Can blockchain technology help reinvent the entire global financial system? This company is trying to find out.
Arguably the hottest investment thesis on the planet right now is investing in AI. And for good reason: artificial intelligence is changing every aspect of our lives, and at a breakneck pace.
But there may be a bigger opportunity that many investors are overlooking: the transformation of the modern global financial system through blockchain technology. The investment opportunity I’m watching is Ripple, the company behind the XRP (XRP 3.89%) cryptographic token.
What is Ripple and what is it trying to do?
Ripple is a San Francisco-based financial technology company that has been around since 2012. Over the past decade, it has entered into hundreds of partnerships with financial institutions around the world. Early on, it made a name for itself in the field of cross-border payments, enabling the transfer of money cheaply, easily and quickly around the world.
Image source: Getty Images.
Crypto investors know Ripple for its XRP token, which now ranks as the fifth largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a massive market cap of $117 billion. In late 2024 and early 2025, XRP had an absolutely epic run, with its price climbing from $0.50 to $3.40. Everything seemed to be the limit, and the British multinational bank, Chartered standardpredicts that XRP could reach $12.50 by 2028.
Today’s change
(-3.89%) $-0.07
Current price
$1.69
Key Data Points
Market capitalization
$103 billion
Daily scope
$1.68 -$1.78
52 week range
$1.65 -$3.65
Volume
4B
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ripple holds a massive amount of XRP on its balance sheet. By some estimates, crypto accounts affiliated with Ripple hold nearly 45 billion XRP tokens, or almost 45% of the total XRP supply. That’s about $90 billion at current prices. So perhaps it’s no surprise that Ripple planned $500 million in funding last year at a valuation of $40 billion.
What’s really exciting is that after a long hiatus caused by a bruising regulatory fight with the SEC, Ripple appears to be back. The company lost $2.5 billion on blockchain and crypto-related transactions last year, and appears to be putting in place the building blocks of an end-to-end financial infrastructure for large global institutions.
How to get exposed to Ripple
Of course, there’s a small problem: Ripple is a private company and has repeatedly stated that it is not considering an initial public offering (IPO). So there is no way to buy publicly traded shares of the company, at least for now. You will need to get creative on how to get exposure to Ripple.
The obvious choice is to invest in XRP, which has demonstrated its stratospheric upside potential. You can do this directly, through a cryptocurrency exchange. Or you can do it indirectly, through one of the new XRP spot ETFs launched in November.
You may also decide to invest in one of the new crypto cash companies that are now accumulating Ripple. These companies do nothing other than buy and hold XRP and can be valued relatively easily. Just find out how much XRP they own, and that’s the company’s value.
Reinventing the modern global financial system with blockchain technology will not be easy. And that might not even be possible. But if there’s one company that has a chance of doing it, it’s Ripple.
