Amid legal tensions and murky regulations in the United States, Ripple has seemingly decided to expand overseas. The San Francisco-based blockchain payments firm has reportedly acquired a stake in the European cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp.
Ripple Expands European Foothold
Ripple Labs is continuing to make power moves.
According to Galaxy Digital’s First Quarter 2023 report, Ripple purchased shares of Bitstamp — one of the world’s oldest and most established crypto exchanges — which were previously held by crypto VC firm Pantera Capital.
Galaxy says it advised Pantera to sell its stake in Bistamp to Ripple in Q1. It’s unclear how much the acquisition cost Ripple. Bitstamp is currently the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in terms of trading volume, with around $163 million worth of cryptocurrencies traded in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
This Ripple purchase deal comes as Galaxy Digital’s Investment banking team posted stellar growth in the past year, fortifying its position as a leading investment bank for digital assets post-FTX.
What Does The Acquisition Mean For XRP?
The purchase grabbed the XRPArmy’s attention, who uncovered that Pantera had previously invested in both Ripple Labs and Bistamp.
Notably, Bitstamp is presently the second-largest market for XRP after Binance. Additionally, the exchange previously served as a gateway for Ripple, enabling entry into RippleNet. As we speak, XRP now accounts for 30% of the total trading volume on Bitstamp, with the XRP/Euro pair being the most popular.
The community is trying to make sense of why Ripple proceeded with the deal, as neither the payments firm nor Bitstamp has made an official statement on the matter. Some speculate that the acquisition may be connected to Ripple’s objectives for its Liquidity Hub (LH) or On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) services. It’s worth mentioning that Ripple’s popular ODL solution uses XRP to settle transactions, while the LH does not include the token.
While the specific details and importance of the deal will probably be revealed at a later date, it signals Ripple’s move to boost its offerings further, considering its recent acquisition of Switzerland-based crypto custody firm Metaco for $250 million in tokenization push. Whether the latest Bitstamp deal boosts XRP liquidity remains to be seen.
