Pro-XRP attorney John E. Deaton reignited speculation over a Ripple initial public offering late on Monday, arguing on X that the timing is now a big factor. Deaton noted that stablecoin issuer Circle’s public float has shown what deep, liquid US equity markets will tolerate, and suggested that if Circle can command a 62-75 billion market cap, then Ripple could even surpass a $100 billion valuation.
His comments dropped just days after Ripple opened a $700 million tender offer that prices private shares at $175—a 135 percent premium to recent secondary trading on Hyve and nearly triple the $65 tender executed two summers ago.
The latest price implies an equity valuation of roughly $25 billion for the 141 million shares outstanding. January’s buy-back had cleared at $125, underscoring how quickly insiders are marking the company higher. Internal deal documents circulated with the offer show $3.7 billion in cash, zero debt, and 41 billion XRP on the balance sheet—assets worth about $94 billion at spot or $47 billion using a fifty-percent haircut.
Deaton’s $100 billion figure rests on treating Ripple’s XRP escrow as a de-facto asset base and assuming public investors will capitalize it at—or even above—spot value. That approach departs from how Wall Street valued Circle, whose June 4 New York Stock Exchange debut raised $1.1 billion at a $6.9 billion equity valuation even though roughly $62 billion in USDC circulates on-chain.
Skeptics point out that Circle’s tokens are liabilities, not residual assets, and that public-market investors have historically resisted paying dollar-for-dollar for native coins held by an issuer. Nevertheless, even excluding the escrow entirely, Ripple’s cash, securities and operating income already underpin a double-digit billion valuation that could expand sharply if XRP remains above $2.15.
If Ripple were to float at a fully-diluted $100 billion, it would eclipse Coinbase’s $86 billion landmark direct listing in April 2021 and set a new high-water mark for a crypto-native equity listing. Deaton’s thesis thus frames a potential record-breaker at the intersection of two forces: a legal détente that removes the core regulatory discount and a still-expanding XRP treasury whose mark-to-market value increasingly dwarfs Ripple’s current private-share price.
Judge Torres’s decision on the June 13 motion is the next catalyst. If she signs off, Ripple will emerge from the SEC saga with both a leaner penalty and a courtroom vindication it can take on the roadshow circuit.
Garlinghouse has repeatedly said the company is “not in a rush,” but the tender-offer terms expire July 9, and investors will parse any subsequent corporate filings or NASDAQ Private Market communications for hints of a registration statement.
At press time, XRP traded at $2.168.
