Ripple Purchases Bitstamp Shares As It Ponders Further M&A

US fintech firm Ripple has bought shares in the European crypto exchange Bitstamp, taking another step on its journey to expand internationally.Ripple has so far not disclosed anything about the transaction, which was revealed in Galaxy Digital’s latest quarterly report, where Galaxy said it had advised crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital on a sale of Bitstamp shares to Ripple during the first quarter of this year.Pantera Capital is led by the prominent crypto investor Dan Morehead, and is among the best-known crypto hedge funds in the US.It is not known why Pantera Capital has chosen to sell shares it holds in Bitstamp.Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently said that his company is looking to expand through acquisitions going forward, and revealed that the firm plans to use the more than $1 billion it has in reserves for this purpose.“We have more than a billion US dollars in cash on our balance sheet, we want to deploy that to grow both organically internally but also inorganically through acquisitions,” Garlinghouse said on stage during Dubai Fintech Summit.At the time, he specifically pointed to countries like the UAE and Switzerland as places that “are providing the clarity for entrepreneurs to invest and that allows a company like Ripple, that is larger, [to invest].”Buying up shares in Bitstamp would align with Ripple’s goal of expanding internationally through acquisitions.The move by Ripple was highlighted by the President and chief investment officer of Galaxy Digital, Christopher Ferraro, during Galaxy’s earnings call on May 9, a transcript of the call shows.The purchase of Bitstamp shares has sparked speculation within the community, with many questioning whether Ripple intends to further develop its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) offering, or focus efforts on its Liquidity Hub (LH) solution.Notably, an influencer known as WrathofKahneman drew attention to the acquisition via a tweet, emphasizing that it should not be seen as a mere stock purchase, but instead through a strategic lens.“Also, Bitstamp HQ is in London,” the influencer pointed out.