Ripple Labs, a San Francisco-based enterprise blockchain solution provider, launched in 2012. Through its strategic partnership and joint venture initiatives, the company is advancing its ecosystem through institutional decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities and compliant digital asset solutions. The company’s 2025 roadmap centres on building out institutional DeFi capabilities on the XRP Ledger. This initiative is fortified even more with the recent launch of its US dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD. These initiatives are occurring at the same time as a maturing of regulatory clarity. A recently proposed settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) further underscores Ripple’s movement into this new, more mature phase of operations, product development and market engagement.

Ripple's Foundation and Funding

Ripple Labs, headquartered in San Francisco, has been a key player in the blockchain space since its inception in 2012. The company is building next-generation enterprise blockchain solutions that will reshape global financial networks and transactions.

Ripple has continued to raise significant rounds through several rounds, proof of the vision and technology inspiring investor confidence. These investments have powered Ripple’s expansion and allowed them to develop their game-changing solutions.

Ripple’s 2025 vision includes establishing an institutional decentralized finance ecosystem on the XRP Ledger. This effort is designed to use blockchain technologies to improve access to and quality of financial services for institutions.

  • April 2013: $2.5 million from Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel LLC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pantera Capital, Vast Ventures, Bitcoin Opportunity Fund.
  • May 2013: $3.0 million from Google Ventures, IDG Capital Partners.
  • November 2013: $3.5 million from Core Innovation Capital, Venture51, Camp One Ventures, IDG Capital Partners.
  • May 2015: $28 million from IDG Capital Partners, China Growth Capital, Seagate Technology, Vast Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Bitcoin Opportunity Corp, ChinaRock Capital Management, Core Innovation Capital, Wicklow Capital, Route 66 Ventures, RRE Ventures, Venture 51.
  • October 2015: $4 million from Santander InnoVentures.
  • September 2016: $55 million from Standard Chartered, Accenture, SCB Digital Ventures, SBI Holdings, Santander InnoVentures, CME Group, Seagate Technology.
  • December 2019: $200 million from Tetragon, SBI Holdings, Route 66 Ventures.

Strategic Roadmap and Stablecoin Launch

A critical element of this playbook was the May 2023 launch of Ripple’s institutional-grade RLUSD stablecoin. It was released on December 17, 2024. As such, RLUSD has been designed to serve as a stable and reliable digital asset suitable for institutional use.

RLUSD is a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, fully backed 1:1 by cash and equivalent reserves. This support ensures that all RLUSD tokens can be redeemed for one U.S. dollar. First, it provides consistency and develops user confidence.

Ripple’s digital asset custody solutions provide bank grade security and flexible deployment in any combination as required by institutions. These offerings are further enhanced by our recent 2023 acquisition of Metaco. These solutions make it easy and secure to manage digital assets and stay compliant.

Technology and Global Reach

Ripple’s solutions hope to achieve fast, cheap, secure global settlements without the use of intermediaries, settling cross border transfers in a matter of seconds. This kind of efficiency literally shaves hours and often days off transaction times and costs for sending international payments.

XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger. It serves as an important bridge currency, facilitating immediate conversions to and from different fiat currencies and paying network transaction fees. XRP facilitates seamless and cost-effective cross-border transactions.

The XRP Ledger operates on the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA), a unique consensus mechanism that enables impressive transaction finality of 3-5 seconds and a throughput of 1,500 transactions per second (TPS). Combined with its scalability and sustainability, this incredible performance creates an excellent foundation for any financial application on the XRP Ledger.

Ripple Payments has a strong hold across 55+ countries, with the most prominent partners being Santander, Bank of America and Standard Chartered. This international reach further highlights Ripple’s adoption and growing impact within the financial sector on a global scale.

Ripple's differentiator is its "compliance-first architecture." This emphasis on regulatory compliance not only fosters trust and confidence among users, but positions Ripple’s solutions as industry leaders in security and transparency.

On July 13, 2023, Judge Analisa Torres issued a landmark ruling that provided tremendous clarity. She concluded that programmatic XRP sales to retail purchasers were not securities, while sales to institutional investors were securities. This decision represented an important turning point in the regulatory history of XRP.

Regulatory Developments and Proposed Settlement

Back on June 12, 2025, Ripple and the SEC made a bold move and settled their lawsuit. They recommended a divided civil penalty, paying $50 million to the SEC and $75 million for crediting back to Ripple, plus the termination of the injunction. Beyond just settling the immediate legal hurdles, the proposed settlement would lay out a clear way forward for Ripple.

On June 12, 2025, Ripple and the SEC jointly moved to settle the lawsuit, proposing a split civil penalty ($50M to SEC, $75M returned to Ripple) and dissolution of the injunction. The proposed settlement aims to resolve outstanding legal issues and provide a clear path forward for Ripple.