Ripple Sells XRP to Fund Shares Buybacks, Institutional Investors buy Equity in Ripple, not XRP: Analyst

Crypto commentators are accusing Ripple of using proceeds from XRP sales to finance share buybacks.

They are raising questions about whether retail token holders truly benefit from the company’s expansion. Notably, the discussion emerged amid news that Ripple has launched a share buyback program valuing the company at roughly $50 billion.

Key Points

Ripple’s $50 Billion Buyback Program

According to details from the tender offer, Ripple seeks to reacquire up to $750 million in shares from employees and investors. The program will close in April and represents a significant jump from the $40 billion valuation that Ripple achieved in a November funding round.

That fundraising round brought in $500 million from several major financial firms, including Pantera Capital, Fortress Investment Group, Galaxy Digital, Citadel Securities, Marshall Wace, and Brevan Howard.

The higher valuation is notable given that the crypto market has declined over the same period, with Bitcoin and XRP both experiencing sharp price corrections.

“Selling XRP to Fund Buybacks”

The news has stirred mixed reactions from market observers. Popular crypto commentator WhaleFUD argued that Ripple’s financial strategy primarily benefits institutional investors rather than XRP holders.

According to the commentator, the company sells XRP into the market and later uses the proceeds to repurchase its own equity, while venture capital firms and institutional investors accumulate shares in Ripple itself.

In that view, retail traders provide liquidity in the XRP market, while Wall Street firms capture the value through equity ownership in the company. “Retail is the liquidity, Wall Street is the winner,” the statement read.

Another long-time critic, known online as Fishy Catfish, echoed similar concerns. The commentator argued that XRP serves as a financial engine for corporate expansion. He suggests that Ripple sells the token to fund acquisitions and operations, while the benefits ultimately accrue to the company’s private shareholders.

$XRP is at the center of everything we do!

First, we sell $XRP to launch products and buy companies. Then, with the remaining money we do buybacks of Ripple Labs stock!

We socialize all of our corporate overhead to XRP holders, and then privatize all the spoils to Ripple Labs… https://t.co/12lN21L6A3

— Fishy Catfish (@CatfishFishy) March 11, 2026

Ripple Moves 200M XRP Just Before Buyback News

It is worth mentioning that just last week, The Crypto Basic reported that Ripple moved 200 million XRP, worth about $280.8 million, to another wallet. The transfer came shortly after Ripple’s March escrow routine, during which it unlocked 1 billion XRP on March 1 and re-locked 700 million XRP on March 3.

Now, this week, the company has announced a major buyback program. These XRP movements often fuel concerns about Ripple selling XRP, even though some transactions are internal.

Expansion Through Acquisitions

Ripple has been aggressively expanding its institutional infrastructure in recent years. The company bought prime brokerage platform Hidden Road for $1.25 billion and corporate treasury management firm GTreasury for $1 billion.

These acquisitions are part of Ripple’s plan to build stronger financial infrastructure around the XRP Ledger. According to the company, its payments network has already processed more than $100 billion in transactions, mainly focused on cross-border payments for banks and financial institutions.

Ripple has also launched a dollar-pegged stablecoin called RLUSD, which currently has a supply of about $1.5 billion. The company says the stablecoin is meant to improve liquidity and increase activity on the XRP Ledger.

Meanwhile, critics remain skeptical, arguing that Ripple’s rising corporate value does not always lead to higher XRP prices. As the company continues expanding its financial infrastructure and buying back shares, the question of whether XRP holders directly benefit from Ripple’s success remains open.