- Ripple Labs is buying back $285 million worth of shares from investors and employees, valuing the company at $11 billion after a legal victory against the SEC.
- The buyback allows investors to sell up to 6% of their stake. CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Ripple has over $1 billion in cash and $25 billion in crypto assets and plans more buybacks for liquidity.
- The buyback comes after a judge ruled XRP sales were not unregistered securities offerings. Ripple continues growing its payments business globally despite its lawsuit with the SEC.
Cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs is buying back $285 million worth of shares from early investors and employees, valuing the company at $11 billion. This move comes after Ripple’s partial legal victory against the SEC.
Details of the Share Buyback
Ripple Labs, known for its XRP coins, is buying back shares through a tender offer. Investors can sell up to 6% of their stake. The privately-held company confirmed the buyback, saying it plans to spend $500 million to cover stock unit conversion and taxes.
Ripple’s CEO on the Buyback
CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Ripple now holds over $1 billion in cash and over $25 billion in crypto assets. He said the company plans to do more buybacks regularly to provide liquidity, and has no plans to go public in the US anytime soon due to regulatory uncertainty.
Ripple’s Legal Battle with the SEC
The buyback comes after Ripple’s partial win against the SEC, with a judge finding XRP sales on public exchanges were not unregistered securities offerings. Ripple builds a payments system promoting XRP use. Growing amid the lawsuit was challenging, said Garlinghouse, but most of Ripple’s clients are non-US institutions.
The Future for Ripple
XRP had a $30 billion market cap as of Wednesday. Ripple bought crypto custody firm Metaco last year and Garlinghouse said the payments business continues to grow despite the lawsuit. More share buybacks are expected as Ripple provides liquidity for investors.
