According to Ripple executives, the foundation of institutional adoption of digital assets, including stablecoins and tokenized assets, lies in secure and reliable custody solutions. Rahul Advani, Global Co-Head of Policy at Ripple, and Caren Tso, Asia-Pacific Policy Manager, emphasized that custody has become a critical entry point for enterprises seeking to scale their digital finance operations. They cited a recent report by Ripple and the Boston Consulting Group, which projects that tokenized real-world assets could reach $18.9 trillion by 2033. Additionally, Ripple's survey found that over half of the firms in the Asia Pacific region plan to adopt custody solutions within the next three years.
The executives outlined four key principles for effective custody design: a compliance-by-design approach, tailored custody models, operational resilience, and robust governance. They also highlighted the importance of integrating custody infrastructure with smart contracts, tokenized documents, and automated compliance to create a scalable and interoperable digital financial system.