Metaco

History and founding

Let’s rewind the blockchain clock to a world before institutional crypto custody was sexy — yes, that world existed. Back then, securing digital assets was like storing gold bars under your mattress: risky, inefficient, and definitely not scalable. Enter Metaco. Founded in 2015 in Lausanne, Switzerland — home of cheese, mountains, and now, elite digital asset custody — Metaco emerged as a response to the growing need for secure, institutional-grade solutions in blockchain finance. The founding team, a mix of cryptographic minds and fintech veterans, wasn’t just ahead of the curve — they were helping draw it.

In the early days, Metaco focused on solving one of crypto’s most unsexy but mission-critical problems: custody. While everyone else was moon-gazing and whitepaper-hyping, Metaco was building the infrastructure that would quietly power the future of digital asset management. Their goal? Make it possible for banks, asset managers, and financial institutions to hold crypto with the same confidence they had in traditional assets — minus the cold sweat and hardware wallet anxiety.

What made Metaco stand out in a crowded space wasn’t just its Swiss pedigree (though that helped). It was the company’s deep commitment to security, modular architecture, and regulatory alignment. At a time when many crypto startups were dodging regulators like dodgeballs in gym class, Metaco took the opposite route — embracing compliance and building trust with Tier 1 banks. This strategy paid off, and by 2020, Metaco had partnered with some of the largest financial institutions in Europe and Asia.

From the beginning, Metaco’s flagship platform, Harmonize, positioned the firm as a foundational layer in blockchain finance. Unlike other custody providers that relied on off-the-shelf security, Harmonize offered customizable, policy-driven asset orchestration — think of it as a Swiss army knife for digital asset custody. Whether clients wanted to manage XRP, Bitcoin, Ethereum, or tokenized securities, Harmonize could be tailored to fit their exact operational and regulatory needs.

Now, fast forward to May 2023 — when Ripple, the enterprise blockchain juggernaut behind XRP, dropped a cool 0 million to acquire Metaco. Why? Because Ripple wasn’t just buying a custody firm — it was acquiring the future of institutional crypto infrastructure. By bringing Metaco under its umbrella, Ripple instantly supercharged its ability to offer secure, compliant, and scalable custody solutions for XRP and beyond. This wasn’t just a strategic acquisition; it was a bold move designed to position Ripple as the go-to platform for financial institutions navigating the digital asset economy.

The acquisition also signaled a seismic shift in how Ripple approaches its mission. No longer content with just facilitating cross-border payments, Ripple is now building the rails for the entire digital asset lifecycle — custody, tokenization, compliance, and settlement. And with Metaco’s proven track record in serving banks and regulated entities, the merger wasn’t just logical — it was inevitable.

Of course, the real winners here are XRP holders and blockchain finance stakeholders. With Ripple now equipped with Metaco’s institutional-grade tech stack, XRP’s utility just got a serious upgrade. We’re talking about a future where banks can securely hold and manage XRP as part of their core operations — not just speculate on it. That’s a game-changer for liquidity, adoption, and long-term value.

Understanding Metaco and Its Impact on XRP

Metaco’s integration into Ripple’s ecosystem isn’t just a headline — it’s a structural evolution. For XRP, this means enhanced legitimacy in the eyes of institutional players who need more than just a whitepaper and a dream. With Metaco’s infrastructure, Ripple can offer custody solutions that meet the same compliance and security standards as traditional finance. This is critical for XRP adoption in sectors like banking, asset management, and tokenized finance — where trust and security are non-negotiable.

By leveraging Metaco’s Harmonize platform, Ripple can now provide a seamless experience for institutions looking to hold, manage, and transact with XRP and other digital assets. This opens the door for XRP to play a larger role in:

• Cross-border payments — with institutional custody, banks can settle transactions using XRP with full regulatory confidence.
• Tokenization of real-world assets — secure custody is essential for managing tokenized bonds, equities, and commodities.
• Liquidity provisioning — custody integration allows institutions to offer XRP as part of their trading and liquidity stack.

For years, XRP has been positioned as the bridge currency for the internet of value. But until now, there was a missing piece: custody infrastructure that financial institutions could actually use without pulling their hair out. Metaco fills that gap. And with Ripple’s global reach and institutional relationships, the synergy between the two is already reshaping how digital assets like XRP are perceived and used in the real world.

