Ripple’s recent filing has sparked speculation surrounding custody. The company recently filed a trademark registration for ‘Ripple Custody’, hinting at the launch of a wallet or custodial service.
In its application, the company registered the trademark which suggests downloadable software, financial services, peer to peer services and cloud software that can be used for custody, storage and fiat conversions. “Financial services, namely, custodial services like maintaining storage and possession of cryptocurrency, fiat currency, virtual currency, and digital currency for financial management purposes,” its statement read.
Ripple’s trademark filing sparks speculation
The company’s statement has led to several speculations about what it is trying to achieve. Most times, these filings mean that the company is finalizing plans to launch a product. In 2024, the company filed a trademark for its RLUSD months before it launched its stablecoin of the same name.
Meanwhile, users on X have met the news with different reactions, with Noah Christopher on X believes that Ripple is expanding into custody and payments to boost its adoption, while Faril speculates that the US might rely on Ripple to custody its crypto reserves.
Meanwhile, other users have mentioned that a custody app currently exists on the App Store, with the app primarily used by institutional investors. Ripple launched the app in 2023 after it bought Metaco. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has already received and acknowledged the trademark application but has not assigned it to an examiner. The approval process for a trademark in the US only takes a few months unless it is contested.
While it remains to be seen if Ripple’s custody trademark will mean a custodial service, XRP has been doing well in the crypto market. The token is the only one that has seen greens in the year-to-date among the top 10 digital assets in the market. According to CoinMarketCap, the token is up by 1% despite 10% of its value being shaved off in the past 90 days.
XRP’s positive performance is due to various factors, including the expectation that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will soon drop the lawsuit against Ripple over the token’s status. With the regulator dropping crypto-related actions against Coinbase, Uniswap, and Robinhood, many believe that Ripple is next.