While the crypto industry regains market confidence thanks to clearer regulation and growing interest from institutional investors, Ripple opts for an unexpected direction. Despite a legal victory against the SEC and a year of exceptional growth, the Californian company forgoes any public offering. A choice that contrasts with the ambitions of other industry players and raises questions about the company’s long-term strategy.
In brief
- •Ripple officially gives up any public offering, despite a record year and the end of its conflict with the SEC.
- •Monica Long, president of Ripple, states that no IPO timeline is planned at this stage.
- •The company justifies this choice by its strong financial health and ability to fund its growth without resorting to public markets.
- •Ripple raised 500 million dollars from major investors and repurchased over 25% of its shares, reaching a valuation of 40 billion dollars.
A Clear Decision Despite a Favorable Environment
While Ripple has just launched a crypto brokerage service dedicated to institutional investors, the company’s president, Monica Long, put an end to persistent speculation by stating in an interview reported by Bloomberg: "we have no plans or timeline for an initial public offering".
This statement comes in a context that is nonetheless favorable, as the company posts a record year and has just emerged victorious from its long legal battle against the SEC. This strategic shift contradicts previous statements made by CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who saw the IPO in 2020 as a "natural evolution" for Ripple.
Instead of a public listing, Ripple emphasizes its strong financial position and its ability to self-finance. Here are the important points:
- •A 500 million dollar fundraising has been completed, with participation from leading institutional investors: Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace.
- •This fundraising is part of a one billion dollar public buyback offer, valuing Ripple at about 40 billion dollars.
- •The company has repurchased more than 25% of its outstanding shares over recent years, strengthening internal control.
- •According to CB Insights’ estimate, Ripple generated 1.3 billion dollars in revenue in 2024.
- •Monica Long justifies this strategy by the company’s financial autonomy: "we are very well capitalized and can finance all our organic growth, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships".
- •The growing adoption of the RLUSD stablecoin as well as better regulatory clarity internationally have allowed Ripple to double its customer base in 2024, according to the company.
These factors confirm that Ripple feels no financial pressure to raise capital in public markets, and that it favors an independent approach in a crypto ecosystem undergoing restructuring.
Ripple Chooses Strategic Control and Discretion
Behind this decision also lies a desire to control information and avoid the regulatory burden imposed by a public listing. By choosing to remain private, Ripple maintains great latitude in its governance and management of financial data.
Monica Long has even refused to share exact revenue figures for 2024, a sign of a strategy that favors discretion over exposure. Unlike publicly traded companies, Ripple can continue to negotiate, invest, and restructure without having to answer to shareholders or financial market regulators.
Moreover, although Ripple achieved a major legal victory against the SEC last March, this ordeal left its marks. The company endured over four years of uncertainty, which may explain some reluctance to expose itself again to U.S. oversight, even in a more favorable context.
Caution therefore seems to prevail, even as giants like Circle or Gemini advance openly towards the stock market. This refusal may not be definitive, but it marks a clear will not to rush things, just as the market returns to record highs.