Ripple announced on the 5th of November that it has raised $500 million in new funding from a consortium of traditional finance heavyweights and crypto-native investors, valuing the San Francisco-based payments company at $40 billion. The investment marks one of the largest crypto funding rounds of the year and signals growing institutional confidence in the stablecoin sector.
Traditional Finance Giants Lead Investment Round
The funding round was anchored by Citadel Securities, the market-making firm founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, alongside Fortress Investment Group. Additional participants included hedge funds Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace, as well as established crypto investors Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital.
This convergence of Wall Street titans and crypto specialists represents a significant shift in how traditional financial institutions view digital assets. The participation of firms like Citadel Securities, one of the world’s largest market makers, underscores the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency infrastructure companies.
Regulatory Clarity Drives Institutional Interest
The investment comes at a pivotal moment for the U.S. crypto industry. Following President Donald Trump’s return to office, his administration has positioned cryptocurrency as a strategic national priority. This year, Congress passed the first comprehensive stablecoin legislation, establishing a regulatory framework that has given traditional financial players the confidence to enter the market.
“This funding round reflects further validation of the market opportunity we’re aggressively pursuing,” said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse in a statement accompanying the announcement.
The regulatory developments have created an environment where institutional investors feel more comfortable deploying capital into crypto infrastructure. The bipartisan stablecoin bill established clear guidelines for issuers, reserve requirements, and oversight mechanisms—addressing many of the compliance concerns that previously kept Wall Street on the sidelines.
Ripple’s Position in the Stablecoin Ecosystem
Founded in 2012, Ripple has evolved from its origins as a blockchain payments company into a comprehensive digital asset infrastructure provider. The company serves fintech firms and large corporate clients with services spanning payments, custody, and treasury management solutions.
Ripple operates two key digital assets. Its stablecoin, RLUSD, currently has a market capitalization of approximately $1 billion. The company also maintains the XRP cryptocurrency, which has a market value of $133 billion, making it the fourth-largest digital asset globally by market capitalisation.
Stablecoins function as digital representations of fiat currencies, typically pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and backed by reserve assets such as Treasury securities. While they’re primarily used by traders for moving capital between crypto assets and traditional currencies, corporations are increasingly exploring stablecoins for cross-border payments and collateral management due to their speed and cost advantages over conventional banking rails.
Valuation Surpasses Key Competitors
The $40 billion valuation positions Ripple ahead of Circle, the company behind USDC—the world’s second-largest stablecoin. Circle, which went public on the New York Stock Exchange in May, currently trades at a $26 billion valuation. This makes Ripple one of the highest-valued private companies in the cryptocurrency sector.
The valuation wasn’t arbitrary. Ripple recently conducted a tender offer, purchasing $1 billion worth of shares from employees and existing investors at the $40 billion price point. This internal transaction helped establish the market-validated valuation that attracted the new institutional investors.
Ripple’s Strong Operational Performance Backs Premium Valuation
Ripple’s financial metrics support its premium valuation. The company reported that 2025 has been its strongest year on record, with payment volume processed through its platform exceeding $95 billion. This represents substantial growth in actual network usage—a key metric that differentiates Ripple from crypto projects with high token valuations but limited real-world utility.
The company has also been actively consolidating the stablecoin infrastructure market through strategic acquisitions. In 2025 alone, Ripple completed three significant purchases:
- Hidden Road, a crypto prime brokerage, for $1.25 billion
- GTreasury, a corporate treasury management platform, for $1 billion
- Rail, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, for $200 million
These acquisitions total $2.45 billion and demonstrate Ripple’s strategy of building a vertically integrated payments and digital asset infrastructure stack. The acquisitions bring complementary capabilities in institutional trading infrastructure, enterprise treasury operations, and stablecoin issuance technology.
Market Implications
The funding round reflects broader trends reshaping the cryptocurrency industry. The participation of traditional finance institutions signals that digital assets are transitioning from speculative instruments to operational infrastructure for the global financial system.
For the stablecoin sector specifically, this investment validates the business model of companies building dollar-backed digital payment rails. With over $200 billion in total stablecoin market capitalisation, these tokens are processing trillions of dollars in annual transaction volume—often settling faster and cheaper than traditional payment networks.The involvement of firms like Citadel Securities also suggests growing interest in providing liquidity and market-making services for stablecoins and related infrastructure. As these tokens become more embedded in corporate treasury operations and international commerce, the demand for institutional-grade trading and settlement infrastructure will likely accelerate.
