Ripple Reaches $10 Billion Valuation with New Funding Round
The San Francisco-based blockchain startup, Ripple, is now valued at $10 billion, following recent funding of $200 million. According to the company, the new funding is geared towards ensuring wider adoption of its crypto asset, XRP, for international transactions.
Ripple Now Worth $10 Billion
Per a report by Fortune on December 20, 2019, the $200 million Series C funding was led by Tetragon, an investment company. Other firms involved in the investment round include Japan-based group SBI Holdings, and Route 66 Ventures.
The CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, stated:
“We are in a strong financial position to execute against our vision. As others in the blockchain space have slowed their growth or even shut down, we have accelerated our momentum and industry leadership throughout 2019.”
With the new Series C funding, the blockchain company is currently worth $10 billion. Also, the recent funding round, according to the blockchain company, revealed that investors were confident about Ripple’s vision. Furthermore, Garlinghouse stated that although the firm was not in need of a new cash pump, the money will serve as “balance sheet flexibility”.
Ripple’s XRP is the third biggest crypto asset but the coin has seen a decline, along with other altcoins in 2019. However, the Ripple CEO is unbothered about the price drop, though he notes that the year has been a trying one for the company.
However, Garlinghouse remains optimistic, further stating that the year 2020 will come with groundbreaking announcements from the company. Also, a spokesperson for the blockchain firm stated that part of Ripple’s 2020 plans includes adding about 150 employees to its workforce and setting up new offices in different countries.
Garlinghouse Dismisses CBDC Threat to XRP
There has been an increased interest in central bank digital currency (CBDC) from the mainstream financial sector, which some central banks making moves to roll out the digital version of their domestic currencies.
While some analysts opine that these CBDC projects could threaten Ripple’s vision to control the remittance market, Ripple Chief, Garlinghouse, seems unfazed. According to the CEO:
“Historically, the number of times governments or big companies have been able to come together and execute something on this scale is rare. Bank of America or Citi is not going to use a JP Morgan coin.”
Garlinghouse added that the CBDC projects concentrate on sovereign currencies and not cross-border remittance. Furthermore, there is no “obstacle” for Ripple, as the CBDCs will not enjoy widespread adoption. This is because it is unlikely that banks like China and private firms will adopt stablecoins issued by competitors.
Per a report on BTCManager on November 6, 2019, Ripple completed a partnership deal with money transfer giant, MoneyGram, by investing $50 million in equity funding in MoneyGram.
Also early in December 2019, the blockchain firm launched Xpring.io, a one-stop developer platform to enable developers to integrate distributed ledger payments.