At XRPAuthority.com, we’ve been tracking this evolution closely. The acquisition of Metaco isn’t just a win for Ripple — it’s a validation of XRP’s long-term strategy. The next chapter of blockchain finance is being written right now, and XRP is no longer just along for the ride. It’s driving the bus.

Products and services

If Harmonize sounds like the name of a meditation app, think again — this platform is all business, and it’s got the cryptographic chops to back it up. Harmonize is Metaco’s flagship product, and it’s not just another digital asset custody solution. It’s a full-stack orchestration layer that allows institutions to securely store, govern, and manage digital assets — from XRP and Bitcoin to tokenized equities and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). What makes Harmonize so powerful is its modularity. Institutions can integrate it with their existing infrastructure, customize workflows, and enforce multi-layered governance policies, all while staying compliant with local and international regulations.

Metaco’s product suite doesn’t stop at custody. It offers a comprehensive digital asset management framework that includes everything from key management and transaction orchestration to policy enforcement and auditability. In a world where one wrong move can lead to multimillion-dollar losses (looking at you, DeFi exploits), Metaco’s emphasis on secure, policy-driven operations is exactly what banks and asset managers have been begging for. And now that this tech is under Ripple’s wing, it’s primed to take XRP from speculative asset to institutional staple.

Let’s break down what makes Metaco’s services so appealing to Ripple and, by extension, the broader blockchain finance ecosystem:

• Multi-asset support: Harmonize isn’t exclusive to XRP — it’s blockchain-agnostic, meaning institutions can manage a wide range of digital assets through a single interface.
• Regulatory-grade compliance: Built with financial institutions in mind, Metaco’s platform supports everything from Know Your Customer (KYC) to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols.
• Institutional scalability: Harmonize is built to handle enterprise-grade volumes and transaction throughput, making it ideal for global banks and fintechs entering the digital asset space.
• Integration-ready architecture: With robust APIs and plug-and-play modules, Metaco’s solutions can integrate with core banking systems, trading desks, and digital asset exchanges.

And here’s the kicker — Metaco’s services are cloud-agnostic and support both on-premise and hybrid deployment models. That means a Tier 1 bank in Frankfurt or a fintech startup in Singapore can tailor their custody setup without sacrificing performance or compliance. In an industry where one-size-fits-all rarely fits anyone, this flexibility is a major differentiator.

For Ripple, this is more than just a tech upgrade — it’s a strategic enabler. Now, Ripple can offer end-to-end digital asset custody services directly to its institutional clients, turning XRP into a natively supported asset within a secure, enterprise-grade custody environment. This opens the floodgates for new XRP use cases in lending, staking, settlement, and beyond. Imagine a world where a multinational bank can tokenize real estate, settle trades, and manage XRP reserves — all on one seamless platform. That’s not a fantasy anymore. That’s Metaco, powered by Ripple.

Partnerships and collaborations

Metaco’s rise to prominence wasn’t just powered by Swiss engineering and cryptographic wizardry — it was also fueled by a strategic web of partnerships that reads like a who’s-who of global finance. Before Ripple swooped in with a 0 million acquisition, Metaco had already inked deals with some of the biggest names in banking and fintech. We’re talking about legacy institutions that don’t exactly jump into crypto bedfellows lightly. So, what convinced these conservative giants to trust a relatively young blockchain firm based in Lausanne? It was Metaco’s laser focus on security, compliance, and seamless integration with traditional systems.

Among its most notable collaborations, Metaco partnered with Standard Chartered, BBVA, DZ Bank, and Citibank — yes, that Citibank — to build and deploy institutional digital asset custody solutions. These weren’t just pilot programs or PR stunts. These were deep, infrastructure-level integrations that enabled banks to custody digital assets like XRP, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and tokenized securities. In the case of UnionBank of the Philippines, Metaco helped launch one of Asia’s first bank-led crypto custody platforms, paving the way for greater financial inclusion and digital asset adoption in emerging markets.

Let’s be real — when a Tier 1 bank trusts you with its crypto custody stack, that’s not just a handshake deal. That’s regulatory review, penetration testing, internal audits, and enough due diligence to make a lawyer faint. The fact that Metaco passed these tests again and again speaks volumes about the robustness of its tech — and why Ripple saw it as a crown jewel worth acquiring.

