Receipts Depositary Corp. (RDC), a startup founded by former Citigroup executives, plans to launch XRP-backed securities, according to CoinDesk.
The move will allow institutions to access XRP through U.S.-regulated market infrastructure.
RDC has not responded to crypto.news’ request for comment.
The news comes about a year after RDC announced the launch of the first-ever Bitcoin depositary receipt (BTC DR), bringing institutional-grade Bitcoin ownership into the regulated U.S. securities ecosystem.
Modeled after American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), BTC DRs allow qualified institutional buyers, or QIBs, to hold and trade Bitcoin using the same infrastructure they use for traditional securities.
The XRP securities will be cleared in much the same way via the Depository Trust Company (DTC).
RDC’s co-founders—Ankit Mehta, Bryant Kim, and Ishaan Narain—each previously worked at Citigroup. The startup is backed by asset manager Franklin Templeton, financial services firm BTIG and venture capital firm Broadhaven Ventures.