'XRP is the North Star for Ripple': Garlinghouse keeps door open for more M&A in second half of 2026

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Wednesday that although it's unlikely his company will pursue more acquisitions in the near term, he might consider new deals later this year.

"It's definitely gonna be a year of more integration. I don't think you should expect any other big acquisitions," Garlinghouse said during an online XRP Community Day event. "But you never know, the second half of the year we'll start maybe looking to be more acquisitive again."

While Garlinghouse's tone suggested it's unlikely Ripple will go on the type of buying spree it did in 2025, the fact that the executive is open to the possibility of more deals later this year is noteworthy. Outside Tether, few crypto companies have spent as much as Ripple in recent months.

Last year, the company invested "approximately $4 billion into the crypto ecosystem" through investments, mergers, and acquisitions. That included buying Hidden Road for $1.25 billion and GTreasury for $1 billion.

GTreasury, considered a "leader in treasury management systems" when Ripple bought the company, is a platform that provides risk management and FX tools alongside compliance and audit frameworks. Before being acquired by Ripple, Hidden Road operated as a global credit network, clearing $3 trillion annually while serving more than 300 institutional customers.

Since the acquisitions, Ripple rebranded Hidden Road as Ripple Prime and GTreasury as Ripple Treasury. All are now focused on servicing the XRP ecosystem, according to Garlinghouse.

XRP, the token largely associated with Ripple Labs, is the third-largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $83 billion. XRP trades around $1.37, according to The Block's price data.

"XRP is the North Star for Ripple. It's our purpose," Garlinghouse said. "When we think about what we're doing on Ripple payments, Ripple Prime or Ripple Treasury, or custody, or RLUSD, this is all focused on how we can drive utility, trust, and velocity, or liquidity, around XRP and the XRP ledger."