Ripple buys crypto infrastructure startup in its second acquisition of 2023

cnbc.com:

Cryptocurrency company Ripple announced on Friday it will acquire Fortress Trust, a startup specializing in crypto infrastructure, giving it a license in Nevada and allowing it to expand beyond its core bread and butter of blockchain-enabled payments.

Ripple did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Founded in 2021 by Scott Purcell, an entrepreneur with a background in equity and debt crowdfunding, Fortress Trust aims to help large enterprises interact with digital currencies. Purcell was formerly CEO of Prime Trust, a crypto custodian which shut down after BitGo abandoned a deal to acquire the firm.

Ripple is mostly known for its role as a cross-border payments firm. The company uses a blockchain-based messaging system, akin to SWIFT, to approve speedy transactions between a network of banks and other financial institutions.

Ripple's partners include Britain's Modulr, Singapore's Nium and Japan's SBI Remit.

The company also uses XRP, a cryptocurrency it owns a significant portion of and has become closely associated with, for cross-border payments between banks and other financial institutions.

XRP didn't move substantially on the news. The token was up about 0.4% in the past 24 hours, trading at a price of 50 cents.

Ripple has struggled in recent years, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission targeting the firm with a lawsuit alleging XRP should be considered a security and that its executives sold over $1 billion worth of the token to investors in an illegal securities offering.

Ripple had previously partnered with MoneyGram, which used XRP in a pilot to make instant transfers, using XRP as a «bridge» currency to move funds without the need for pre-funded accounts. Following the lawsuit, MoneyGram and Ripple