Ripple achieves record valuation of $15B

After announcing a $200 million Series C share buyback, Ripple (XRP/USD) will achieve a record high valuation of $15 billion. The San Francisco-based tech firm raised $200 million in a Series C funding round in December 2019, CoinTelegraph wrote.

Tetragon led funding round, SBI Holdings took part

The round was led by UK-based investment company Tetragon Financial Group. SBI Holdings and Route 66 Ventures also took part.

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Exactly a year later, US financial watchdog SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filed a $1.3 billion lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Ripple cofounder Chris Larsen. The regulator accused the defendants of using the native XRP token as an unlicensed digital asset security.

Tetragon sues Ripple, loses

In early January last year, Tetragon filed a lawsuit against Ripple in the Delaware Chancery Court in a bid to distance themselves from the company in light of the high-profile and openly public judicial proceedings.

Tetragon was seeking to fulfill its contractual obligation of a buyback clause in the (undisclosed) amount of their investment. In April 2021, the court ruled against Tetragon and in favor of Ripple, bringing the financial dispute to an end.

Ripple to buy shares from funding round investors

Ripple chose to purchase the shares from Tetragon, SBI Holdings, and Route 66 Ventures, indicating that the company wants to enhance its financial strength. CEO Garlinghouse said as much in a recent tweet thread.

He called 2021 Ripple’s ‘best year on record’ despite the legal drama, adding that the company has never been stronger financially. Their bank balance is one billion dollars.

Optimism for the future

Ripple’s CEO expressed optimism for the future alongside the news of buyback and valuation. He shared that Ripple X would enhance the utility of the XRP Ledger in a number of sectors, including NFTs and CBDCs. Garlinghouse tweeted:

RippleX – full speed ahead on establishing a multitude of capabilities to the XRP Ledger – NFTs, CBDCs, interoperability bridges, sidechains and so much more – working hand in hand with devs and partners around the world. It’s a multichain world after all.