Linqto froze user accounts amid bankruptcy proceedings, proposing refunds of original investments but denying profit returns to investors.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated Linqto acquired Ripple shares exclusively through secondary markets. His comments followed investor concerns after Linqto froze accounts.
“To be clear, on Ripple’s end: What we know from our records is Linqto owns 4.7M shares of Ripple, solely purchased on the secondary market from other Ripple shareholders (never directly from Ripple).”
Garlinghouse confirmed Linqto holds 4.7 million Ripple shares. These shares were purchased from other shareholders, not from Ripple directly. Ripple never maintained business ties with Linqto. The company stopped approving Linqto’s secondary purchases in late 2024.
“Apart from Linqto being a shareholder, Ripple has never had a business relationship with Linqto, nor have they participated in our financing rounds. We stopped approving more Linqto purchases on secondary markets in late 2024 amid growing skepticism.”
Linqto suspended operations last week. The private equity platform proposed refunding only original investments, denying users potential profits. Federal authorities are investigating its activities.
Attorney John Deaton, a Linqto investor, urged calm among affected users. Deaton noted Linqto carries no debt and holds documented assets. He suggested bankruptcy proceedings could establish clearer investor protections.
Secondary markets allow trading of private company shares before public listings. Platforms like Linqto enabled retail investors to buy pre-IPO stocks. Recent events have raised questions about oversight in this sector.
Ripple’s clarification aims to distance itself from Linqto’s operational issues. Garlinghouse emphasized no participation in Linqto’s funding rounds occurred. Investor trust in pre-IPO platforms has weakened following the freeze.
Deaton acknowledged some investors placed retirement funds on Linqto. He maintains proper accounting could enable eventual returns. Regulatory outcomes will determine next steps for frozen accounts.
XRP (Ripple) is trading at $2.2029 USDT, posting a slight +0.14% intraday gain. However, on the weekly view, XRP is down -0.67%, while the monthly performance reflects a mild -0.19% decline.
Year-over-year, the asset remains significantly bullish with a +361.73% gain, making it one of the standout performers among large-cap altcoins over the past 12 months.
Community sentiment is bullish with increasing interest in macro narratives (CBDCs, banking rails), yet technical analysts caution that any break below $2.05 could invalidate the bullish setup and trigger deeper corrections.
