Ripple Highlights Custody Services as 37 Banks Prepare Euro Stablecoin

Key Takeaways

Ripple Outlines Custody and Governance Requirements

Ripple highlighted its custody services on Nov. 9 as it examined bank custody requirements for Qivalis’ planned euro stablecoin. The company cited existing clients, including BBVA and DZ BANK, and described how banks would need to safeguard client holdings, enforce operational controls, and connect digital assets with existing systems. It placed those functions within its broader services spanning issuance, custody, governance, settlement, and redemption.

Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s vice president and managing director, stated:

“Now that the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA) is established across Europe, the region’s banks are emboldened to launch the digital asset offerings that their customers are asking for.”

Individual banks could retain custody or delegate it to another provider, Ripple explained. Its technology connects with banking software through application programming interfaces, which let systems exchange data and instructions. Software-defined policies, or rules enforced by software, govern access, approvals, separation of duties, and jurisdictional controls.

BBVA and DZ BANK Illustrate Different Custody Uses

BBVA’s custody agreement with Ripple supported bitcoin and ether services for retail customers in Spain. Ripple said the bank retained control of its cryptographic keys and responsibility for protecting client assets. The relationship also extends to custody operations in Switzerland and Turkey.

DZ BANK, a German cooperative banking group’s central institution, selected Metaco’s custody platform for institutional digital asset services. Metaco is a Swiss custody technology provider acquired by Ripple in 2023. The German bank sought to handle crypto securities under the country’s Electronic Securities Act within established capital-market processes.

The Nov. 9 assessment described integration with DZ BANK’s existing asset-management and custody operations. One early application involved a Siemens tokenized bond held by DZ BANK and Union Investment, a German asset manager. The examples covered retail crypto holdings and institutional securities, illustrating different uses for Ripple’s technology.

Qivalis Prepares Issuance Following Dutch Authorization

Qivalis, an Amsterdam-based joint venture, expanded to 37 member banks across 15 countries after adding 25 institutions in May. Participants include ING, BNP Paribas, BBVA, and DZ BANK. Its planned token would support payments, settlement, and tokenized assets, which digitally represent assets recorded on a blockchain.

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, granted Qivalis authorization as an electronic money institution. Its register of authorized activities lists issuance, distribution, and redemption permissions effective Oct. 13. The license places Qivalis under ongoing DNB supervision.

The venture plans a full-reserve stablecoin model, with each token backed 1:1 by reserves. Qivalis would handle issuance and redemption under its own authorizations and technology. Individual institutions would determine their customer custody arrangements, including whether to retain custody or use another provider.

In its Oct. 14 announcement, Qivalis outlined planned issuance within the following months, subject to applicable Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation requirements and publication of its white paper. Distribution would run through eligible banks, exchanges, payment providers, and financial market infrastructure participants.