Daily Crypto Deep Dive: Ripple Targets $1 Billion Revenue Without Counting XRP Holdings

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
Welcome back to the Daily Crypto Deep Dive. Ripple may have just given the XRP community one of the most important business signals of the year. Not a price prediction, not a hype post, not another wild XRP to $100 fantasy. A real number. Ripple is reportedly targeting a $1 billion revenue run rate by the end of 2026
And the most important part is this.
That figure does not include XRP sitting on Ripple's balance sheet. And that one detail changes the whole story. Because for years, one of the biggest criticisms around Ripple has been simple. People have said Ripple's value is too closely tied to XRP.
They have said the company's strength depends too much on the token. They have said Ripple has a huge balance sheet because of XRP. But the real question is whether Ripple can become a major fintech company. Without relying on XRP sales or token holdings.
Now Ripple appears to be answering that question directly. The message is basically this. Ripple wants to be judged as a real business. And yes, XRP still matters. But Ripple is trying to prove that the company itself can generate serious revenue without simply pointing to the value of the XRP it holds. That is why this story matters. And before we get deeper into it, this episode is brought to you by Kraken. Kraken is one of the most established names in crypto. And if you are looking to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin or other major crypto assets, you can check out Kraken using the link in the description. Crypto is volatile, prices move fast, and nothing in this episode is financial advice. But if you want a serious exchange with strong security, deep liquidity, and a long track record in the market, Kraken is one of the names worth looking at. And remember, we are also giving away 20 XRP to listeners who sign up through the Kraken link, so check the link in the description. Get involved, and make sure you are following the show for future updates. Now let's get into the Ripple story. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has reportedly put a hard number on the company's 2026 ambition. Ripple is aiming to end 2026 with a $1 billion revenue run rate, excluding XRP holdings on the balance sheet. That is the line everyone should be paying attention to. Because if Ripple can hit that number, the market may have to start looking at Ripple differently. For a long time, XRP has carried most of the attention.
When people talk about Ripple, they often immediately talk about the XRP price.
They talk about whether XRP can break $2, whether it can return to all-time highs, whether banks are using it, whether ETFs are coming, whether Ripple is dumping tokens, whether the SEC battle-damaged adoption, and whether XRP still has a serious role in global payments.
All of that matters. But this new target is about something slightly different. It is about Ripple becoming a revenue-generating financial infrastructure company. And that is a much bigger story than one token chart. Because if Ripple is generating serious operating revenue from real customers, real financial institutions, real payment flows, real stablecoin activity, real custody services, and real liquidity products, then the company becomes harder to dismiss. It becomes less like a crypto project waiting for the next bull market. It becomes more like a fintech company trying to sit between banks, crypto rails, stablecoins, tokenized assets, and global settlement. That is the shift. And this is where the Hidden Road acquisition becomes important. Ripple agreed to acquire Hidden Road in a deal reportedly worth around $1.25 billion.
Hidden Road is a prime brokerage business. And that matters because prime brokerage sits right in the middle of institutional finance. It helps professional clients access liquidity, trading, clearing, financing, and market infrastructure. That is not a retail hype move. That is an institutional infrastructure move. Ripple is not just trying to be the company behind XRP. It is trying to build the pipes that institutions use to move money, manage assets, and access digital markets. And that connects perfectly with the wider market right now. Wall Street is moving on chain. Tokenized treasuries are growing. Stablecoins are becoming more important. Crypto exchanges are moving closer to traditional finance. Traditional finance firms are moving closer to blockchain. And the companies that win this next stage may not be the ones with the loudest communities. They may be the ones with the strongest rails. Ripple wants to be one of those companies. That is why the $1 billion revenue run rate matters. It is not just about the number. It is about what the number represents.
A billion dollar run rate says, we are not just sitting on tokens. We are building a serious business. Now the big question is obvious. Does this help XRP? The honest answer is potentially, but not automatically. And this is where people need to be careful. Ripple doing well as a company does not always mean XRP instantly goes up. Ripple can make money from services, payments, custody, stable coins, institutional products, licensing and infrastructure, without every dollar of revenue directly flowing through XRP demand. That is the sober side of the argument. A stronger Ripple does not guarantee a higher XRP price tomorrow morning.