Ripple Labs has become one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency companies, but executives aren’t stopping there, CEO Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC. Over the past year, the firm has ramped up efforts to bridge the Web3 world and an industry that has long been viewed as its foil — traditional finance.
In an interview with CNBC’s “Crypto World” at the Ripple Swell 2025 conference in New York, Garlinghouse said his firm aims to offer a wide range of traditional financial services built on blockchain infrastructure, capitalizing on growing institutional adoption of digital assets.
A blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that logs transactions across a network of computers.
“I want to see Ripple invest in [the] future and get ahead of where that market’s going,” Garlinghouse said Tuesday. “The assets we have been buying have been on the traditional finance side, so we can bring crypto-enabled solutions to that traditional financial world.”
Aiming at finance-focused firms
Ripple has been on a nearly $4 billion acquisition spree in hopes of building a financial services powerhouse, in 2025 alone buying prime brokerage Hidden Road for nearly $1.3 billion in April and software firm GTreasury for more than $1 billion this fall. Last week, it launched Ripple Prime, a brokerage that will offer U.S.-based institutions access to over-the-counter spot market trading across several tokens, raised $500 million in fresh funding and lifted its market value to $40 billion.
Ripple’s bid to deepen its push into traditional finance comes as institutional demand for digital assets grows the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission dialing back digital assets regulations this year under President Donald Trump, a self-styled crypto champion.
Bank of America and Citigroup have begun actively exploring stablecoins, with Citi recently unveiling plans to launch a crypto custody service for clients in 2026. JPMorgan in June said it plans to introduce a stablecoin-like “deposit token” on Coinbase’s public blockchain Base. Beyond dollar-pegged tokens, institutional investors have poured billions of dollars into spot Bitcoin ETFs since their U.S. debut in January 2024.
“ The United States used to lean out on crypto, and now we’re leaning in, and I think people underestimate how big a shift that is,” and the likely impact on the entire crypto market, Garlinghouse said.
Institutional integration
On top of building out its own services, Ripple also aims to sign deals to lend its XRP Ledger technology to larger institutions’ crypto pushes, according to Garlinghouse.
Such partnerships could prove a boon to XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, a decentralized blockchain aimed to service fast and low-cost transactions.
“ The more we can build utility and really scale solutions that take advantage of XRP at the core, the more that will be uniquely good for the XRP ecosystem,” Garlinghouse said.
XRP has traded sideways for much of 2025, even as ether and bitcoin sailed to record highs of about $3,900 and $126,000, respectively.
But while high-profile partnerships might push up the price of XRP, dealmaking with traditional institutions is likely to remain difficult due to stalled efforts to create guardrails for cryptocurrency companies and holders in the U.S., Garlinghouse said.
The crypto industry lobby was once hopeful that lawmakers would pass a sweeping digital assets market structure bill called the Clarity Act before the end of the year.
But with the U.S. government shutdown set to enter its sixth week, efforts to establish legislative guidelines for the industry have come to a halt.
“Until we have that [legal go-ahead], it’s gonna be hard,” Garlinghouse said. “Banks are looking for and need that clarity for them to really lean in.”
Jason Kim, chief executive officer of Firefly Aerospace, center, during the company’s initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Firefly Aerospace‘s stock surged 15% on Wednesday after the space technology company issued better-than-expected third-quarter results and lifted its guidance.
Revenues in the third quarter jumped nearly 38% to $30.8 million from $22.4 million in the year-ago period and nearly doubled from the previous quarter.
Firefly’s net loss totaled $140.4 million, or $1.50 per share. The company said net loss included costs tied to its IPO, foreign exchange and executive severance
The company also lifted its outlook for the year, saying it now expects revenues to range between $150 million and $158 million. That’s up from previous guidance in the range of $133 million and $145 million.
This is Firefly’s second quarterly report as a public company. Last quarter, shares slumped after it posted a bigger loss and lower revenues than analysts were expecting.
The Cedar Park, Texas, company went public on the Nasdaq in August during a period of heightened enthusiasm toward space technology. The U.S. government and NASA have leaned on more contracts with companies like Firefly and Elon Musk‘s SpaceX to support moon missions.
But shares of Firefly have lost 70% of their value since their opening day close, and the company’s market capitalization has plummeted from about $8.5 billion to about $2.7 billion on Wednesday.
In September, Firefly shares sank after a rocket exploded during a ground test at the company’s Texas facility, days after receiving clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration over a separate incident. Firefly has since put “corrective measures” in place, the company said on Wednesday. Shares dropped 35% in September and are down 24% this month.
