Ripple has spent around $4 billion across six acquisitions over the past three years. The pattern of buying private companies reveals a clear blueprint: assembling custody, prime brokerage, payments, and corporate cash management into a complete banking institution. They are gradually building banking infrastructure from the outside in, even as their formal charter application at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) remains stuck in the queue.
Ripple’s spending peaked in April 2025 with the $1.25 billion purchase of Hidden Road. The non-bank brokerage was immediately rebranded as Ripple Prime and handles clearing for foreign exchange, derivatives, bonds, and digital assets. Since the acquisition, the division’s revenue has grown more than threefold and now generates annual clearing volume exceeding $3 trillion. Six months later, GTreasury was acquired for around $1 billion in October 2025. This acquisition opens direct access to global corporate CFOs, as GTreasury’s cash management system processes $12.5 trillion in annual payment volume.
Assembling Custody and Payment Rails
Ripple’s shopping spree began in May 2023 when it took over Metaco for $250 million. Metaco’s institutional custody technology platform, Harmonize, was already used by top European banks before joining Ripple. A year later, in mid-2024, the company snapped up Standard Custody to secure a trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) - a license now used as the legal foundation for issuing the RLUSD stablecoin.
The pieces of this payment system came together further with the addition of Rail in August 2025, tasked with orchestrating stablecoin payments while bridging bank money systems and on-chain dollars. Toward the end of 2025, Ripple closed out the year by acquiring Palisade to provide native XRP custody services for its own ecosystem. These maneuvers boosted business metrics, with Ripple Custody recording 250% customer growth and attracting heavyweight clients such as HSBC and DBS.
At the same time, the RLUSD stablecoin surpassed $1.5 billion in circulation. BNY Mellon stepped up as the primary reserve custodian in July 2025 to hold its backing assets.
Capital Injections Without an IPO
Although most of its financials remain private, Ripple secured a $500 million investment round. Fresh capital flowed from major entities such as Fortress, Citadel Securities affiliates, Pantera, Galaxy, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace. Additionally, it made a strategic investment in LayerZero Labs in February 2026 for cross-chain infrastructure.
Armed with fresh capital and an increasingly complete ecosystem, Ripple President Monica Long emphasized that the company has no plans for an initial public offering (IPO). Billions of dollars have changed hands to assemble end-to-end operations; the market is now waiting to see whether this entity can operate as a full-fledged bank or remain held back by regulations.
Reported by crypto.news.
Read also: How to Read Candlestick Charts for Beginners
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
