At the just-concluded Dubai Fintech Summit, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed that his firm is looking to expand its services beyond liquidity provision. A prominent XRP influencer, Eri, shared the speech clip with her Twitter followers.
In the clip, Garlinghouse emphasized that the firm started as an enterprise-based cross-border settlement service provider. But now, the San Fransisco-based fintech firm is looking to evolve beyond the walls of liquidity and payment services.
Ripple’s Expansion Plans
In addition, the Ripple chief noted that blockchain has four cardinal points, including liquidity, custody, compliance, and tokenization.
The CEO stressed that Ripple aspires to become more than a cross-border liquidity provider. According to Garlinghouse, Ripple is long overdue to expand to other blockchain areas.
The team isn’t just thinking but is also strategizing its plans to achieve this feat. The firm may pursue organic expansion or M&A (mergers and acquisitions).
M&As require Ripple to buy other firms to expand its services, while the former involves leveraging existing resources and expertise to diversify its offerings.
However, Garlinghouse made it clear that his firm is considering acquisitions. He said Ripple is looking to acquire firms in blockchain and crypto-friendly markets.
Talking about crypto-friendly markets, the CEO pointed at the UAE, and Switzerland, who had representatives at the Summit, as countries with regulatory clarity for crypto entrepreneurs.
“On the Previous pane, you had representation from the UAE. You had representation from Switzerland. These countries are providing the clarity for entrepreneurs to invest,” Garlinghouse said.
Garlinghouse confirmed that Ripple has over $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet and is willing to invest it into growth in other areas of blockchain technology.
Again, he affirmed that the company would deploy this money into acquiring other firms and improving its internal infrastructure.
Ripple Expanding To Jurisdictions With Regulatory Clarity
The firm has already started its expansion moves. According to reports, Ripple recently acquired Metaco, a prominent Switzerland-based digital assets custody and tokenization firm. The US-based fintech firm shared the news via tweet.
It is worth noting that Metaco’s business focuses on tokenization and custody, part of the fundamental areas of blockchain technology mentioned by Garlinghouse.
Ripple’s expansion move in Switzerland isn’t surprising, considering the firm’s ordeal with US regulators over the past two years.
More so, Metaco operates from Switzerland, an area with better crypto regulatory clarity that is obtainable in the US. Garlinghouse even highlighted that fact during his speech at the Fintech Summit.
Meanwhile, in April, Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, revealed the firm plans to expand into London. Also, it recently opened a new office in Dubai to increase its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
-Featured image from Pixaby and chart from Tradingview.com