Ripple Turns Down IPO After $500M Raise—Here's What They're Planning Instead

Ripple President Monica Long said the company has no plans to pursue an IPO after raising $500 million in November at a $40 billion valuation, choosing private growth over public market scrutiny.

Ripple Chooses Private Growth Over Public Markets

Long told Bloomberg the company plans to remain private, citing its robust financial position and preference for expanding through acquisitions and product development without accessing public markets.

The November funding round drew investors including Fortress Investment Group, Citadel Securities, and other crypto-focused funds. 

Long described the deal structure as “very positive, very favorable for Ripple.”

She said the company didn’t need to raise money but saw strong demand from major institutional players. 

The strategy driving most IPOs is to access investors and liquidity in public markets, but Ripple is in a healthy position to fund growth without going public.

$4 Billion Acquisition Spree Building Full-Stack Platform

Ripple completed four major acquisitions in 2025, totaling nearly $4 billion: global multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road, stablecoin payments platform Rail, treasury management system provider GTreasury, and digital asset wallet and custody firm Palisade.

The deals are part of Ripple’s push to position itself as a comprehensive provider of enterprise digital asset infrastructure, moving beyond its core payments business into custody, prime brokerage, and corporate treasury management.

As of November, Ripple Payments had processed over $95 billion in total volume. 

Ripple Prime—built with the Hidden Road acquisition—recently expanded into collateralized lending and institutional XRP products. 

Additionally, Ripple’s dollar stablecoin, RLUSD, sits at the core of both businesses.

Long said the whole strategy is to create products—the connective tissue that traditional finance needs to make blockchain, cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized assets actually useful in the real world.

Valuation Disconnect With XRP Price Action

The $40 billion private valuation represents a significant jump from Ripple’s 2019 Series C funding of $200 million at a $10 billion valuation.

Yet XRP’s (CRYPTO: XRP) price crashed 48% from its July peak while the company’s balance sheet swells. 

The token’s performance has decoupled from the company’s financial strength, highlighting the fundamental difference between private valuation and public market sentiment.

Without quarterly scrutiny of public markets, Ripple has more runway to integrate acquisitions and develop new services. 

But it also faces less external pressure to deliver immediate returns on the $4 billion acquisition spree.

CEO Signals More Deals Coming In 2026

CEO Brad Garlinghouse has signaled more deals are planned for 2026, with a focus on product innovation and partnerships. 

The company’s 300+ customer global network provides a base for driving adoption of its new services.

The company must successfully merge its new capabilities and drive adoption of RLUSD to prove the $40 billion valuation. 

If integration falters or ROI on acquisitions is slow, the high private valuation could become a liability, making future funding rounds more difficult.

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