Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, in a recent talk at the World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2020suggested that there is a possibility that Ripple will be made public through IPO, a movement that would undoubtedly have huge ramifications for both Ripple and XRP, and The encryption market in general. .
The talk, which was sponsored by Ripple, saw a lot of discussion about cryptography and its place in the financial industry. In saying that it was a "natural evolution," Garlinghouse's comment definitely suggests that Ripple performing an IPO could be a very real possibility,
In the subsequent 12 months, you'll see the IPO's within the crypto_blockchain space. We won't be the primary and that we will not be the last, but I hope we are at the forefront ... it's a natural evolution for our company."
Garlinghouse is often found in the news, as many of XRP's investors and the crypto world in general listen to what it has to say: it gives a good indication of what Ripple is trying to do by uniting the traditional financial world with decentralized technologies.
What does it mean for Ripple?
Ripple is by no mean the first company to announce its intentions to go public_or even suggest it. If Ripple were made public, that would certainly give it legitimacy, if it can actually launch the IPO successfully. Many believe that Ripple has an air of legitimacy, not contaminated by false air that often affects encryption projects.
But that is if it manages to go through the IPO's
Famously, Bitmain, the company that manufactures AntMiner mining hardware, has made multiple attempts to go public, although so far nothing has materialized. The most recent development on that front sees Bitmain experiencing controversy as he allegedly sold hardware to a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme.
Ripple has a Big Year Ahead of It
The XRP token is considered to have a poor 2019. Ripple has experienced a tumultuous 2019, and some in the community say the network was too centralized, and that Ripple's method to periodically release XRP tokens is bad for the market. This was even the subject of a lawsuit, in which some of the first investors filed a case against Ripple saying that this classifies XRP as a guarantee.
Garlinghouse is also no stranger to speaking with the elite of the financial industries, as he spoke with the IMF managing director, Christine Lagarde. Almost in the same way, Garlinghouse also launched RippleNet as "SWIFT 2.0" to industry experts.
This extensive effort to connect financial institutions seems to be working, as RippleNet https://ripple.com/ripplenet/the global network of financial institutions in Ripple, has already crossed the 300-member mark. Several institutions have also tested Ripple's solutions for cross-border payments.