After a significant legal victory against the U.S. SEC, Ripple, the prominent cryptocurrency payments giant, aims to secure a coveted spot on the U.K.’s crypto company register. Following a favorable court ruling in the U.S. regarding its sales of XRP, Ripple is now looking to expand its operations in the U.K. and Europe, according to a recent report.
Ripple’s Growth Strategy In The UK & Europe
Sendi Young, Ripple’s European managing director, expressed her excitement about the court decision, which she hailed as a “huge win” and a positive development for the company’s growth in the U.S. She emphasized that Ripple’s strategy and growth plans in the U.K. and Europe remained intact.
The company has already taken action and applied for registration as a crypto asset firm with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, in addition to seeking a payment institution license in Ireland. This move is seen as a strategic investment, signaling the company’s commitment to continued exponential growth in the region.
Young refrained from disclosing specific numerical targets for growth in the U.K. and Europe but revealed that the company was actively expanding its workforce and hiring for various roles. Over the past 18 months, Ripple has bolstered its U.K. and European staff by about 75%, with over 100 employees out of its 900 global workforce stationed in offices across London, Dublin, and Reykjavik, Iceland.
Despite the success in the U.S. court, Ripple’s legal battles are not entirely over, and further trials are anticipated. Stephen Palley, a partner at Brown Rudnick’s Digital Commerce group, analyzed the result, stating that institutional sales of XRP were still considered securities transactions. While programmatic sales and employee distributions were exempt. He also highlighted that the court’s stance on secondary market sales was yet to be determined.
Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, had previously threatened to move the company outside the U.S. if the SEC lawsuit did not resolve in their favor. Although Young reiterated that the U.S. remained their global hub, she acknowledged that most of their expansion had happened outside the U.S. in the past two years, with further growth expected worldwide.
Young criticized the SEC’s approach to regulation by enforcement, expressing that it hindered innovation and discouraged investment. As a result of the regulatory uncertainty in the U.S., other jurisdictions like the U.K. and E.U. view this as an opportunity to attract global companies like Ripple.