Backed by Wall Street players betting on digital asset infrastructure, Ripple has raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation.
The cryptocurrency-focused fintech said in a statement on Wednesday that the round was led by funds affiliated with Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, along with Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace.
Ripple said the new capital will support its expansion into custody, stablecoins and prime brokerage services, which are attracting increasing institutional interest as the regulated digital asset track continues to evolve. According to Ripple, the company has processed more than $95 billion in transactions on its blockchain-based network and promotes its platform as a cross-border payment solution. The market capitalization of U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD recently surpassed $1 billion, making it the seventh-largest market capitalization in the industry, according to data compiled by CoinMarketCap.com.
“This investment is both a reflection of Ripple’s incredible momentum and further validation that we are aggressively pursuing market opportunities with some of the most trusted financial institutions in the world,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement.
Ripple aims to be the infrastructure partner for institutions looking to cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The interest of traditional financial institutions in entering the cryptocurrency space has become more public since the second Trump administration took office, which reduced regulations and embraced the cryptocurrency industry. President Donald Trump has delivered major wins for the industry, including signing the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. Now, companies like Coin Library Global Inc. and Ripple are seizing the opportunity to position themselves as cryptocurrency-native partners for new entrants in the industry.
Earlier this year, the SEC concluded its case against Ripple, one of a series of enforcement actions dropped during Trump’s second administration. Ripple was sued by the SEC in 2020, claiming that the company offered unregistered securities when selling XRP tokens.
RippleXRP, the native token of the Ledger blockchain, is up about 8% so far this year.