Ripple Expands Custody Offerings With Ethereum and Solana Staking
By: Eva Baxter
In a significant development for institutional investors, Ripple has announced that its custody service will now support staking for Ethereum and Solana, thanks to a partnership with Figment, a staking infrastructure provider. This expansion marks a strategic move by Ripple to offer more comprehensive asset servicing features, as larger investors are increasingly demanding such options to maximize their yield potential while keeping operations within their governance frameworks. Ripple's collaboration with Figment ensures that duties are clearly delineated, providing operational assurance and an auditable framework that meets the high standards of institutional buyers. This move is particularly relevant for banks, custodians, and regulated asset managers who look for staking yield without the need to directly handle staking operations.
While Ripple's custody service broadens to include popular proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum and Solana, this shift also highlights what XRP, the native token of Ripple, does not currently offer: protocol-level staking rewards. This absence is of interest to institutional clients who compare crypto servicing to securities lending or cash yields. Despite this gap, XRP remains a preferred asset for institutional allocations, underscoring its substantial position within the Ripple ecosystem despite not providing on-chain yield via its native mechanics.
In terms of investment trends, recent data reveals that XRP is currently leading in attracting institutional inflows, even as large outflows are recorded from Bitcoin. According to reports, XRP investment products saw $63.1 million in inflows last week, surpassing both Solana and Ethereum. Interestingly, XRP's market price has not reacted positively to these strong inflows, reflecting broader liquidity constraints and market pressures. In the backdrop, Bitcoin's ongoing outflows are putting systemic pressure on the market, further complicating the situation for XRP's price recovery.
Ripple's future roadmap positions XRP and the XRP Ledger as key components of its institutional DeFi strategy. This dual approach allows institutions to benefit from staking yields in a controlled environment while utilizing XRPL for its speed and programmability. Ripple aims to bridge institutional custody with DeFi solutions by leveraging XRP for reserve requirements and transactional flows, while also planning to integrate features that facilitate tokenized finance. As Ripple continues to expand its custody offerings, its focus remains on enhancing XRP's role within its broader fintech and DeFi ambitions, preparing for an eventual regulatory and market environment that is ready for comprehensive institutional participation.
