Ripple Labs is attempting to raise at least $1 billion to establish a new digital-asset treasury, a type of cryptocurrency fund that will primarily hold XRP, the token closely tied to the company.
A Bloomberg report revealed that Ripple plans to raise the money through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a type of shell company used to take firms public or fund large projects. The plan comes as the broader crypto market continues to recover from last week’s major sell-off.
Ripple is also expected to contribute some of its own XRP to the fund. The company hasn’t commented publicly, and people familiar with the matter said the final terms are still being worked out.
The timing of Ripple’s plan is striking. Crypto markets have been struggling after a major crash linked to the U.S.–China trade tensions. The sell-off erased billions in value, causing massive losses and raising fresh doubts about smaller tokens. Even Bitcoin slipped more than 10% in the last seven-day period and is trading at $108,223.64 at press time, reflecting ongoing investor caution.
Despite the market turmoil, Ripple is moving forward. If completed, the project would be the largest XRP-focused treasury to date.
Ripple moving ahead as others pull back
Alongside its fundraising push, Ripple recently acquired GTreasury, a treasury management software firm, for $1 billion. The deal expands Ripple’s reach into traditional finance and could help it integrate blockchain-based payments into corporate cash systems.
Investor interest in similar crypto treasuries has cooled lately. Shares of large crypto-holding firms such as Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. and Japan’s Metaplanet have dropped sharply in recent months.
Across the crypto world, companies have been slowing down their big Bitcoin buys. According to BitcoinTreasuries, over 300 firms still hold some Bitcoin, but new purchases have dropped off in recent months.
Ripple already controls around 4.74 billion XRP, worth roughly $11 billion, with another 35.9 billion tokens locked in escrow and scheduled for gradual release. At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.32, down 3.64% from the previous day, as per CoinMarketCap data. Ripple’s move stands out as a rare attempt to expand holdings while others remain cautious.
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