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What SBI Really Owns in Ripple May Surprise XRP Investors

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XRP (XRP) Price Performance

SBI Holdings Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao has confirmed that the Japanese financial services giant holds an equity stake in Ripple Labs, clarifying speculation surrounding the company’s exposure to XRP.

The statement follows recent remarks from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. He suggested the firm has the “opportunity” to become a $1 trillion company. 

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SBI Holdings Chairman Dismisses XRP Rumors

Kitao addressed circulating claims that SBI directly holds $10 billion worth of XRP tokens. He rejected those assertions, clarifying that the firm’s exposure is not to XRP but to Ripple Labs. According to Kitao, SBI owns approximately a 9% stake in Ripple.

“Not $10 bil. in XRP but around 9% of  Ripple Lab. So our hidden asset could be much bigger,” he said. “When it comes to Ripple Lab’s total valuation, which obviously includes its ecosystem that Ripple has created, that would be enormous. SBI owns more than 9% of that much.”

SBI has been a long-standing strategic partner of Ripple and has supported the expansion of blockchain-based payment solutions across Asia through joint ventures and financial infrastructure initiatives.

​​In November 2025, Ripple’s valuation rose to $40 billion after a $500 million funding round led by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group and affiliates of Citadel Securities.

Based on that valuation, a 9% stake in Ripple Labs would be worth approximately $3.6 billion on paper. However, if Ripple’s valuation were to increase significantly, particularly in line with Garlinghouse’s long-term $1 trillion ambition, SBI’s equity stake could rise proportionally in value.

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Ripple CEO Eyes Trillion-Dollar Milestone

During the XRP Community Day on X (formerly Twitter), Garlinghouse projected that a crypto firm will eventually surpass the $1 trillion mark. This could put it in the same league as major technology corporations such as Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft.

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“There will be a trillion-dollar crypto company. I don’t doubt that for a second. I think Ripple has the opportunity, if we do things well in partnership with the overall XRP ecosystem, to be that company, and maybe there’ll be more than one,” he said.

Garlinghouse emphasized that Ripple aims to be successful. However, its mission goes beyond corporate growth. 

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He stated that Ripple’s “reason for existence is driving success around XRP and the XRP ecosystem.” The executive described XRP as Ripple’s “north star.” 

“We will continue to build products and services that customers love and will pay for to make Ripple successful, but it’s in service of the overall XRP ecosystem,” he added.

These remarks come as XRP continues to face market challenges. BeInCrypto Markets data showed that the altcoin has dropped 7.8% over the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, it traded at $1.47.

XRP (XRP) Price Performance
XRP (XRP) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto Markets

Despite Ripple’s strategic focus on XRP, ongoing network developments, and ecosystem expansion, these advances have not yet resulted in a meaningful price breakout.

Over the longer horizon, continued ecosystem growth and deeper institutional integration may provide stronger support for price appreciation and broader adoption. Nonetheless, for now, XRP remains largely influenced by broader market conditions.

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Crypto World

Telegram Has Been Downloaded Over 50M Times in Iran, Despite Ban: Durov

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Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov

The Iranian government’s attempt to block the Telegram messaging application in the country has backfired, as users find ways to circumvent national firewalls and online controls, according to Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov.

“Iran banned Telegram years ago,” Durov said on Friday; however, tens of millions of users in the country have managed to access the application via virtual private networks (VPNs) and other similar tools, he added.

VPNs route web traffic through servers distributed around the globe to mask the true Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of users and obscure their locations. This allows individuals with VPN access to bypass national online restrictions. Durov said:

“The government hoped for mass adoption of its surveillance messaging apps, but got mass adoption of VPNs instead. Now, 50 million members of the digital resistance in Iran are joined by over 50 million more in Russia.”

Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov
Source: Pavel Durov

Decentralized technologies like blockchain, crypto and encrypted messaging applications can mitigate or neutralize state-imposed online restrictions and surveillance infrastructure, promoting individual liberty, proponents of decentralized technology say.

Related: Global turmoil pushes uptake of decentralized messengers, social media

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Users turn to decentralized alternatives amid online blackouts

The government of Iran imposed a nationwide internet blackout in January 2026, amid growing protests and civil unrest, which is still in effect due to the ongoing war between Israel, the United States and Iran.

Residents in the country can still access the internet through Starlink, a satellite-based network, or communicate via BitChat, a messaging application that uses Bluetooth radio waves to form a mesh network between devices.

BitChat’s mesh network transforms each device into a relay node that transfers data to other devices running the application within range, bypassing online and satellite-based systems entirely.

Decentralization, Privacy, Liberty, Telegram, Cypherpunks, Pavel Durov
The components of the BitChat messaging application tech stack. Source: GitHub

The government of Nepal imposed a social media ban in September 2025 amid growing protests, causing a spike in BitChat downloads.

Bitchat was downloaded over 48,000 times in Nepal the week of the social media ban, and the government of Nepal was toppled by protestors that same month.

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The application recorded a similar download spike in Madagascar amid protests, which also occurred around the same time as the political revolution in Nepal.

Magazine: Did Telegram’s Pavel Durov commit a crime? Crypto lawyers weigh in