Today in crypto: Ripple Labs’ president has ruled out an IPO for the blockchain payments company, opting instead to remain private. United Kingdom banking giant Barclays has invested in Ubyx, a US stablecoin clearing platform, marking a major move into regulated digital money and tokenized financial services. Meanwhile, Strategy stock rose 6.6% in after-hours trading following the MSCI’s decision to keep crypto treasuries in indexes.
Ripple plans to remain a private company, president says
Ripple Labs President Monica Long has pushed back against speculation that the company is preparing for an initial public offering, saying it plans to remain privately held for now.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Long addressed rumors that Ripple was considering an IPO after reportedly reaching a $40 billion valuation last year.
“Currently, we still plan to remain private,” Long said. “Often, the strategy driving an IPO is access to investors and the liquidity of the public markets. We’re in a really healthy position to continue funding and investing in the company’s growth without going public.”
Speculation about a potential IPO intensified after the US Securities and Exchange Commission closed its enforcement actions against Ripple in March last year, amid signs of a more favorable regulatory environment for digital asset companies.
Since then, Ripple has secured an additional $500 million in venture funding, valuing the company at $40 billion.
Barclays makes first stablecoin investment with stake in Ubyx
Barclays, one of the world’s biggest banks and a systemically important global financial institution, has made its first investment in a stablecoin-related company.
The United Kingdom-based bank said Wednesday it had invested in Ubyx, a US stablecoin clearing platform that aims to connect regulated issuers with banks and fintech companies. Barclays did not disclose the size of the investment.
“As the landscape of tokens, blockchains and wallets evolves, specialist technology will play a pivotal role in delivering connectivity and infrastructure to enable regulated financial institutions to interact seamlessly,” said Ryan Hayward, head of digital assets and strategic investments at Barclays.
The investment follows Ubyx’s $10 million seed funding round in June 2025, backed by investors including venture capital arms of Michael Novogratz-founded Galaxy and the US crypto exchange Coinbase.
Ubyx was founded in March 2025 by payments veteran Tony McLaughlin, who spent more than 20 years at Citi, managing payments and cash flows.
Describing himself on LinkedIn as a “tokenized money maximalist,” McLaughlin has highlighted the growing role of tokenized financial services.
“Our mission is to build a common globalised acceptance network for regulated digital money including tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins,” McLaughlin said.
“We are entering a world in which every regulated firm offers digital wallets in addition to traditional bank accounts,” he added.
When announcing its 2025 seed funding, Ubyx said its platform was designed to enable broad adoption of stablecoins, including those issued by major industry players including Ripple, Paxos, AllUnity and Eurodollar.
Relief for Strategy: MSCI keeps crypto treasuries in indexes
Shares in Michael Saylor’s Strategy rose 6.6% after Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) decided not to exclude digital asset treasury companies from its market index, for now.
In a note published Tuesday, MSCI said digital asset treasury companies (DATCOs) would, however, be subject to broader consultations to distinguish between investment companies and other companies that hold digital assets as part of their core operations.
”This broader review is intended to ensure consistency and continued alignment with the overall objectives of the MSCI Indexes, which seek to measure the performance of operating companies and exclude entities whose primary activities are investment-oriented in nature.”
The MSCI identifies DATCOs as companies in which digital assets make up 50% or more of their total assets.
The continued inclusion ensures that DATs are still eligible for passive index funds, sustaining demand and liquidity while broadening institutional ownership of digital assets.
Exclusion could have seen Strategy and other DATs lose billions of dollars in passive capital inflow.
Strategy, the largest crypto treasury company with 673,783 Bitcoin (BTC), fell 4.1% during Tuesday’s trading hours but rose 6.6% in after-hours following the news, Google Finance data shows.
