Why did Ripple choose private capital rather than the public market

Ripple has definitely closed the door to a possible stock market entry. The company sees no strategic need to pursue an IPO, thanks to a private fundraising that allows it to maintain full control over its growth. With a valuation of $40 billion and half a billion dollars just raised in November 2025, Ripple has sufficient liquidity to independently finance its expansion in the coming years.

When private capital eliminates the need for Wall Street

According to President Monica Long, the decision to remain private is not a tactical choice but a natural consequence of the company’s solid financial position. Long emphasized in an interview with Bloomberg that Ripple already has access to global capital without the transparency obligations and quarterly pressures typical of publicly traded companies.

Traditional fintech companies turn to IPOs for two main reasons: attract new capital and provide liquidity to early investors. Ripple has addressed both issues through a strategic private fundraising involving giants like Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities. This move allows it to scale the business without public shareholders’ control.

“We are in a truly very strong position to continue investing in growth without going public,” Long stated. She added that maintaining private status offers strategic flexibility and decision-making freedom, crucial elements in a rapidly evolving sector like digital assets.

The year of major changes: acquisitions and products

2025 marked a turning point for Ripple. The company completed four strategic acquisitions totaling nearly $4 billion, consolidating a comprehensive blockchain-based financial services infrastructure:

• Hidden Road: multi-asset trading platform for institutional clients
• Rail: specializing in stablecoin payments
• GTreasury: corporate treasury management
• Palisade: digital asset custody services

These operations do not represent a fragmented strategy but a coherent puzzle. Together, they create an ecosystem where financial institutions can access trading, payments, treasury operations, and custody without fragmenting workflows.

In November, Ripple Payments processed over $95 billion in transaction volume, confirming increasing adoption. Ripple Prime, enhanced by the Hidden Road acquisition, is expanding into institutional products based on XRP and collateralized loans. The dollar-denominated RLUSD stablecoin acts as the glue of this strategy, facilitating both payments and structured finance operations.

From acquisition cycle to operational excellence

In 2026, Ripple’s focus will shift. The phase of large acquisitions is over; now begins the phase of integration and optimization. Executives have clearly communicated that the priority will be product delivery and operational refinement, not new M&A deals.

This transition makes strategic sense. Over-acquisition risks operational inefficiency. Ripple has recognized the right moment to consolidate and scale internally, transforming new platforms into real revenue engines.

The real game: connecting traditional finance and blockchain

Ripple’s vision goes beyond simple money movement. Monica Long clarified that the goal is to build infrastructure that enables tokenized assets and stablecoins to operate within real financial contexts, not just in pure crypto ecosystems.

This means providing banks, asset managers, and payment companies with tools to leverage blockchain at scale. It’s not a technological challenge; it’s an institutional adoption challenge.

Remaining private allows Ripple to boldly invest in this vision without having to justify quarterly results that do not reflect the maturity of an infrastructural project. The private fundraising has provided the resources needed for this long-term development.

Why an IPO is not necessary (and perhaps never will be)

Industry analysts note that Ripple follows the model of other heavily capitalized fintechs that remain private: Stripe, SpaceX, and other giants who have learned that going public is not an inevitable destination but a choice.

Ripple has not categorically ruled out a future IPO, but leadership has shifted focus: any future decision will be tied to corporate strategy, not market pressures. If capital continues to flow, growth accelerates, and products win institutional market share, why go public?

The most provocative question Ripple asks is: what’s the point of an IPO when growth is already financed and control is guaranteed?