Ripple CEO: We Have Over $1B to Deploy for Growth Beyond Liquidity

According to the CEO of Ripple, the firm is looking to grow beyond being a liquidity provider, and they have over $1 billion to deploy for this expansion.

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, recently disclosed that the San Francisco-based technology company is on a mission to expand its offerings beyond liquidity provision. Garlinghouse divulged this while speaking at the just-concluded Dubai Fintech Summit.

In a clip shared by Eri, a prominent XRP community influencer, Garlinghouse emphasized that Ripple began as an enterprise-based cross-border payments service provider, but it is looking to grow beyond this.

Ripple aspires to be more than just liquidity & payments.

Acquisitions in crypto-friendly markets (like UAE and Switzerland), for expansion. pic.twitter.com/yTRMEasngN

— ?Crypto Eri 220k+ Followers (Beware of Imposters) (@sentosumosaba) May 18, 2023

The Ripple CEO further stressed that blockchain has four fundamental pieces: liquidity, compliance, custody and tokenization. “Ripple really aspires to be more than just that liquidity cross-border payments [provider]. I think you’d expect that we’re willing to expand into some of those other areas,” Garlinghouse added.

To achieve this growth, Ripple can pursue organic expansion or consider acquisitions. As opposed to acquisitions, organic expansion involves leveraging their existing resources and expertise to develop and diversify the company’s offerings.

Speaking further, Garlinghouse said: “I think we’ll look at, ‘let’s make acquisitions in markets that are friendly to these technologies.’ On the previous panel, you had representation from the UAE, you had representation from Switzerland. These are countries that are providing the clarity for entrepreneurs to invest.”

He affirmed that Ripple has over $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet which the company is willing to deploy for growth into the other areas of blockchain tech. According to him, the deployment of this financial power could go into acquisitions of other firms or into upscaling its internal infrastructure.

Ripple Already Expanding

A solid demonstration of such inorganic expansion was the recent acquisition of Metaco, a prominent digital asset custody firm based in Switzerland. As previously reported by The Crypto Basic, Ripple announced yesterday that it had acquired the company for $250 million.

Notably, Metaco’s business line leans in the areas of custody and tokenization, two of the blockchain components Garlinghouse called attention to. It comes without surprise that Ripple, which is seeking to expand into these areas, recently acquired the firm.

Moreover, based in Switzerland, Metaco is domiciled in a jurisdiction with a greater level of crypto regulatory clarity than what is observed in countries like the US. As earlier highlighted, Garlinghouse underscored the enviable regulatory clarity within Switzerland.

In addition, last month, Stuart Alderoty, the Chief Legal Officer of Ripple, revealed that the firm is looking to expand into London. Ripple also opened a new office in Dubai this month in an effort to further expand its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Recall that Ripple previously acquired a 40% stake in Tranglo in March 2021.

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