26-4-2025 – Monica Long, Ripple’s seasoned president, unveiled the company’s bold vision for a post-litigation era, weaving together ambitions of a potential US stock market debut, the launch of a dollar-pegged stablecoin, and a pioneering foray into tokenizing real-world assets. Her insights paint a vivid picture of a blockchain trailblazer poised to redefine global finance.
Long, a 12-year Ripple veteran who once collaborated with co-founder Chris Larsen at Prosper, reflected on the company’s early struggles. “A decade ago, banks dismissed our blockchain-based settlement proposals outright,” she recalled. Yet, the tide has turned. Today, financial institutions view distributed ledger technology as the bedrock of tomorrow’s markets, propelling Ripple’s expansion into custody solutions, stablecoin issuance, and asset tokenization. While Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse has previously tied an initial public offering to the resolution of Ripple’s legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Long struck a measured tone. “With billions in cash reserves, we’re not pressed to go public,” she noted, underscoring a strategy of strategic acquisitions over immediate market listings.
The landmark July 2023 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres—that Ripple’s XRP token is not inherently a security—has unlocked new avenues in the US. Ripple has ramped up domestic recruitment and deepened ties with American banks, offering what Long describes as “essential connective infrastructure” to bridge legacy banking systems with blockchain networks. This shift, coupled with a softening regulatory stance, has reinvigorated Ripple’s Stateside ambitions.
At the heart of Ripple’s innovation lies Ripple USD (RLUSD), a stablecoin now approaching a $300 million market cap. Designed to address the volatility plaguing cross-border trade, particularly in Latin America-Asia corridors, RLUSD offers corporates a round-the-clock liquidity lifeline, unshackled from the constraints of traditional banking hours. “Our focus is institutional,” Long asserted, highlighting use cases like cross-border settlements and collateral management. Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, a prime broker handling $3 trillion in annual volume, amplifies this vision. Hidden Road’s clients, Long explained, increasingly seek on-chain dollars for margin in traditional markets—a demand RLUSD is uniquely positioned to meet.
Beyond stablecoins, Ripple is betting big on tokenization, envisioning blockchain as the backbone of modern capital markets. Through partnerships with institutions like SG Forge, Ripple provides software to issue and manage digital securities, from equities to bonds, while ensuring banks retain control over product innovation. “We’re stitching together the old and the new,” Long said, a principle guiding upcoming enhancements to the XRP Ledger, including support for multi-purpose tokens and lending protocols.
While Ripple’s gaze is fixed on institutional infrastructure, Long hinted at future retail possibilities, revealing her own stake in a fractional Banksy artwork from the NFT boom. She also welcomed signs of a warming US regulatory landscape, citing the repeal of restrictive accounting rule SAB 121, bipartisan support for stablecoin legislation, and proposals for a national crypto reserve that namechecks XRP. “These developments affirm the asset’s credibility,” she observed.
Long’s outlook is anchored in pragmatism: solve real problems, and the rest follows. As Ripple charts 2025, its agenda—bolstering RLUSD’s institutional adoption, scaling tokenization pilots, and eyeing a future where US banks embrace XRP-Ledger assets—signals a company undeterred by past battles, ready to shape the financial frontier.
