Ripple Acquires Fortress Trust Used by Swan Bitcoin

• "The news comes after a busy summer of deal-making for Ripple, which splashed $250 million to snap up Swiss custody startup Metaco in May and also acquired a stake in Bitstamp."
• The terms of today's deal have not been disclosed but 'a person with knowledge' told CoinDesk that the price was less than $250 million paid for Metaco.
• "The acquisition adds Nevada to Ripple's list of regulatory licenses, which includes a New York BitLicense and money transmitter licenses in 30 U.S. states."

“As an early investor in Fortress Blockchain Technologies, we’ve had a chance to get to know the team, its vision and technology. Since their launch in 2021, they’ve built an impressive business with recurring revenue and a strong roster of both crypto-native and new-to-crypto customers,” said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

• "Fortress Trust, which provides financial and regulatory structure for blockchain companies, was formed by Scott Purcell, who has a long history in the industry. He was CEO of crypto custodian Prime Trust until 2020."
• The acquisition may put one of the more popular Bitcoin-only businesses Swan Bitcoin into uncomfortable situation yet again. The firm has already been forced to shift custodians earlier this year, prior to the collapse of now-defunct digital asset custodian, Prime Trust.

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