Ripple News: $1.4 Billion Stock Buyback Planned Before IPO – Garlinghouse Signals XRP Confidence

• Ripple CEO has hinted that the firm will conduct a share buyback of up to $1.4 billion.
• This approach comes in lieu of earlier plans to float an IPO in the US.

Ripple Labs Inc CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the firm is in the process of conducting a $1.4 billion share buyback instead of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) launch. Garlinghouse’s statement has signaled confidence in XRP and even fueled further price increases for the altcoin.

Ripple IPO in Uncertainty With Share Buyback

Garlinghouse disclosed Ripple’s stock buyback plans in an interview with Fortune Magazine’s Andrew Nusca. The CEO revealed that Ripple has performed several tender offers to repurchase shares from investors and employees, with a $1.4 billion offer underway.

“We have done a series of tender offers, where we’ve been repurchasing shares from investors and employees. Now, we’re in the middle of another tender offer. After we finish this, we will have repurchased $1.4 billion in stock from our shareholders,” Garinghouse disclosed.

The whole idea of this share buyback is to enhance liquidity for Ripple as uncertainty for an IPO launch looms. Ripple’s CEO says plans for an IPO launch are currently facing setbacks due to regulatory constraints triggered by its legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Garlinghouse confirmed that the company is not looking to go public yet. Meanwhile, this is not the first time the CEO has publicly voiced doubt about the company going public. As highlighted in our earlier article, Garlighlouse suggested that the business is looking at jurisdictions outside the US for a possible IPO.

BRAD GARLINGHOUSE EMPHASIZES THAT THE COMPANIES LIKE RIPPLE ARE FORMALLY BEGGING "GIVE US CLEAR RULES OF THE ROAD"@Ripple @bgarlinghouse @RippleXDev https://t.co/W2KwYLiZLj pic.twitter.com/EATR5tJD9V

— XRP DROPZ (@DROPZXRP) July 16, 2024

He emphasized the SEC would have to accept Ripple’s S-1 registration statement for an IPO launch in the US, which he doubts would happen. Garlinghouse concluded that, under the existing conditions, Ripple would be stupid to consider an IPO in the US.

In the interview, the Ripple CEO addressed bullishness in the broader crypto market and appreciated regulatory efforts like MiCA in Europe. He added that the SEC vs Ripple case is nearing conclusion and emphasized the company has spent over $150 million in legal bills.

Implications for XRP 

Garlinhouse’s recent disclosure has triggered multiple reactions from the Ripple and XRP communities. Market observers opined that Ripple’s willingness to conduct share buybacks confirms the business’s willingness to bet big on its future success. This contributes to increasing trust in the company’s direction and the XRP.

As of this writing, XRP has experienced a 7.8% surge in the past 24 hours to trade at $0.5918. The trading volume declined by 8.8% to over $2 billion. Nonetheless, investors’ sentiment is still very bullish with the Fear & Greed Index showing Greed at 74.

XRP’s increasing dominance is seen in jurisdictions like South Korea, where the price has outperformed Bitcoin. As noted in our earlier post, XRP’s trading volume recently soared to $650 million, outpacing Bitcoin’s $282 million.