Ripple just closed a massive $500 million funding round that tripled its valuation to $40 billion from $11.3 billion. The round was led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, with big names like Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital jumping in. XRP immediately popped over 5% to $2.29 on the news.
What makes this interesting is Ripple didn’t actually need the money; they’ve got a solid balance sheet already. But CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the overwhelming investor interest shows how much confidence there is in blockchain’s future in finance.
The cash is going toward expanding their stablecoin business, specifically RLUSD, which launched last year and is now the 11th largest stablecoin with about a $1 billion market cap. They’re also building out custody services, prime brokerage, and treasury management tools for institutional clients.
Ripple’s been on an acquisition spree lately, dropping $1.25 billion on Hidden Road and $1 billion on GTreasury. They’ve completed six acquisitions in two years to beef up their technology stack for institutional customers.
The timing’s perfect too; the SEC just dismissed their case last month, clearing major regulatory overhang. Plus, the GENIUS Act created a friendlier regulatory environment for stablecoins. Ripple’s already partnering with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to pilot RLUSD for stablecoin-based card settlements.
President Monica Long said this positions them to grab a bigger chunk of the trillion-dollar stablecoin market.
Conclusion
Ripple raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation led by Fortress and Citadel, tripling prior value to fund stablecoin RLUSD expansion and custody services as XRP surged 5% to $2.29.
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