Revenue increased 8% from $13.84 billion in the same period a year earlier, Cisco said in a statement. Net income climbed to $2.86 billion, or 72 cents per share, from $2.71 billion, or 68 cents per share, a year ago.
It’s the fourth straight quarter of growth for Cisco following a stretch of four consecutive year-over-year revenue declines, as the company contended with economic uncertainty and delayed spending from government agencies.
Cisco’s networking business, its biggest unit, saw sales climb 15% to $7.77 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue for that segment of $7.47 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Most of the growth in data center spending is focused on artificial intelligence, as companies bolster their investments in servers packed with graphics processing units, primarily from Nvidia. Cisco is trying to tie itself more closely to the AI boom, and last month introduced a new Ethernet switch based on Nvidia silicon.
Cisco said that AI infrastructure orders from “hyperscaler customers” reached $1.3 billion, “reflecting a significant acceleration in growth.”
“Our relevance in AI continues to build,” CFO Mark Patterson said in the press release. “We have a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar campus refresh opportunity starting to ramp, with strong demand for our refreshed networking products.”
For the fiscal second quarter, Cisco said it expects revenue of $15 billion to $15.2 billion, topping the $14.6 billion average estimate, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings will be $1.01 to $1.03 per share, exceeding the 99-cent average estimate.
Revenue for the full fiscal year will be between $60.2 billion and $61 billion, with earnings per share of $4.08 to $4.14, Cisco said. Analysts expect sales of $59.7 billion and EPS of $4.04.
While networking is growing and performing better than expected, Cisco’s other two main segments saw revenue declines and missed Wall Street’s expectations.
Sales in the company’s security unit fell 2% from a year earlier to $1.98 billion, missing the average estimate of $2.16 billion, according to StreetAccount. And collaboration sales slipped 3% to $1.06 billion, trailing the $1.09 billion average estimate.
Cisco shares are up 25% this year as of Wednesday’s close, topping the 21% gain for the Nasdaq.
Mug shot of Eric Gillespie, Govini Founder and Chairman.
Courtesy: Pennsylvania Attorney General
The founder of Virginia-based defense startup Govini was arrested on charges of attempting to solicit a pre-teen girl for sexual contact in Pennsylvania, authorities said Monday.
The founder, Eric Gillespie, 57, was charged with four felonies, including multiple counts of unlawful contact with a minor, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Gillespie, who lives in Pittsburgh, was denied bail by the judge, citing flight risk and concerns over public safety.
His company has a $900-million U.S. government contract and multiple deals with the Defense Department.
Govini, which last month announced it had passed $100 million in annual recurring revenue and is considered a prominent “unicorn” in the defense technology space, is a key partner in the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Command Control program.
Pentagon officials told CNBC they are looking into the arrest and possible security issues.
Gillespie lists himself as executive chairman of the company on his LinkedIn page.
The White House has referred all security clearance questions to the Department of Defense.
An agent posed as an adult on an online chat platform that the AG’s office said was often utilized by offenders who try to arrange meetings with children, and engaged in a conversation with Gillespie.
The AG’s office said Gillespie then made attempts to arrange a meeting with who he believed was a pre-teenage girl in Lebanon County, which is located near Hershey, Pennsylvania. Gillespie also alluded to methods he used to contact children, and other evidence was found.
Govini did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The state attorney general’s office would not comment on questions about electronic devices seized during the sting. The AG’s office is asking the public to come forward with any other information on the case.
Govini, along with Anduril Industries, Palantir, Striveworks, Instant Connect Enterprise, Research Innovations, Inc., Microsoft and Lockheed Martin are also a part of the $99.6 million U.S. Army’s Next Generation Command and Control program.
NGC2 is a program for the U.S. Army to transform command and control operations by ensuring commanders have access to critical real-time data and infrastructure in areas where communications may be disrupted.
According to the company, Govini’s suite of AI-enabled applications is used by every department of the U.S. military and other federal agencies. The access to sensitive information is vast.
The software analyzes supply chains and critical details of companies being considered by the U.S. government for acquisition, enabling the U.S. military to make informed decisions.
In a recent Bain Capital press release announcing a $150m investment of Govini, Scott Kirk, Partner at Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, said, “We’re thrilled to support Govini’s next phase of growth as it continues to revolutionize how the U.S. government acquires and deploys the capabilities that keep us safe.”
Bain has not responded to CNBC’s multiple emails for comment.