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Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, said XRP is the “North Star” for the company and the “reason” for its existence, framing Ripple’s products and initiatives as efforts to increase utility, trust, and liquidity around XRP and the XRP Ledger. Speaking on Wednesday at XRP Community Day via X, he also argued that the crypto industry will eventually produce a trillion-dollar company, with Ripple positioned among the contenders.
Garlinghouse said XRP is central to Ripple’s strategy across its payments and related offerings, including Ripple Payments, Ripple Prime, Ripple Treasury, custody services, and RLUSD. He described these efforts as focused on “how we can drive utility, trust, and velocity, or liquidity around XRP and the XRP Ledger.”
He added that Ripple’s success is tied to the broader XRP ecosystem, saying: “Ripple’s reason for existence is driving success around XRP and the XRP ecosystem.” Garlinghouse stated that Ripple will continue building products and services customers want, in order to support Ripple’s success through the ecosystem.
According to CoinGecko data cited in the article, XRP is currently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, at $84 billion. The token was changing hands at $1.38 at the time of publication, down 62% from its all-time high of $3.65 in July 2025.
Garlinghouse said he believes a cryptocurrency firm will ultimately surpass a $1 trillion valuation, noting that only a small group of global companies—such as Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet—has reached that scale.
He said Ripple could have the opportunity to become that company if it executes well in partnership with the XRP ecosystem: “There will be a trillion-dollar crypto company, I don’t doubt that for a second,” Garlinghouse said.
The article states that in November, Ripple secured $500 million in funding from major financial players, including Citadel Securities and Fortress Investment Group. That round resulted in a valuation of approximately $40 billion. To reach $1 trillion, the firm’s valuation would need to increase roughly 25-fold.
Ripple expanded its footprint last year through acquisitions aimed at strengthening its product suite. The deals mentioned include:
Looking ahead, Garlinghouse said Ripple’s focus this year will shift toward integration rather than further dealmaking. He indicated investors should not expect major acquisitions, while adding that Ripple could become more active on that front in the second half of the year.
Garlinghouse also acknowledged last week’s market turbulence, describing the broader environment as “frustrating.” He urged listeners to “zoom out” and step back from recent volatility, noting that XRP and Bitcoin have fallen 33% and 27%, respectively, over the last month.
He said crypto has a long way to go, adding: “We’ve got a long way to go, and I certainly don’t want to gloss over that.” At the same time, he argued that the opportunity to “rewire, accelerate, and make the financial infrastructure more efficient is truly profound.”
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