Brad Garlinghouse on Ripple’s Share Buyback, SEC Lawsuit, and Future Plans

• Ripple’s $1.4B buyback shows CEO Garlinghouse’s confidence.
• No IPO plans for Ripple, per Garlinghouse.
• Buyback occurs as Ripple deals with SEC and XRP activity rises.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has revealed plans to buy back $1.4 billion worth of shares, sparking optimism among the community. Buybacks reflect a firm’s resilience in its long-term prospects as they allow it to regain control of its shares by repurchasing those held by shareholders.

The move also fueled speculation of an IPO. While both actions are related to a company’s stock and financial strategy, a company might initiate a buyback to consolidate ownership before going public, thus making the shares more attractive to potential investors during an IPO. In other cases, Ripple might go private (buying back all public shares) before restructuring and eventually relisting in an IPO.

However, Garlinghouse clarified that an initial public offering [IPO] is not on the current agenda. This comes amidst a potential legal resolution with the SEC. The top executive further clarified that the move was strategic rather than reactionary. Still, the community is pinning their hopes on a potential legal resolution.

When asked about such a possibility, Garlinghouse replied, “I can’t comment on that specifically. Suffice it to say that the ruling has been clear from the judge. We expect a resolution very soon, but we can’t predict when the judge will rule there.”

Adding to the speculations was the recent “closed meeting” scheduled on the SEC’s website for July 18, which the spokesperson refused to divulge. But recent updates revealed that the regulator had called off the scheduled closed-door meeting without citing any reasons. While it is not clear if the meeting’s focal point was Ripple, the blockchain firm’s recent transfer of 150 million XRP stirred community speculation about settlement in the community.

Meanwhile, XRPL, the ledger hosting the Ripple-affiliated token, has hit on-chain milestones as traders flocked to July’s top-performing network, indicating a significant rise in interest and activity. Over a single day, 1,721 new XRP wallets were created, the highest since March 30th.

Source: Santiment

Also, as many as 47,363 individual addresses interacted on the network, a record since March 9th. While it is difficult to predict XRP’s price action, typically such surges in the network often correlate to positive price trends. Market experts have warned that the initial spike often triggers a “FOMO effect,” and the true test lies in whether XRP’s activity levels can maintain this momentum in the coming days.