Vaults Go Institutional: More Than 30% of Digital Assets Use Custody Beyond Exchanges

More than 30% of digital assets, excluding holdings on centralized exchanges, are now held through institutional custody models, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report commissioned by Ripple.

Titled “Beyond Safekeeping: Custody as the Operating Layer Beneath Digital Finance,” the report says that share is continuing to grow amid increased demand. Ripple said on Thursday that custody is no longer just a vault, but an operational layer for digital finance as crypto-tradFi convergence grows.

The report identifies governance, policy controls, interoperability and integration as central considerations for institutions working with digital assets. Under MiCA and the GENIUS Act, security and key management have become requirements.

Banks and financial institutions can boost profit by up to $100 million with the right custody decisions, according to the report. Ripple said financial institutions are increasingly betting not only on crypto assets such as Bitcoin and XRP but also on underlying services such as custody.