Ripple to Buy Swiss Crypto Custody Provider Metaco for $250 Million

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FOX Business senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino and attorney John Deaton weigh in on the Security and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against cryptocurrency firm Ripple on “The Claman Countdown.”

US cryptocurrency firm Ripple announced on Wednesday that it is buying crypto custody firm Metaco for $250 million.

The deal marks the first major acquisition for Ripple. More than half of the $250 million acquisition was paid for in cash and the rest in equity, Ripple said.

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Metaco manufactures technology that enables financial institutions to store and manage digital assets. Its clients include Citi, BNP Paribas and the digital assets arm of Societe Generale.

Brad Garlinghouse, Managing Director of Ripple Labs Inc., attends a panel discussion at the Singapore FinTech Festival. Photographer: Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“Metaco’s arrival is monumental to our growing product line and expanding global footprint,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement.

Investor interest in crypto assets has plummeted since a fall in cryptocurrency prices in 2022 and a series of collapses at major crypto companies, including US exchange FTX.

Investors have also become increasingly cautious about where and how crypto assets are stored, after crypto platforms froze withdrawals, leaving them facing heavy losses.

As U.S. regulators step up enforcement action against crypto firms, Garlinghouse said Metaco being based in Switzerland, with non-U.S. employees, has added to the company’s allure.

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Ripple is privately owned and is the sixth largest cryptocurrency in the world, with approximately $23 billion in coins in circulation, according to market tracker CoinGecko.

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Reuters contributed to this report.

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