‘XRP Is The North Star,’ Says Ripple CEO After $4B In Acquisitions In 2025

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company might pursue acquisitions in the second half of 2026 after spending $4 billion on M&A last year, even as XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) remains 60% below its peak.

Garlinghouse told an online XRP Community Day event that 2026 will focus on integration rather than new deals according to The Block.

“I don’t think you should expect any other big acquisitions,” he said. “But you never know, the second half of the year we’ll start maybe looking to be more acquisitive again,” he added.

Last year, Ripple invested approximately $4 billion into the crypto ecosystem through investments, mergers, and acquisitions.

Don’t Miss:

Major deals included Hidden Road for $1.25 billion and GTreasury for $1 billion.

Hidden Road cleared $3 trillion annually while serving over 300 institutional customers before Ripple rebranded it as Ripple Prime.

GTreasury, now Ripple Treasury, provides risk management and FX tools alongside compliance and audit frameworks.

“XRP is the North Star for Ripple. It’s our purpose,” Garlinghouse said. All products—Ripple Payments, Ripple Prime, Ripple Treasury, custody, and RLUSD stablecoin—focus on driving utility, trust, velocity, and liquidity around XRP and the XRP Ledger.

Trending: Wall Street’s $12B Real Estate Manager Is Opening Its Doors to Individual Investors — Without the Crowdfunding Middlemen

XRP is bouncing after plunging to $1.15-$1.20 in a severe capitulation move.

The Parabolic SAR flipped to $1.1515 below price for the first time during the decline, suggesting momentum may shift temporarily.

However, the Supertrend at $1.7418 remains well above price in bearish mode, confirming the downtrend stays intact.

Critical support held at $1.15-$1.20. Breaking below triggers selling toward the psychological $1 level or lower.

The bounce brought price to $1.37-$1.40, but significant resistance lies overhead.

Immediate resistance for XRP appears at $1.45-$1.50, followed by $1.70-$1.80 including the Supertrend level. For meaningful recovery, XRP needs to hold above $1.30 on pullbacks and continue making higher lows.

See Also: Before the IPO: How One Company Quietly Locked Up 500+ Iconic Character Rights

The $4 billion spending spree last year positions Ripple as one of crypto’s most active acquirers outside Tether.

For XRP, the question is whether M&A and product expansion translate to token demand.

Garlinghouse framed everything around driving XRP utility, but the 60% crash suggests investors remain skeptical.

Image: Shutterstock

Read Next: Put professional stock research to work in a single ETF — explore Motley Fool Asset Management’s factor-based funds.

Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, professional financial guidance, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.

Rad AI’s award-winning artificial intelligence technology helps transform data chaos into actionable insights, enabling the creation of high-performing content with measurable ROI. Their Regulation A+ offering allows investors to participate at $0.85 per share with a minimum investment of $1,000, providing an opportunity to diversify portfolios into early-stage AI innovation. For investors seeking exposure to the rapidly growing AI and tech sector, Rad AI offers a chance to get in on the ground floor of a data-driven growth story.

Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.

Lightstone DIRECT gives accredited investors direct access to institutional-grade real estate, going beyond typical crowdfunding platforms. By cutting out middlemen, it aligns investor and manager interests while providing exposure to a $12B+ portfolio spanning multifamily, industrial, hospitality, retail, office, and life science properties. This approach allows investors to diversify their portfolios across multiple property types and markets, gaining professional-grade real estate exposure without the fees or misalignment common on other platforms.

Masterworks enables investors to diversify into blue-chip art, an alternative asset class with historically low correlation to stocks and bonds. Through fractional ownership of museum-quality works by artists like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso, investors gain access without the high costs or complexities of owning art outright. With hundreds of offerings and strong historical exits on select works, Masterworks adds a scarce, globally traded asset to portfolios seeking long-term diversification.

BAM Capital offers accredited investors a way to diversify beyond public markets through institutional-grade multifamily real estate. With over $1.85 billion in completed transactions and guidance from Senior Economic Advisor Tony Landa, the firm targets income and long-term growth as supply tightens and renter demand remains strong—especially in Midwest markets. Its income-focused and growth-oriented funds provide exposure to real assets designed to be less tied to stock market volatility.

As digital assets become a larger part of diversified portfolios, traders increasingly look for platforms that offer transparency, efficiency, and control. Kraken Pro is an advanced trading interface from Kraken, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, designed for users who want more sophisticated tools without added complexity. With low, volume-based fees, a streamlined interface for managing spot, margin, and futures trading, and a strong focus on security and regulatory compliance, Kraken Pro provides a way to gain diversified crypto exposure through a clear, professional-grade trading experience.

REX Shares designs specialized ETFs for investors who want more precision than traditional broad-market funds can offer. Its lineup spans options-based income strategies, leveraged and inverse exposures, spot-linked crypto ETFs, and thematic funds tied to structural trends. By targeting specific income objectives, volatility profiles, or market themes, these ETFs can be used alongside core holdings to introduce differentiated return drivers and reduce reliance on a single market outcome, while maintaining the liquidity and transparency of the ETF structure.

Motley Fool Asset Management brings its long-standing “Foolish” investing philosophy into a lineup of passive ETFs designed around clear, rules-based investment styles. Built using decades of proprietary research from The Motley Fool, LLC, these factor-based ETFs focus on growth, value, and momentum strategies, selecting U.S. companies based on quality, risk, and long-term potential. For investors who want professionally vetted stock exposure without the demands of active trading, Motley Fool Asset Management offers a straightforward way to access expert-driven strategies through the simplicity and liquidity of an ETF.

Elf Labs is an IP-focused entertainment company built on a strategy that has powered giants like Disney and Marvel: ownership of globally recognized character IP. After more than a decade of rights acquisition, the company controls 500+ protected trademarks and copyrights tied to iconic characters including Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Peter Pan. This foundation has generated over $15 million in royalties, expanded licensing into 30+ countries, and supported development of 100+ product lines. With its Nasdaq ticker ($ELFS) reserved and valuation growth exceeding 1,600% in under two years, Elf Labs is now scaling distribution through patented production systems, global licensing, and streaming and mobile initiatives—offering investors exposure to a private entertainment company with a clear public-market trajectory.

This article ‘XRP Is The North Star,’ Says Ripple CEO After $4B In Acquisitions In 2025 originally appeared on Benzinga.com

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.