South Korea's digital asset custodian BDACS has officially launched institutional custody support for XRP on August 7, 2025. This move, a result of a partnership with Ripple Labs initiated in February 2025, provides financial institutions with a secure and regulated avenue for XRP access. The integration of Ripple Custody, announced via BDACS's X account, signifies a new phase for institutional involvement with XRP in South Korea and aligns with the nation's embrace of digital asset innovation. BDACS has also integrated with major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit, ensuring the compliant rollout of XRP services on prominent trading platforms.
This initiative supports the South Korean Financial Services Commission's (FSC) strategy to encourage institutional participation in digital assets. The FSC is developing a digital asset framework, with plans to approve spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the latter half of 2025 and to relax regulations for won-based stablecoins. This approach aims to deepen digital asset integration into the financial system. The availability of regulated XRP custody in South Korea is significant, given XRP's popularity, often surpassing Bitcoin and Ethereum in daily trading volumes on exchanges like Upbit. This existing demand highlights the importance of regulated custody solutions for further growth. Ripple's partnership with BDACS also includes support for Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD, and aims to strengthen the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem. The global crypto custody market is projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030, with tokenized assets expected to form a substantial part of global GDP. BDACS's XRP custody integration positions South Korea at the forefront of this evolving financial landscape. As of August 7, 2025, XRP was trading around $2.99, showing a slight increase amid growing global institutional interest in digital assets.