Startups > Ripple

Ripple

Ripple enables instant, low-cost cross-border payments for financial institutions globally.

$853M total Founded 2012 San Francisco, California 1017 employees

Ripple operates the XRP Ledger, a decentralized blockchain enabling cross-border payments that settle in 3-5 seconds with near-zero fees. The platform serves financial institutions, payment providers, and digital asset custodians seeking faster, cheaper alternatives to traditional settlement networks. Ripple's differentiator is its energy-efficient consensus protocol, institutional-grade custody solutions, and direct integration with legacy banking infrastructure through products like xCurrent and on-demand liquidity (ODL).

Problem solved

Traditional cross-border payments take 3-5 days, cost 5-10% in fees, and require pre-funding accounts in multiple currencies, creating liquidity inefficiencies for financial institutions.

Target customer

Banks, payment service providers, remittance companies, and financial institutions requiring sub-second cross-border settlement with regulatory compliance.

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Founders

Chris Larsen

Co-founder

Founded E-Loan (valued at $1B by 2000) and Prosper Marketplace; CEO until 2012.

David Schwartz

CTO and Chief Cryptographer

Electrical engineering degree from University of Houston; 15+ years in network engineering and software development before co-founding Ripple.

Arthur Britto

Co-founder

Former CEO of Information Access Technologies; co-founded PolySign (2017) and Standard Custody (2018, later acquired by Ripple).

Jed McCaleb

Co-founder (departed 2013)

Created eDonkey2000 peer-to-peer network; left Ripple in 2013 over strategic disagreements and founded Stellar (XLM) in 2014.

Brad Garlinghouse

CEO

Current CEO since 2015; led company to $40B valuation and holds $1B+ in cash plus $25B in digital assets.

Funding history

Series D $500M November 2025 Led by Fortress Investment Group · Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital

Multiple early-stage and seed rounds $353M 2012-2024 Led by Various institutional investors (102 total) · Standard Chartered, institutional investors

Total raised: $853M

Industries

Cryptocurrency Blockchain FinTech Internet Payments

Pricing

Not publicly available; enterprise pricing model with custom terms for financial institutions.

Notable customers

Not formally disclosed; serves 200+ financial institutions through RippleNet partnerships including major banks and payment providers.

Integrations

xCurrent (bank integration software), RippleNet (payment corridor network), xVault (custody platform), Metaco infrastructure (post-acquisition), core banking system APIs

Tech stack

Transifex (JavaScript frameworks) GSAP (JavaScript frameworks) Modernizr (JavaScript libraries) jQuery (JavaScript libraries) Bootstrap (UI frameworks) MySQL (Databases) MariaDB (Databases) Zendesk (Documentation) WordPress (Blogs) Twitter (Widgets) New Relic (RUM) Linkedin Insight Tag (Analytics) Google Analytics (Analytics) Crazy Egg (Analytics) Google Font API (Font scripts) Font Awesome (Font scripts) Nginx (Reverse proxies) Varnish (Caching) PHP (Programming languages) AdRoll (Advertising) Google Tag Manager (Tag managers) Amazon Web Services (PaaS) Pantheon (PaaS) Google Optimize (A/B Testing) Sendgrid (Email)

Website

ripple.com/

Competitors

SWIFT

Traditional settlement network; Ripple is 100x faster (3-5 seconds vs. days) and significantly cheaper, but SWIFT has deeper legacy banking integration.

Stellar (XLM)

Similar mission for cross-border payments; founded by Jed McCaleb (former Ripple co-founder). Ripple has stronger institutional adoption and custody infrastructure.

Hyperledger Fabric

Permissioned blockchain for enterprises; Ripple Ledger is decentralized and public-facing with faster consensus and lower fees.

Hedera (HBAR)

Enterprise-focused distributed ledger; Ripple has broader financial institution adoption and established on-demand liquidity corridors.

Why this matters: Ripple represents the most mature institutional blockchain deployment, with $40B valuation and 200+ live corridors, proving decentralized networks can displace legacy infrastructure at scale. Recent $500M Series D and acquisitions (Metaco, Rail, Hidden Road for $1.25B) signal aggressive expansion into custody and prime brokerage, positioning it as a full-stack fintech platform beyond payments.

Best for: Banks and payment providers with high-volume cross-border payment flows seeking to reduce settlement time from days to seconds and cut liquidity costs by 50%+.

Use cases

Cross-Border Remittances

A money transfer service can use RippleNet's on-demand liquidity to send remittances to 15+ countries in under 5 seconds with $0.0002 fees, versus traditional corridors charging 5-8% and taking 3-5 days. Customers receive funds instantly rather than waiting multiple business days.

Correspondent Banking Settlement

A mid-sized regional bank eliminates pre-funded nostro/vostro accounts across correspondent banks by using XRP for instant settlement. This frees up $50M+ in working capital previously tied up in multi-currency accounts while reducing settlement risk.

Digital Asset Custody for Institutions

A pension fund or institutional investor uses Ripple Custody (integrated with core banking systems) to hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP alongside traditional securities in a single compliant platform, reducing operational complexity and custody costs.

Stablecoin Payment Rails

A financial institution uses Ripple's USD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger to enable 24/7 payments (vs. traditional banking hours) with atomic settlement, bypassing SWIFT entirely for time-sensitive interbank transactions.

Alternatives

SWIFT Choose SWIFT if you need deep integration with legacy correspondent banking networks; choose Ripple if you prioritize speed and cost reduction.

Stellar (XLM) Stellar is better for smaller institutions and emerging markets; Ripple is stronger for tier-1 banks and high-volume corridors.

Hedera Hashgraph Hedera offers more privacy controls; Ripple offers faster institutional adoption and proven liquidity corridors.

FAQ

What does Ripple do? +

Ripple operates the XRP Ledger, a blockchain-based payment network enabling banks and payment providers to settle cross-border transactions in 3-5 seconds with fees under $0.001. It provides software (xCurrent), on-demand liquidity corridors (RippleNet), and institutional custody solutions for digital assets.

How much does Ripple cost? +

Pricing is not publicly disclosed and depends on institutional partnership structure, transaction volumes, and custody needs. Contact Ripple directly for enterprise pricing.

What are alternatives to Ripple? +

SWIFT (traditional correspondent banking), Stellar/XLM (public cross-border blockchain), Hedera Hashgraph (enterprise distributed ledger), and traditional remittance networks like Western Union.

Who uses Ripple? +

200+ financial institutions including major banks, payment service providers, remittance companies, and institutional investors. Notable partnerships include Standard Chartered and emerging market central banks exploring digital currencies.

How does Ripple compare to SWIFT? +

Ripple settles payments in 3-5 seconds vs. SWIFT's 3-5 days, costs fractions of a penny vs. SWIFT's 5-10% fees, and operates 24/7. SWIFT has deeper legacy integration; Ripple offers speed, cost, and decentralization.