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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says he expects banks to start holding crypto assets on behalf of their customers next year.

At the Singapore FinTech Festival 2018, Garlinghouse said regulatory clarity and the opportunity to make money will drive banks and financial institutions to store digital assets like XRP for their customers.

“I think one of the things that will surprise us a year from now is that banks will be custodying digital assets directly.

And I think right now, we think about that and think there’s no way that’s going to happen – they’re too conservative. And I think what you’re seeing is two things happening. One is, banks are seeing that a lot of money is being made by digital asset exchanges globally, and banks are profit motivated.

The second, and as we’ve talked about and Ross made very clear, is regulatory clarity and regulatory frameworks allow banks and financial institutions to lean into these markets.”

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According to Garlinghouse, the first banks to offer crypto custody will be members of the Association of South Eastern Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“I also predict it will be banks in the ASEAN markets, where there is this regulatory clarity and there is a lot of progressive, forward thinking. They will be the first to actually allow for crypto assets custody in their accounts.”

ASEAN is an economic alliance between Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It was created in 1967 to focus on boosting economic growth and social progress in the region.

Image via Jason Baker/Flickr