Ripple has started a share buyback valuing it at $50 billion. The tender sets a fresh private-market reference point for one of the largest crypto infrastructure firms. It also offers employees liquidity while public token prices are falling.
People familiar with the plan said Ripple will repurchase up to $750 million of shares from investors and employees. The tender is expected to run through April, and Ripple declined to comment publicly. The structure resembles earlier secondary sales used by late-stage crypto firms to manage cap tables without going public.
Ripple kicks of equity shares buyback from earlier investors, buying $750m at a $50b valuation
— Frank Chaparro (@fintechfrank) March 11, 2026
source: bloomberg
Timing is the point. Bitcoin has fallen more than 40% since an early-October peak, and XRP has dropped more than 50%, squeezing risk budgets across digital assets. Ripple previously explored a roughly $1 billion buyback at a $40 billion valuation, but employee participation was low. Can a $50 billion tender hold when tokens are sliding?
The buyback also follows a large fundraise. Ripple raised $500 million at a $40 billion valuation in November from backers including Citadel Securities and Fortress Investment Group. A higher buyback mark can steady internal pricing for compensation, hiring, and M&A even when crypto benchmarks sell off.
Ripple has been using capital to widen beyond payments. It agreed to buy prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion and has pointed to stablecoin and brokerage infrastructure as priority areas. Those moves tie Ripple more closely to institutional workflows that value continuity in capital access and regulatory posture.
Executives point to throughput, not token charts. In a March 3 update, President Monica Long said fintechs need infrastructure that treats digital assets “with the same rigor as traditional finance”. Ripple said its payments platform has processed more than $100 billion in volume. Next catalyst is how much stock clears before April ends.
