Brad Garlinghouse, CEO at privately-held Fintech firm Ripple, recently indicated that the San Francisco-based startup might launch an initial public offering (IPO) within the next year.
While attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Garlinghouse reportedly told the Wall Street Journal (on January 23) that an IPO would be a “natural evolution” for the digital currency-focused Fintech.
Garlinghouse remarked:
“In the next 12 months, you’ll see IPOs in the crypto/blockchain space. We’re not going to be the first and we’re not going to be the last, but I expect us to be on the leading side… it’s a natural evolution for our company.”
Ripple notably raised $200 million through a Series C investment round last month. These types of funding rounds are typically the final steps before a firm decides to conduct an IPO. Following the Series C round, Ripple was valued at roughly $10 billion.
Ripple has secured $293.6 million in total funding, and the firm might seek additional funding before a potential IPO
Ripple’s management recently reported its latest sales figures of the XRP digital token for Q4 2019. There was notably an 80% drop in the amount of XRP sold during the final quarter of last year, when compared to averages from previous quarters.
Ripple sold an estimated $13.08 million in XRP during Q4 2019, which is significantly lower than the $66.24 million in XRP sold during Q3 2019. The company’s Q4 sales figures are reportedly the lowest since the past three years. XRP’s price dropped 22% during the last quarter of 2019. Ripple has sold approximately $1.22 billion worth of XRP (to date).