Ripple has announced the acquisition of crypto custody and wallet firm Palisade to strengthen its institutional offerings. The payments company will integrate Palisade's wallet-as-a-service platform into Ripple Custody, its crypto custody arm designed for banks, fintechs, and corporates.
Ripple president Monica Long stated that corporates are positioned to drive the next major wave of crypto adoption. She noted that major banks have transitioned from observing to actively building in crypto, and corporates now entering the market need trusted, licensed partners with ready-to-use capabilities.
The acquisition marks approximately $4 billion that Ripple has spent acquiring crypto companies, with most of the larger deals occurring this year. Palisade's wallet offering will also integrate into Ripple Payments, the company's cross-border payments service, providing core infrastructure for subscription payments and collection capabilities.
The new tools will serve customers with high-speed use cases, including crypto-to-fiat on- and off-ramps that support multiple blockchains and decentralized finance protocol interactions. Ripple has expanded rapidly following the Securities and Exchange Commission dropping its long-running legal case against the company, quickly moving into trading, stablecoins, and crypto treasury services.
Earlier Monday, Ripple announced that U.S. institutional clients would gain access to over-the-counter transactions of multiple cryptocurrencies through its $1.25 billion acquisition of crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road. That deal was completed in April.
Ripple acquired crypto treasury management system provider GTreasury in October for $1 billion, targeting the growing trend of crypto-holding public companies. The company also acquired stablecoin payments platform Rail in August for $200 million, with that deal expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The firm began operations with two major institutional clients, BitGo and Nonco. Long emphasized that corporations need partners capable of handling the technical and regulatory complexities of crypto integration as they enter the market.