Cryptocurrency firm Ripple will acquire Toronto-based stablecoin platform Rail in a $200 million deal, the companies said Thursday.
The acquisition is set to streamline Ripple’s operations by adding virtual accounts and automated back-office infrastructure to a framework that uses 60 licenses to manage customers’ payment flows, the companies said.
“Stablecoins are quickly becoming a cornerstone of modern finance, and with Rail, we are uniquely positioned to drive the next phase of innovation and adoption of stablecoins and blockchain in global payments,” Ripple President Monica Long said in a statement Thursday. “Ripple has one of the most widely used digital asset payment networks in the world, and this acquisition underscores our commitment to helping our global customer base to move money wherever and whenever they need.”
The acquisition continues a fruitful year for Ripple. The Securities and Exchange Commission agreed Thursday to dismiss their appeals against Ripple – including proposed adjustments to the crypto firm’s penalty in the case.
A federal judge last August ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in penalties to resolve the court fight that had spanned four years but began when the SEC, at the end of President Donald Trump’s first term, accused the firm of selling an unregistered security.
Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York, ruled in July 2023 that Ripple’s token, XRP, is a security when it’s sold to institutional investors but not to the general public.
However, the SEC, under new leadership appointed by the second Trump administration, agreed to a settlement in which $75 million of Ripple’s penalty would be returned to the company. The judge denied that request last month.
On the acquisition front, Ripple said in April it would buy prime brokerage Hidden Road in a deal worth $1.25 billion.
Meanwhile, BNY agreed in July to custody the reserves of Ripple’s new stablecoin, Ripple USD.
Senate lawmakers in June passed the Genius Act, meant to create a regulatory framework for the issuance of stablecoins. That, undoubtedly, could fuel wider adoption of the digital asset and enable finance leaders to consider more use cases for it.
A Ripple-Rail partnership would allow stablecoin pay-ins and pay-outs without requiring customers to hold crypto on their balance sheets, the companies said Thursday. It also could enable them to manage multiple payment types, including third-party payments and internal treasury flows, through one platform. The partnership, additionally, would allow customers to spend or receive digital assets without having to open dedicated crypto bank accounts or wallets on centralized exchanges, the companies said.
“Over the last four years, Rail built the fastest way to settle business payments internationally using stablecoins,” Rail CEO Bhanu Kohli said in a statement Thursday. “Ripple shares our vision, and together, we’re excited to bring our innovation to the millions of businesses that move money internationally.”
Rail is expected to process more than 10% of the $36 billion in global business-to-business payments made in 2025, Kohli noted, citing research from Artemis Analytics.
