Ripple”s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, recently took to social media to share a humorous incident involving Chris Larsen, the chairman and co-founder of Ripple. This lighthearted moment occurred during a busy December for the company, as they participated in several significant crypto events.
Among these events were the Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai from December 3 to 4 and the Fintech Abu Dhabi event from December 8 to 11. Ripple also showcased its presence at the Blockchain for Europe Summit in Brussels on December 2 and 3, as well as hosting a Ripple Christmas Breakfast in London on December 11.
During one of these gatherings, Schwartz recalled a particularly awkward yet amusing interaction. A new employee from one of Ripple”s recent acquisitions approached Larsen and innocently asked, “So… what do you do at Ripple?” Schwartz found the question so unexpected that he described himself as “kind of busy laughing inside.” In response to an inquiry regarding Larsen”s reply, Schwartz humorously noted that it might have gone something like, “Um. Well. I guess, I”m sort of the founder.”
The year 2025 is poised to be transformative for Ripple, as the company has made four significant acquisitions: GTreasury, Rail, Palisade, and Hidden Road. Ripple has strategically invested nearly $4 billion into the crypto ecosystem through these acquisitions. Notably, on December 11, Ripple announced the completion of its acquisition of Rail, which aims to enhance Ripple Payments, establishing itself as a comprehensive end-to-end stablecoin solution.
Earlier in December, Ripple also finalized a $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury, marking a substantial move into the multi-trillion-dollar corporate finance sector, a domain anticipated to drive the next wave of digital asset adoption. Adding to the excitement, Ripple”s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, revealed that the company has received conditional approval from the OCC to charter the Ripple National Trust Bank. This pivotal development represents a significant step forward for the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin, setting a new benchmark for compliance under federal and state oversight.
