Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has set a concrete target for the company’s 2026 business plan: a $1 billion revenue run rate, with XRP held on Ripple’s balance sheet excluded from that figure. The distinction is central to how Ripple wants the market to view its business, separating operating performance from gains tied to token holdings.
Posts shared by CoinMarketCap and crypto-focused accounts on X said Ripple expects to close 2026 at that level. The message is straightforward. Ripple wants its core business measured through products, clients, and services rather than through XRP sales or the market value of tokens it holds.
Hidden Road acquisition and RLUSD add new business lines
Over the last year, Ripple has widened its scope beyond cross-border payments. In 2025, the company agreed to acquire prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. The deal adds credit, clearing, and prime brokerage capabilities aimed at larger institutions. Ripple has said Hidden Road clears roughly $3 trillion annually across markets.
That expansion also supports Ripple USD, or RLUSD. Ripple has positioned the stablecoin for enterprise settlement and collateral use, and it is now being plugged into newer payment products. Reported use cases include services connected to AI agents and machine-driven payments on the XRP Ledger.
Company materials also point to custody, treasury management, and liquidity services as major offerings. These are built for banks and corporate clients seeking faster settlement, tighter account control, and regulated access to digital assets, not for retail trading flows.
XRP investor demand follows a different track
Market interest in XRP is still moving on a separate path from Ripple’s operating revenue. Data cited by crypto.news showed XRP trading near $1.15 on June 14. Products linked to XRP also posted inflows for a fifth consecutive week. In the week ended June 12, XRP products added about $10.68 million, while Bitcoin and Ethereum funds recorded outflows over the same stretch.
Those numbers suggest investor appetite for the token does not map directly onto Ripple’s business income. By stressing that the target does not include XRP, Garlinghouse is framing the company’s revenue goal outside daily token price swings and outside the debate over the balance sheet value of its holdings.
Regulatory clarity remains tied to the 2026 plan
Ripple’s expansion agenda is also unfolding alongside U.S. policy developments. The report said the CLARITY Act passed the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026, by a 15-9 vote. The bill still requires additional work before a full Senate vote, including integration with text from the Agriculture Committee.
Garlinghouse has argued for clearer digital asset rules, saying banks need stronger legal certainty before moving deeper into crypto services. For Ripple, that kind of framework would affect payments, custody, liquidity tools, treasury products, stablecoins, and token-based settlement inside the United States.
Ripple is also building automated payment tools. On June 13, the company released the XRPL AI Starter Kit, which allows AI agents to use XRP and RLUSD for payments through the x402 protocol with limited human involvement. The toolkit lets software agents create wallets, check balances, monitor transactions, and send payments.