Ripple Chief Teases Upcoming IPO

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, said that initial public offerings (IPOs) will start becoming more common in the fields of cryptocurrency and blockchain this year, according to a report by Cointelegraph.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Garlinghouse said that Ripple itself might be one of those companies that could potentially go public.

“In the next 12 months, you’ll see IPOs in the crypto/blockchain space. We’re not going to be the first and we’re not going to be the last, but I expect us to be on the leading side … it’s a natural evolution for our company,” he said.

Crypto companies have thus far been using initial coin offerings (ICO), which is an alternative version of an IPO for newer companies that avoids many of the complicated regulatory stipulations involved in the process. However, many ICOs have been unsuccessful or fraudulent, and as the crypto market continues to grow and mature, companies want to prove to investors that they are viable.

Garlinghouse said he foresees some consolidation in the future to help with some of the IPO requirements, as even some of the biggest players in the industry still struggle to meet them.

Another method used by crypto firms like Blockstack is compliant token sales, a process that has been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

One financial institution in California, Silvergate Bank, a company that focuses on digital currency, went public in November on the New York Stock Exchange.

Last month, Ripple raised $200 million in a Series C funding round, which is a common step before a company decides to go public, according to a report by Yahoo! Finance. The round valued the company at $10 billion. The company has raised $293.6 million so far, and has sold $1.22 billion worth of XRP.