After Ripple's $500 million financing, why does it favor acquisition over going public?

Ripple’s expansion strategy in the crypto payment field is gradually becoming clearer. Company President Monica Long recently stated that, despite the company’s strong balance sheet, there are no plans to initiate an initial public offering in the short term. Instead, the company is more focused on driving business growth through acquisitions and product innovation.

Financing Achievements Demonstrate Market Confidence

In November last year, Ripple completed a $500 million funding round, with a post-money valuation of approximately $40 billion. This funding attracted leading investment institutions such as Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, indicating traditional financial capital’s recognition of its payment infrastructure. This capital support provides ample ammunition for the company’s acquisition plans.

Acquisition Strategy Becomes a Core Growth Engine

Compared to going public, Ripple prefers to achieve rapid expansion through acquisitions. Throughout 2025, the company completed four acquisition deals, with a total transaction amount approaching $4 billion, reflecting management’s proactive deployment in the M&A field. This strategy allows the company to quickly integrate new technologies and business lines without the public scrutiny and disclosure pressures that come with being listed.

Payment Business Achieves Outstanding Results

The payment products are becoming the core driver of Ripple’s growth. As of November last year, Ripple Payments’ cumulative transaction volume has exceeded $95 billion, demonstrating its penetration in the institutional payment sector. Its USD stablecoin RLUSD has played an important role in this process, becoming a key asset for payment operations and institutional collaborations.

This series of initiatives indicates that Ripple is consolidating its leading position in the payment track through capital operations and product innovation, rather than rushing to raise funds via an IPO.