XRP News: Ripple CEO Garlinghouse Signals More Acquisitions Ahead — What Could Be Next for Ripple?
April 7, 2026 — By Sam Daodu
Despite early 2026 expectations for a slowdown, Ripple continues to aggressively expand its corporate portfolio through acquisitions, suggesting that more deals could be on the horizon. This update comes directly from Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, who initially indicated in late 2025 and early 2026 that the crypto payments giant would focus on integrating past purchases rather than acquiring new companies this year. Yet, Ripple has already announced two acquisitions in the first quarter of 2026, raising insightful questions about the company’s future direction and what assets might be targeted next.
Ripple’s Acquisition Strategy: A $4 Billion Buying Spree and Counting
Ripple stunned the blockchain world from 2023 through 2025 with a series of high-profile acquisitions totaling roughly $4 billion. Notably, these purchases have not been cryptocurrency companies per se, but rather traditional financial service businesses. The goal appears to be reimagining and rebuilding these institutions around Ripple’s flagship digital asset, XRP, underscoring Ripple’s vision to provide comprehensive infrastructure solutions for banking and asset management industries.
Key acquisitions include:
- Metaco (2023, $250M): Institutional-grade digital asset custody platform used by global banks.
- Hidden Road (2025, $1.25B): Now rebranded as Ripple Prime, this prime brokerage handles multi-asset clearing worth $3 trillion annually and serves 300+ institutions.
- Rail (2025, $200M): A stablecoin settlement infrastructure powering over 10% of B2B stablecoin payments.
- GTreasury (2025, $1B): Now Ripple Treasury, offering corporate treasury management with digital asset and fiat integration for 1,000+ clients globally.
- Palisade (2025): Provides digital asset custody and wallet services across Europe.
- Solvexia (2026): Offers no-code financial automation for reconciliation and regulatory reporting.
- BC Payments (2026): Acquired to obtain a regulated payments license in Australia.
These acquisitions have helped Ripple evolve from a cross-border payments startup into a major player controlling custody, prime brokerage, treasury management, stablecoin processing, and regulatory licenses across more than 75 jurisdictions worldwide. The company also performed a $750 million share buyback, boosting its corporate valuation to approximately $50 billion.
What Ripple Has Built So Far
By integrating its acquisitions, Ripple is now uniquely positioned to offer a near end-to-end institutional-grade product stack:
- Ripple Prime (from Hidden Road): The world’s first crypto-owned global prime brokerage enables institutional traders to access leverage, clearing, and financing across traditional and digital assets in one platform.
- Ripple Treasury (from GTreasury): Introduces native digital asset support, allowing treasurers to manage XRP and Ripple USD (RLUSD) alongside fiat currencies.
- Stablecoin & Payment Solutions (Rail): Powers settlement infrastructure for stablecoin payments at scale.
- Regulatory Footprint: Ripple holds over 75 licenses globally and expanded with its Australian payments license via BC Payments.
By focusing on traditional finance firms, Ripple is embedding itself deeply within the legacy financial system, aiming for comprehensive control over institutional workflows related to digital assets.
What Gaps Still Need Filling?
Despite its rapid growth and wide product offering, Ripple has not yet developed or acquired its own compliance technology. Regulatory compliance remains the leading concern among financial institutions when adopting digital asset platforms. Ripple currently relies on partnerships with third-party providers such as Chainalysis for real-time transaction screening but has yet to internalize this capability.
A recent Ripple survey involving over 1,000 finance leaders confirmed that roughly 40% view regulatory compliance as their biggest hurdle in choosing a partner. Moreover, 71% want a single provider that can manage custody, treasury, compliance, and settlement—a complete institutional stack.
Garlinghouse has ruled out acquiring a cryptocurrency exchange, so experts speculate that Ripple’s next acquisition may address these compliance gaps or geographic expansion, particularly in regions like Africa, Latin America, or the Middle East. Ripple has seen explosive transaction growth in the Asia-Pacific region and now holds direct licensed access in Australia, but it remains dependent on third parties for payments infrastructure elsewhere.
Impact on XRP Token Demand
Although Ripple’s acquisitions have increased the company’s valuation dramatically, most institutional clients operating on Ripple’s infrastructure continue to settle transactions in RLUSD stablecoin or fiat currency rather than XRP. Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity product, which uses XRP for liquidity settlement, remains limited in scale and thus has yet to significantly influence the XRP token price.
The direction of XRP’s price is largely dependent on regulatory clarity—specifically, the implications of the pending CLARITY Act—which will determine if Ripple’s new partnerships and transaction volumes convert demand toward XRP or stay within stablecoin and fiat corridors.
Until XRP becomes central to settlement processes, Ripple’s expansion and XRP’s market performance may remain relatively disconnected.
Looking Ahead: What Could Ripple Buy Next?
With more acquisitions already completed in early 2026 despite public statements to the contrary, it appears Ripple is still very much in growth mode. The blockchain community is keenly watching for Ripple’s next move, especially related to:
- Compliance Technology: Building or owning proprietary compliance and regulatory infrastructure to provide a full-stack solution.
- Geographical Expansion: Acquiring licensed fintech firms or payment processors in emerging markets like Africa, Latin America, or the Middle East to gain direct control over payment corridors.
- Other Financial Infrastructure: Potential additions that complement custody, treasury management, and brokerage services, solidifying Ripple’s dominance in institutional crypto finance.
Garlinghouse’s ambition to make Ripple the first trillion-dollar crypto company will likely drive more strategic acquisitions, making Ripple’s corporate actions a critical barometer for XRP holders and the broader crypto ecosystem.
About the Author:
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and writer with nearly a decade of experience demystifying blockchain technology for mainstream audiences. He regularly covers crypto markets and developments for 24/7 Wall St. and other leading financial publications. When not analyzing digital assets, Sam enjoys anime, fitness, and music.
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