Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the company’s recent acquisitions have been carefully designed to strengthen the XRP ecosystem.
In particular, he stated that every move has been aligned with long-term growth on the XRP Ledger. Garlinghouse shared this information while speaking at The Economic Club of New York’s Digital Payments Series Luncheon.
He explained that Ripple’s expansion strategy is not random. Instead, it focuses on building infrastructure and improving utility for XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
According to him, “Our acquisitions have certainly been very strategic in how we do more things to improve the overall XRP ecosystem”. He added that RLUSD plays a key role in that strategy, as deeper on-chain liquidity benefits developers, institutions, and users building on the network.
In 2025, Ripple aggressively expanded through acquisitions, including prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion to deepen its institutional services and treasury software provider GTreasury to enhance its corporate finance tools.
It also acquired custody firms Metaco and Palisade to strengthen institutional asset security, alongside stablecoin platform Rail to expand its on-chain payments and liquidity capabilities. According to Ripple’s CEO, these efforts seek to strengthen XRP’s appeal.
During the discussion, Garlinghouse reflected on Ripple’s early decision to target banks as primary customers. At a time when much of the crypto industry was positioning itself against traditional finance, Ripple took what he described as a contrarian and controversial approach.
From the beginning, Ripple focused on financial institutions as distribution channels for blockchain-based payments. The logic was that banks remain the primary touchpoint for billions of people who interact with financial services. If blockchain technology is to reach the largest audience, integration with banks is essential.
That strategy may have drawn criticism early on, but it has since positioned Ripple as a key infrastructure provider in cross-border payments.
Garlinghouse also stressed the importance of regulatory clarity. Clear definitions around what qualifies as a crypto asset, currency, security, or commodity would allow large financial institutions to engage more confidently with digital assets.
He suggested that clearer rules would unlock further institutional participation, accelerating adoption across global markets.
While acknowledging that the crypto market has experienced a crypto winter, Garlinghouse described the downturn as a constructive reset.
In his view, market corrections force companies to sharpen their focus, refine their value propositions, and prioritize real-world problem-solving. Historically, he noted, each downturn has ultimately left the industry stronger and more mature.
Notably, Garlinghouse highlighted RLUSD as part of Ripple’s broader ecosystem strategy. By increasing liquidity on-chain, RLUSD enhances efficiency and usability across the XRP Ledger.
More liquidity, he explained, supports developers building decentralized applications and institutions leveraging blockchain for payments and settlement.
Ultimately, as Ripple continues to expand through strategic acquisitions and infrastructure upgrades, the company focuses on reinforcing XRP’s role in institutional finance while it strengthens the capabilities of the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
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