Key Takeaways
- $500 million funding round led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities.
- Ripple Labs valued at $40 billion.
- Ripple's strategy to expand in the payments and financial transfer sector.
- Ripple's legal challenges with the SEC.
- Launch of RLUSD stablecoin and its integration with Mastercard.
Ripple Labs' Funding: A Strategic Shift
In November 2025, Ripple Labs announced a new strategic funding round of $500 million, boosting the company's valuation to $40 billion. This funding, led by Wall Street giants Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, along with Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital, marks a significant milestone in the company's history.
From 'Storyteller' to 'Compliance Disaster Zone'
Founded in 2012, Ripple is one of the oldest projects in the cryptocurrency world. The company relies on XRP Ledger technology, a decentralized ledger designed specifically for cross-border payments. In 2017 and 2018, the XRP token gained significant popularity, and its market value rose to rank third after Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, Ripple's success story began to fade due to falling prices and the revelation of sham partnerships.
Ripple's Battle with the SEC
In December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple for selling unregistered securities, claiming it raised over $1.3 billion through XRP. The lawsuit triggered devastating reactions, with major trading platforms like Coinbase and Kraken delisting XRP, and long-term partner MoneyGram ending its collaboration with Ripple. The price of XRP dropped by more than 60% within a month.
Ripple's Strategic Transformation
After a legal battle that lasted for years, Ripple began to transform strategically. In 2024, the company launched a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar called RLUSD, focusing on compliance, payments, and settlements for financial institutions. In 2025, Ripple announced partnerships with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to use RLUSD in instant settlement of credit cards, becoming the first on-chain stablecoin to enter the global credit card system.
Strategic Acquisitions
To build complete on-chain financial capabilities, Ripple made a series of strategic acquisitions between 2023 and 2025. It acquired Metaco to secure institutional-level digital asset custody technology, Rail to obtain a stablecoin issuance and management system, and Hidden Road to bridge the final gap in the institutional credit network and transnational settlement.
Valuation of $40 Billion: What's the Real Story?
It may seem that Ripple is on a broad and prosperous path, but seasoned investors see a different picture. To understand the true logic behind this funding, it is essential to understand the essence of Ripple: a massive "digital asset treasury." When XRP was created, 80 billion of the 100 billion tokens were allocated to Ripple for oversight. As of now, the company still holds 34.76 billion tokens, with a nominal value of over $80 billion at market prices - twice its funding valuation.
EN
