Ripple (XRP) has announced a significant funding milestone, securing $500 million in a round led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, with participation from Pantera Capital among others. This investment values the company at an impressive $40 billion. CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed enthusiasm about the funding, describing it as the “cherry on top” of a productive year for Ripple.
In a post on X, Garlinghouse emphasized the implications of the investment, framing it as not just a validation of Ripple’s evolving growth strategy but also as a testament to the future potential of the cryptocurrency landscape. The fundraising efforts are intended to bolster Ripple’s focus on custody solutions, stablecoins, and prime brokerage services, which the company identifies as areas of increasing institutional demand, particularly amidst the shifting regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies in the United States.
Ripple’s commitment to strengthening its payments infrastructure has been evident, especially since the passage of the GENIUS Act in July. Earlier this year, the company acquired Rail, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, which has allowed the integration of Ripple USD (RLUSD) alongside XRP into a streamlined cross-border payments solution. Additionally, the acquisition of GTreasury in October has equipped institutions with the means to manage substantial treasury payments and collateral using both stablecoins and digital assets.
The recent acquisition of Hidden Road—now referred to as Ripple Prime—marks a pivotal moment for the company. Ripple Prime has already integrated RLUSD as collateral, yielding remarkable growth metrics post-acquisition: client collateral has reportedly doubled, average daily transactions have exceeded 60 million, and the business has seen a threefold expansion. Ripple is also looking to expand Ripple Prime into collateralized lending for XRP.
As it stands, Ripple has processed over $95 billion in payment volumes to date, and just recently, RLUSD surpassed a market capitalization of $1 billion. However, the funding announcement did not escape criticism from certain sectors within the crypto community. Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius Labs and an advocate for privacy coins, took to X to voice his disapproval, comparing Citadel’s involvement in Ripple to a hypothetical partnership between a pharmaceutical company and harmful technology, suggesting a loss of ethical direction.
Despite the positive announcements, XRP’s market performance has shown a slight decline, dipping by 1.8% in the last 24 hours per CoinGecko data, positioning it over 38% below its all-time high of $3.65 reached in July. Meanwhile, sentiment around XRP on Stocktwits has shifted from ‘bearish’ to a more neutral stance, as engagement has seen an uptick. In contrast, sentiment surrounding RLUSD has turned bullish, with high levels of chatter reflecting growing interest in the stablecoin.
Overall, while Ripple solidifies its footprint in the evolving crypto landscape, it faces a mix of optimism and skepticism from various facets of the market.
