Digital asset firm Ripple has received a $500 million investment at a valuation of $40 billion.
It has been rumoured that new funding for the company was in the works. Yesterday, Ripple revealed the details of the funding round that was let by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, affiliates of Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace.
Ripple said the investment follows is strongest year of performancce and a recent tender offer at the same valuation. Ripple reports that it has repurchased more than 25% of its outstanding shares in recent years, returning value to employees and early investors.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the investment was further validation of their market opportunity.
“We started in 2012 with one use case – payments – and have expanded that success into custody, stablecoins, prime brokerage and corporate treasury, leveraging digital assets like XRP. Today, Ripple stands as the partner for institutions looking to access crypto and blockchain,” said Garlinghouse.
Ripple noted its six acquisitions in the past two years as it adds services to its platform. The purchase of Rail boosted its stablecoin services, a sector of crypto which is booming.
Ripple acquired GTreasury this past October. GTreasury is said to manage trillions of dollars of volume for its customers who are using stablecoins and digital assets.
Ripple, issuer of XRP, was the target of an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission which eventually fizzled. The Trump administration and its pro-digital asset policies, has helped to fuel the crypto sector as new rules are put into place, and traditional finance moves to enter the sector.
The forthcoming infrastructure legislation, expected to move in Congress before Thanksgiving, should help to fuel further digital asset innovation.
