Arguably, the hottest investment thesis on the planet right now is the AI investment thesis. And for good reason -- artificial intelligence is changing every aspect of our lives, and doing so at a breakneck pace.
But there might be a bigger opportunity out there that many investors are overlooking: the transformation of the modern global financial system with blockchain technology. The investment opportunity I have my eye on is Ripple, the company behind the XRP (XRP +0.21%) crypto token.
What is Ripple, and what is it trying to do?
Ripple is a San Francisco-based fintech company that has been around since 2012. Over the past decade, it has inked hundreds of partnerships with financial institutions around the world. Early on, it made a name for itself in the field of cross-border payments, enabling the cheap, easy, and quick transfer of money around the world.
Image source: Getty Images.
Crypto investors know Ripple for its XRP token, which now ranks as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a massive $117 billion market cap. In late 2024 and early 2025, XRP went on an absolutely epic run, skyrocketing in price from $0.50 to $3.40. The sky seemed to be the limit, and the British multinational bank, Standard Chartered, predicted that XRP might soar as high as $12.50 by the year 2028.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
Perhaps not surprisingly, Ripple holds a massive amount of XRP on its balance sheet. According to some estimates, Ripple-affiliated crypto accounts hold close to 45 billion XRP tokens, or close to 45% of the entire supply of XRP. That's worth roughly $90 billion, given today's prices. So it's perhaps no surprise that Ripple lined up $500 million in financing last year at a $40 billion valuation.
The really exciting part is that, after a long hiatus brought on by a bruising regulatory fight with the SEC, Ripple appears to be back. Last year, the company dropped $2.5 billion on blockchain and crypto-related transactions, and appears to be putting in place the building blocks for an end-to-end financial infrastructure for large global institutions.
How to get exposure to Ripple
Of course, there's one small problem: Ripple is a privately held company and has stated repeatedly that it has no plans for an initial public offering (IPO). So there's no way to buy publicly traded stock in the company, at least right now. You'll need to get creative on how to get exposure to Ripple.
The obvious choice is investing in XRP, which has demonstrated the potential for stratospheric upside. You can do so directly, via a cryptocurrency exchange. Or you can do so indirectly, via one of the new spot XRP ETFs that launched back in November.
You could also decide to invest in one of the new crypto treasury companies that are now hoarding Ripple. These companies do nothing but buy and hold XRP, and can be valued relatively easily. Just find out how much XRP they own, and that's how much the company is worth.
Reinventing the modern global financial system with blockchain technology won't be easy. And it might not even be possible. But if there's one company that has a chance to do it, it's Ripple.
