Ripple Labs Inc., a leading financial technology company offering cryptocurrency solutions for businesses, today announced it has raised $500 million in new funding at a $40 billion valuation.

Institutional investors Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities led the round, with participation from Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace.

The company noted the investment comes after a record year of growth, allowing it to repurchase more than 25% of its outstanding shares in recent years.

“We started in 2012 with one use case — payments — and have expanded that success into custody, stablecoins, prime brokerage and corporate treasury, leveraging digital assets like XRP,” Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse said. “Today, Ripple stands as the partner for institutions looking to access crypto and blockchain.”

Ripple is best known for its XRP cryptocurrency and payment network RippleNet, which together provide fast, affordable cross-border payment capabilities. XRP runs on a publicly available blockchain ledger, securing near-instant transactions. The company has continuously developed fintech services designed to disrupt traditional financial procedures with its distributed technology.

The passage of the GENIUS Act, which stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins,” this year by the United States government significantly aided Ripple’s bottom line by establishing a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins. That includes the company’s RLUSD. Garlinghouse hailed the bill’s passage as “a truly historic moment” for the industry.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that match the value of traditional currencies, such as RLUSD, which is fully compliant and backed by U.S. dollar deposits and short-term government securities. For example, RLUSD always maintains a value of $1 USD per token. This makes it ideal for facilitating transactions, especially when compared to highly volatile currencies such as Bitcoin.

Over the past two years, Ripple has completed six acquisitions, two of which exceeded $1 billion in value, including multi-asset prime brokerage firm Hidden Road Inc. and global treasury management system provider GTreasury.

The company holds more than 75 regulatory licenses, allowing Ripple to move money on behalf of customers. The total payment volume the company has managed has exceeded $95 million. Just this week, RLUSD crossed a $1 billion market cap in less than a year since its launch.

Ripple’s customers include a variety of financial firms, such as remittance companies, payment and remittance operators, digital asset exchanges and central banks. Industry customers include Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., better known as BBVA, DZ Bank, GMT Tech Innovation Ltd., Banco Rendimento S/A and the British multinational bank Standard Chartered PLC.

In tandem with the funding news, Ripple also announced a major payments-industry move: It partnered up with Mastercard Inc., Gemini Trust Company LLC and WebBank Corp. to launch an XRP-branded Mastercard that will allow users to spend the company’s token in everyday purchases. The card is issued by WebBank and uses Mastercard’s global network to extend XRP and RLUSD beyond cross-border remittances into mainstream consumer spending.

Under the more crypto-friendly regulations and with this massive funding round in its treasury, Ripple intends to expand institutional use of its XRP and RLUSD tokens and broaden its reach into capital markets.

Image: Ripple Labs