Ripple CTO Says PolySign Deal Wasn’t a Good Fit

According to David Schwartz, PolySign and Ripple have divergent roadmaps that lead in different directions.

David Schwartz, the CTO of Ripple, recently addressed the growing inquiries posed by members of the XRP community regarding Ripple’s choice to forge a partnership with Metaco, a competitor to PolySign, instead of PolySign itself. These questions have risen due to Ripple’s deep ties with PolySign.

Recall that, as previously reported by The Crypto Basic, Ripple recently acquired Metaco, a leading digital asset custody provider based in Switzerland, for $250 million. The move deepened the Silicon Valley firm’s reach into the digital asset custody industry.

However, Metaco’s business line is particularly similar to PolySign’s, another digital asset custody provider with close ties to Ripple. Metaco is perceived as a competitor of PolySign. This has raised questions about why Ripple moved to Metaco instead of PolySign.

In response to these inquiries, Schwartz revealed that Ripple did not consider a PolySign deal suitable due to a misalignment between PolySign’s roadmap and the direction Ripple is heading.

“To some extent, yes. They’re not exact competitors because SC is a custodian, and Metaco is a technology provider. A Ripple/PolySign deal wasn’t as good a fit because PolySign’s roadmap leads in a different direction from Ripple’s,” Schwartz disclosed in a tweet.

To some extent, yes. They're not exact competitors because SC is a custodian and Metaco is a technology provider. A Ripple/PolySign deal wasn't as good a fit because PolySign's roadmap leads in a different direction from Ripple's.

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 17, 2023

David Schwartz has not provided more context on his statement as of press time, creating room for further speculations. Some individuals believe the decision could have been motivated by Ripple’s recent campaign toward a European expansion. It bears mentioning that PolySign is based in the US, while Metaco is in Switzerland.

PolySign’s Ties with Ripple

Although Ripple and PolySign do not have an official partnership, a significant interconnection exists between the two entities due to the presence of shared executives among their ranks.

Notably, PolySign was co-founded by Arthur Britto and David Schwartz in 2018, with Britto currently serving as the company’s president while Schwartz reserves a seat as a board member. Both individuals helped to design the XRP Ledger alongside Jed McCaleb, with Schwartz currently serving as the CTO of Ripple.

There have been talks of a potential synergistic relationship between Ripple and PolySign, but nothing official as of press time. Arthur Portilla, a tax and fintech lawyer, spread speculations that PolySign could partner with Ripple to on-board ODL exchanges. These speculations arose after PolySign applied to be a qualified custodian through Standard Custody, a subsidiary firm.