Buying "other blockchain infrastructure projects" interests Ripple more than pursuing a Ripple IPO

"I won't name specific names. At its heart, Ripple is a blockchain infrastructure company. We sell our technology to businesses, primarily financial institutions."

Buying "other blockchain infrastructure projects" interests Ripple more than pursuing a Ripple IPO, CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview with Bloomberg.

"I won't name specific names. At its heart, Ripple is a blockchain infrastructure company. We sell our technology to businesses, primarily financial institutions. We are interested in other blockchain infrastructure companies," he noted.

The entrepreneur emphasized optimism amid the completion of litigation against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), drawn out since 2020. Ripple has not yet decided whether to withdraw its own complaint against the agency, he said.

Garlinghouse noted that the company has spent more than $150 million on legal litigation and "would not mind" to return $125 million of the fine paid at the request of the Commission. For now, that amount remains in an escrow account.

He added that under past SEC leadership, the SEC would have surely abandoned its intentions to continue the debate, but that is not the case with the current administration, and the court case would not have happened at all were it not for the enforcement approach of former Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.

XRP's inclusion in the White House crypto reserve

On March 19, 2025, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, announced that XRP will be included in the White House's crypto reserve and also expressed confidence in launching an exchange-traded fund (ETF) on XRP as early as this year.

Garlinghouse expressed confidence that XRP will be added to the White House's crypto reserve, which is reinforced by the Trump administration's recent initiatives. On March 7, 2025, the president held a summit with crypto industry leaders where he discussed creating a strategic reserve of digital assets, including tokens such as XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.

U.S. Strategic reserve initiative

"We see the Trump administration actively supporting the crypto industry," Garlinghouse told Bloomberg, expressing confidence that XRP will become a key asset within the White House's crypto reserve.

The initiative, described by Reuters, aims to strengthen the U.S. position in the global crypto economy. Garlinghouse has previously advocated for a diversified approach to the reserve, representing the entire industry rather than individual tokens, according to a post on CoinDesk.

Boosting XRP's market position

The inclusion of XRP in the reserve could boost its status as a key asset, especially after the resolved dispute with the SEC on March 19, 2025, which Garlinghouse said "gives a lot of confidence to Ripple."

This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it. The future is bright. Let’s build.

XRP's ETF launch predictions

Garlinghouse also said he expects the XRP ETF to launch in 2025, calling it an "inevitable" development.

In an interview on Fox Business in June 2024, quoted in an article on Watcher.Guru, he said: "I think we'll see it in 2025."

In an October 2024 interview with Bloomberg, he emphasized growing demand from institutional and retail investors.

These predictions are supported by recent approvals of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, as well as filings by companies such as Bitwise and Canary Capital with the SEC.

Ripple President Monica Long said in January 2025 that an XRP ETF could be the next big thing after Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs, especially given the change in administration and Trump's pro-crypto approach.

"We think with the change in administration, the approval of these applications will accelerate," Long noted.

Ripple's IPO possibility

Talking about the company's plans, Garlinghouse said that a Ripple IPO is possible but "not a big priority." That statement, also confirmed in an X post from Bloomberg Crypto, reflects Ripple's focus on developing blockchain infrastructure and regulatory clarity rather than going public.

Garlinghouse's statements sparked lively discussions in the crypto community. The price of XRP, according to CoinCodex, has risen 5.4 percent in the past 24 hours to around $2.44-$2.50 at the time the news was published. This follows a sharp jump to $2.59 on March 19, triggered by news of the rejection of the SEC's appeal in the case against Ripple.

These predictions could attract more institutional investors, especially if XRP is included in the crypto reserve and gets ETF approval. XRP's market capitalization reached $135.9 billion and trading volume was $3.08 billion in 24 hours since the announcement, underscoring significant interest in the token.