Ripple (XRP) News: Mastercard Partnership, IPO Plans, and $40B Valuation
Ripple just had its biggest week in years — and it might mark the start of a new era for both the company and XRP.
In the span of just a few days, Ripple announced a $500 million strategic investment round led by Fortress, Citadel Securities, Pantera, Galaxy Digital, and Brevan Howard — valuing the company at an impressive $40 billion.
At the same time, Ripple revealed a groundbreaking partnership with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini, launching the RLUSD stablecoin for fiat credit card settlements directly on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).
And that’s not all — BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink confirmed plans to tokenize all ETFs using Ripple’s infrastructure, while India’s Supreme Court officially recognized XRP as property, opening the door for legal adoption across Asian financial systems.
After years of battling regulators, Ripple isn’t just back — it’s becoming one of the most influential fintech players in the world.
Ripple x Mastercard — RLUSD Payments Go Live
Ripple’s latest move with Mastercard could be its biggest integration to date. Together with WebBank and Gemini, the company is introducing RLUSD — Ripple’s official U.S. dollar stablecoin — to power credit card settlements and cross-border fiat transactions on the XRP Ledger.
The partnership means Mastercard will enable real-time blockchain settlements for participating banks and payment providers, using RLUSD for instant conversion and settlement between fiat currencies.
With Mastercard’s infrastructure and Ripple’s blockchain rails, RLUSD could become a major competitor to stablecoins like USDC and PYUSD — bridging mainstream finance and DeFi through a single settlement layer.
$500M Strategic Investment — Wall Street Backs Ripple
Ripple’s comeback isn’t just driven by partnerships — it’s now backed by some of Wall Street’s biggest names. At Ripple Swell 2025, CEO Brad Garlinghouse officially confirmed a $500 million funding round led by Fortress, Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Brevan Howard.
This round brings Ripple’s valuation to $40 billion, cementing it as one of the most valuable private fintechs in the world.
BlackRock, ETFs, and the Tokenization Wave
Just as Ripple was celebrating new funding, another game-changing statement came from BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink:
We are going to tokenize all our ETFs using Ripple’s infrastructure.
That single line instantly positioned Ripple at the center of the global real-world asset (RWA) tokenization movement — a market projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030.
By leveraging Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL), BlackRock plans to tokenize exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for transparent, real-time ownership and settlement.
India Recognizes XRP as Property — Legal Clarity Arrives
In a major legal milestone, India’s Supreme Court ruled that XRP is property, not just a digital token — giving it a formal classification under the nation’s financial laws.
The decision means XRP holders in India can now declare their assets as legally owned property, allowing for institutional adoption, banking integrations, and taxation frameworks to take shape.
India has over 100 million crypto users, and legal clarity there could create a ripple effect (pun intended) across the broader Asia-Pacific region — especially for banks and payment networks looking to build on XRP Ledger.
Network Metrics — Wallet Growth and Whale Shifts
While institutional deals dominate headlines, the on-chain data tells an equally compelling story. In just 48 hours following the Mastercard and BlackRock announcements, over 21,000 new XRP wallets were created — marking the fastest wallet growth in eight months.
After over $650 million in XRP outflows earlier in the quarter, large holders appear to have paused selling, signaling renewed confidence in the asset’s long-term trajectory. The combination of wallet expansion, decreased whale selling, and rising global interest in RLUSD suggests one thing: XRP’s network activity is entering its strongest phase since 2021.
Ripple Launches Prime Brokerage in the U.S.
Ripple isn’t stopping at payments. The company has now launched Ripple Prime, a digital-asset prime brokerage service for institutional clients in the United States.
Ripple Prime will provide liquidity aggregation, execution, and settlement for large-scale digital-asset trades — similar to what Coinbase Prime and FalconX offer, but directly integrated into Ripple’s on-chain infrastructure.
IPO on the Horizon — Ripple’s Next Big Step
After years of speculation, Ripple’s leadership has finally confirmed what many expected — the company is preparing to go public.
Given the firm’s $40B valuation, Ripple could become one of the largest fintech listings in history, rivaling Coinbase’s debut on Nasdaq in 2021. An IPO would not only give investors exposure to Ripple’s growing ecosystem but also further legitimize the XRP Ledger as institutional infrastructure.
What’s Next for XRP and Ripple
With partnerships across Mastercard, BlackRock, WebBank, and Gemini, Ripple has moved beyond being “just a payments token.” Now it’s a core piece of institutional blockchain infrastructure — bridging fiat, stablecoins, and tokenized assets on a single ledger. Next milestones on the roadmap include:
- Expansion of RLUSD into European and Asian corridors.
- Ripple Prime scaling for institutional liquidity providers.
- Regulatory clarity in key regions like the U.S. and India.
- And, of course, the highly anticipated IPO that could redefine how traditional markets value crypto firms.
Conclusion — The Ripple Effect Returns
From courtroom battles to billion-dollar valuations, Ripple’s 2025 has been nothing short of transformational. Once seen as a regulatory underdog, it’s now the backbone of real-world blockchain finance — powering stablecoin settlements, institutional liquidity, and asset tokenization.
As the company eyes its IPO and XRP adoption accelerates, Ripple is proving that utility — not hype — is what drives long-term value in crypto.
Trade, store, and manage XRP securely with Atomic Wallet, and stay ready for what comes next.
