Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has indicated that the company is shifting its focus away from aggressive deal-making in the meantime, after deploying billions of dollars into acquisitions across the crypto sector in 2025.
Speaking during an online XRP Community Day event, Garlinghouse said Ripple is entering a phase centered on integration rather than expansion through major purchases.
“It’s definitely gonna be a year of more integration. I don’t think you should expect any other big acquisitions,” he said. However, he added that the company could revisit opportunities later in the year: “You never know, the second half of the year we’ll start maybe looking to be more acquisitive again.”
The comments follow a period of significant spending by the cross-border payments company, which has been among the most active corporate buyers in crypto outside of stablecoin issuer Tether.
While Ripple appears to be entering a consolidation phase, Garlinghouse’s remarks suggest that the company is not ruling out further expansion. If market conditions become favourable, the second half of 2026 could bring renewed acquisition activity though likely more targeted than the multi-billion-dollar spree seen previously.
$4B Deployed in M&A Across the Crypto Ecosystem
Over the past year, Ripple committed roughly $4 billion to investments, mergers, and acquisitions. The company acquired Hidden Road for $1.25 billion and GTreasury for $1 billion, strengthening its institutional infrastructure and treasury capabilities.
Prior to the acquisition, Hidden Road operated as a global credit network clearing approximately $3 trillion annually and serving more than 300 institutional clients. Following the deal, Ripple rebranded the platform as Ripple Prime.
GTreasury, which Ripple has since renamed Ripple Treasury, was widely regarded as a leader in treasury management systems. The platform offers risk management tools, foreign exchange solutions, compliance support, and audit frameworks. Notably, these capabilities now sit within Ripple’s broader enterprise strategy.
According to Garlinghouse, all of these business lines are now strategically aligned around expanding utility within the XRP ecosystem. Notably, Binance has fully integrated Ripple USD (RLUSD) on XRP Ledger, further boosting liquidity in the ecosystem.
XRP is the North Star for Ripple
During the online community meetup, Garlinghouse made it clear that XRP remains the focal point of Ripple’s long-term roadmap.
“XRP is the North Star for Ripple. It’s our purpose,” he said. “When we think about what we’re doing on Ripple payments, Ripple Prime or Ripple Treasury, or custody, or RLUSD, this is all focused on how we can drive utility, trust, and velocity, or liquidity, around XRP and the XRP ledger.”
XRP is currently the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, valued at approximately $88 billion at the time of writing. Despite facing downside risks, the token trades around $1.45 at press time and has gained over 6.6% in the past 24 hours. Report shows that top institutions like Goldman Sachs are steadily accumulating XRP.
