Ripple tried to do something no other crypto company had the patience for — convince actual banks to use blockchain for cross-border payments. They partially succeeded, signing up 300+ financial institutions. Then the SEC sued them in 2020, calling XRP an unregistered security. The case dragged on for three years and became the most important legal fight in crypto history. Ripple partially won in 2023 — a judge ruled XRP isn't a security when sold on exchanges. The crypto industry threw a party. The SEC appealed.
Founded
2012
HQ
San Francisco, California
Total Raised
$294 million
Founder
Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb
Status
Private
Website
ripple.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
The original idea predates Bitcoin. Ryan Fugger created RipplePay in 2004 as a decentralized payment network.
In 2012, Jed McCaleb (who had previously founded Mt. Gox) and Chris Larsen took over the project, rebuilt the technology, and renamed it Ripple Labs.
They created XRP as a digital asset designed specifically for fast, cheap international payments — not as a store of value or programmable platform like Bitcoin or Ethereum. The pitch was radical: instead of banks waiting 3-5 days for international wire transfers through the SWIFT network, they could settle in 3-4 seconds using XRP as a bridge currency.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Ripple makes money by selling enterprise software (RippleNet) to banks and payment providers for cross-border transactions. They also hold a massive reserve of XRP tokens (originally around 80 billion XRP, with about 40 billion still held by Ripple in escrow).
Ripple periodically sells XRP from escrow, which has historically been a major revenue source — sometimes generating hundreds of millions per quarter. Their newer products include Ripple Liquidity Hub (crypto sourcing for enterprises), Ripple Custody (institutional digital asset custody), and a stablecoin (RLUSD).
The on-demand liquidity product uses XRP as a bridge currency for international transfers.
THE PRODUCTS
RippleNet (global payment network), XRP Ledger (blockchain), On-Demand Liquidity / Ripple Payments (XRP-powered settlement), Ripple Custody, Ripple Liquidity Hub, RLUSD (stablecoin), Ripple CBDC Platform (central bank digital currency solution).
HOW THEY GREW
Ripple grew by going directly to banks — the opposite of most crypto projects that target retail users first. They signed up 300+ financial institutions across 40+ countries, including Santander, Standard Chartered, and SBI Holdings (Japan).
The strategy was: demonstrate that RippleNet is faster and cheaper than SWIFT, get banks to test it, then convert them to using XRP for on-demand liquidity. Geographic expansion focused on remittance corridors — Southeast Asia, Middle East, Latin America — where cross-border payment friction is highest.
THE HARD PART
The SEC lawsuit was an existential crisis. In December 2020, the SEC sued Ripple Labs, Chris Larsen, and CEO Brad Garlinghouse, alleging that XRP was an unregistered security and that Ripple had raised $1.3 billion through illegal securities sales.
Major exchanges delisted XRP. The token's price crashed.
The case went to trial and in July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that programmatic sales of XRP on exchanges were NOT securities (but institutional sales were). It was a partial victory — and both sides claimed they won.
The SEC appealed. Ripple also lost co-founder Jed McCaleb early on — he left acrimoniously and founded Stellar, a direct competitor.
MONEY TRAIL
2013 · Led by
$NaNM raised
2014 · Led by
$NaNM raised
2015 · Led by
$NaNM raised
2019 · Led by
$NaNM raised
WHO BACKED THEM
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Google Ventures, IDG Capital, Santander InnoVentures, Standard Chartered, SBI Holdings, Accenture, CME Ventures, Seagate Technology
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