Two top executives of Swiss-based cryptocurrency custody provider Metaco have reportedly departed the firm less than a year after landing an acquisition deal with blockchain solutions company Ripple.
According to a CoinDesk report citing a Ripple spokesperson, Adrien Treccani, Metaco’s founder and CEO, and CPO Peter DeMeo have left the firm. Metaco is yet to announce the employees who will fill in those roles.
Metaco CEO and CPO Leave Firm
Metaco has not revealed the reason for the departure of its CEO and CPO, but speculators believe the Ripple deal may have raised the need for a leadership transition.
Ripple acquired the custody firm in May 2023 for $250 million, a deal marking the blockchain company’s expansion into the growing institutional crypto custody market. Ripple looked forward to ramping up its enterprise offerings while providing the technology for users to custody, issue, and settle any tokenized assets. Metaco leveraged Ripple’s large customer base and capital to address new client demand.
CryptoPotato reported that Metaco would continue operating independently, with Treccani leading its operations.
“We appreciate the strong and industry-leading custody business that Adrien and his team built, as well as his leadership in integrating the custody team and solution with Ripple following the acquisition last year. Custody remains integral to Ripple’s growing business as we continue to provide best-in-class enterprise crypto solutions for our customers around the world,” commented the Ripple spokesperson.
Metaco’s Partners Reevaluate Pacts
Metaco’s leadership transition comes three months after the firm partnered with HSBC, one of the largest British banks, to introduce a new digital assets custody service for institutional clients invested in tokenized securities. The service, scheduled for launch this year, is expected to complement HSBC’s platform for issuing digital assets.
Over time, Metaco has evolved into a platform, landing partnership deals with major banks. However, reports about these banks reviewing their alliances with the crypto custody firm are emerging.
In June, unidentified sources revealed that multinational investment giant Citigroup was reevaluating its partnership with Metaco and that both firms had started informal talks with other providers. Speculations arose about the reviews resulting from Ripple’s legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but Treccani said such talks were a bit crazy.
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