade finance solutions on the XRPL. Tokenisation uses blockchain technology to digitally represent assets such as trade receivables, potentially improving distribution, transparency and investor access. 

As an initial step, Ripple and BNY are exploring a supply chain finance initiative with C2FO, a global working capital platform. The project is focused on expanding investor participation in trade finance by leveraging blockchain-enabled infrastructure. 

Ragui Selwanes, President and COO Americas at C2FO, said, “Working with Ripple and BNY and leveraging XRPL, we are excited to explore how a new model for financing approved receivables has the potential to broaden access to capital while preserving the relationships and experience our customers already trust.”