• Standard Chartered: Worked with Metaco to explore digital asset custody infrastructure for institutional clients, particularly in Asia and the Middle East.
• BBVA: Integrated Metaco’s Harmonize to launch crypto trading and custody services in Switzerland — a major signal to the European market.
• Citibank: Tapped Metaco as part of its digital asset custody pilot, reinforcing Metaco’s credibility among U.S. financial giants.
• UnionBank: Leveraged Metaco’s platform to become the first Philippine bank to offer regulated crypto custody, showing Harmonize’s adaptability in emerging markets.

Now with Ripple at the helm, these partnerships have an entirely new dimension. Imagine Citibank not just experimenting with custody, but actively integrating XRP into its cross-border settlement systems. Or Standard Chartered using Ripple’s liquidity hub, enhanced by Metaco, to offer tokenized real estate and commodity trading. These aren’t pipe dreams — they’re plausible next steps in a rapidly evolving digital finance landscape.

Ripple’s acquisition of Metaco isn’t just about bolstering its tech stack — it’s about inheriting a Rolodex of top-tier institutional clients already operating in the digital asset realm. This gives Ripple a direct line into corridors of power that most crypto firms can only dream of. And for XRP, it means increased visibility, utility, and trust within the very institutions that will define the future of global finance.

At XRPAuthority.com, we see every one of these partnerships as a validation of the XRP ecosystem’s strategic trajectory. Metaco didn’t just build bridges — it laid down highways. And now, with Ripple in the driver’s seat, XRP is ready to cruise straight into the heart of institutional finance.

Regulatory compliance and security

When it comes to crypto, there’s one elephant always in the server room — regulation. You can have the best tech, the fastest transactions, or the most passionate community (shoutout to the XRP Army), but if your custody solution doesn’t pass regulatory muster, you’re just spinning your blockchain wheels. This is exactly where Metaco shines. Long before it aligned with Ripple, Metaco built its reputation on a foundation of regulatory alignment and fortress-grade security — two things that make institutional investors sleep better at night.

Metaco’s approach to compliance isn’t reactive — it’s proactive. The Harmonize platform was designed from the ground up to meet the rigorous demands of global financial regulators. We’re talking built-in support for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and transaction monitoring protocols. That’s not just a checkbox exercise — it’s a critical requirement for any financial institution looking to manage XRP or any other crypto asset under the scrutiny of regulatory bodies like FINMA, the SEC, or the European Central Bank.

From a security standpoint, Metaco doesn’t mess around. Its custody architecture is based on a zero-trust model with end-to-end encryption, hardware security modules (HSMs), and multi-party computation (MPC). Translation for the non-cypherpunks among us: your assets — whether it’s XRP, tokenized bonds, or stablecoins — are protected by cryptographic layers that would make Fort Knox look like a garden shed. This is why global banks have been willing to entrust Metaco with their digital asset strategies. And now that Ripple owns this tech, it’s XRP that benefits from the security halo.

• Regulatory-first design: Metaco’s platform aligns with both local and international financial regulations, ensuring institutions can operate without legal landmines.
• Advanced key management: Harmonize supports secure key generation, storage, and usage — with full audit trails for compliance reporting.
• Real-time policy enforcement: Institutions can define granular access policies, approval workflows, and transaction limits, all enforced in real-time.
• Penetration-tested and certified: Independent audits and certifications ensure Metaco’s infrastructure meets the highest standards for operational security.

But let’s not forget the bigger picture. As Ripple positions itself as a full-stack infrastructure provider for blockchain finance, compliance and security are no longer just features — they’re prerequisites. Without them, XRP can’t be deployed in institutional-grade environments. With Metaco, Ripple doesn’t just check those boxes — it turns them into competitive advantages. Suddenly, a bank in London or a hedge fund in Tokyo can custody and transact in XRP without having to worry about regulatory backlash or security breaches. That’s not just a win — that’s a strategic moat.

And let’s be real — in today’s regulatory climate, crypto firms don’t get a free pass. The SEC is on a mission, the EU’s MiCA framework is rolling out, and regulators across Asia are tightening the screws. Ripple’s acquisition of Metaco is a signal to the entire industry that it’s not just playing by the rules — it’s helping write them. For XRP investors, that means more than just price charts and moon memes. It means real-world adoption, regulatory clarity, and long-term resilience.

If you’re serious about understanding how all these pieces fit together — from XRP’s evolving role in global finance to the architecture that makes it possible — you’re in the right place. At XRPAuthority.com, we break down the tech, the trends, and the truth behind Ripple’s strategy. The future of digital finance isn’t just coming — it’s already being built, and XRP is at the center of it. Buckle up.