Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse力推融購戰略，暫擱IPO計畫

Blockchain payment giant Ripple is taking a completely different expansion path. The company’s President Monica Long recently reiterated to the public that Ripple currently has no IPO plans, emphasizing that the company’s financial position is healthy and ample, and there is no need to raise funds through going public. Behind this statement reflects a strategic shift led by CEO Brad Garlinghouse — rather than traditional IPO financing, the company prefers rapid expansion through large-scale acquisitions and product innovation.

Financial self-sufficiency, IPO is not an urgent matter

In an interview with Bloomberg, Monica Long clearly stated that an IPO is mainly to gain investor support or market liquidity, but Ripple’s current financial situation is very healthy, and it is fully capable of continuing to fund and invest in growth without going public. This remark dispels many outside speculations about Ripple possibly ringing the bell for an IPO soon.

In fact, Ripple completed a $500 million private placement in November 2025, maintaining a valuation of $40 billion. This round attracted top global institutions including Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, demonstrating continued market confidence in Ripple. Interestingly, although there is curiosity about whether this deal includes investor protections such as buyback rights or seniority, Monica Long simply responded that “the deal structure is very favorable to Ripple,” without revealing further details.

Four major acquisitions in 2025 to build a complete digital asset ecosystem

Compared to fundraising, Ripple’s true ambition in 2025 is a series of aggressive acquisitions. The company has invested nearly $4 billion, acquiring four companies, and completing a strategic upgrade from a traditional payment service provider to a “comprehensive digital asset infrastructure provider”:

Hidden Road is a multi-asset prime broker offering institutional trading and clearing services. This acquisition gives Ripple the ability to directly serve large financial institutions.

Rail is a stablecoin payment platform, filling Ripple’s gap in stablecoin circulation infrastructure.

GTreasury is a provider of enterprise treasury and cash management systems, enabling Ripple to offer cash management solutions to traditional enterprises.

Palisade is a digital asset wallet and custody service provider, completing Ripple’s capabilities in asset custody.

These four acquisitions are like building blocks, each serving the same grand vision — constructing a complete digital asset ecosystem from payments, clearing, custody, to fund management.

RLUSD stablecoin becomes a business hub, Ripple Prime opens institutional-grade services

As of the end of November 2025, Ripple Payments has processed over $95 billion in transactions. Following the acquisition of Hidden Road, the recently launched Ripple Prime service has expanded into collateralized lending and institutional XRP-related products.

Notably, Ripple’s self-issued USD stablecoin RLUSD has become a core pillar of these two major business lines. This means stablecoins are no longer just payment tools but key assets connecting the entire ecosystem. Institutional clients can use RLUSD for trading, lending, clearing, and financial management, forming a closed-loop system.

Connecting traditional finance and blockchain, Ripple aims to be a core bridge

From a macro strategic perspective, Monica Long’s words reveal the future positioning of Ripple under Brad Garlinghouse’s leadership. She pointed out that for traditional finance to smoothly connect with blockchain, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and various tokenized assets, a “key linking” infrastructure layer is needed. This is exactly the role Ripple aspires to play — becoming the bridge that makes blockchain technology truly practical in the real world.

In other words, Ripple’s strategy is not to oppose traditional finance but to serve as a translator between the two worlds. Through a series of acquisitions, financing, and product innovations, Ripple is turning this vision from theory into reality. Putting IPO on hold for now is the best testament to the company’s clear and confident strategic outlook — with ample private funding and strong acquisition capabilities, Ripple no longer needs the public markets to realize its grand blueprint.