Blockchain payments company Ripple has raised $500 million in new equity funding, valuing the firm at $40 billion. The investment round was led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, with participation from Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace.
“This investment reflects both Ripple’s incredible momentum and further validation of the market opportunity we’re aggressively pursuing,” Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s chief executive officer said in the press release.
He explained that Ripple started in 2012 with one goal, which is to make payments faster and cheaper, but has since expanded into new areas like stablecoins, custody, and prime brokerage using its XRP Ledger.
Growth Through Acquisitions
Ripple said the fresh funds would help accelerate its growth and expand its partnerships with institutional clients worldwide. The company recently completed a $1 billion tender offer at the same valuation.
Its main payment system, called Ripple Payments, now handles more than $95 billion in transaction volume. The company’s stablecoin, RLUSD, has also grown quickly since it launched less than a year ago. According to CoinMarketCap, the stablecoin has crossed a $1 billion market capitalization in less than a year, and is also being used as collateral in Ripple Prime, the firm’s institutional brokerage platform.
Over the past two years, the company has bought six companies to strengthen its business. These include custody provider Metaco, stablecoin firm Rail, and treasury management company GTreasury. These purchases have helped Ripple expand from a payments company into a full financial services platform.
Garlinghouse said Ripple’s progress has been supported by strong regulatory efforts with 75 regulatory licenses around the world.
Major step following global stablecoin trend
The country’s new framework is similar to what the United States has already done when it passed the GENIUS Act into law. Moreover, it has also become a global trend. Europe already has the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation in place, while Japan and South Korea are building their own systems.
Meanwhile, reports from Keyrock and Latin American exchange Bitso, said that the stablecoin market could hit $1 trillion in 2030.
Also Read: Canada Introduces Federal Stablecoin Rules in 2025 Budget
