Brad Garlinghouse Responds to ‘Average Quality’ Rating for Ripple Prime

Brad Garlinghouse commented on Ripple Prime's investment rating by KBRA.

CEO Ripple Brad Garlinghouse commented on the investment rating assigned by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) to Ripple Prime’s brokerage division.

Clear validation of @Ripple Prime’s strength, reliability and tech with today’s investment grade issuer rating from Kroll. Momentum builds when markets recognize these things. https://t.co/WjGi14OuaZ

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) April 2, 2026

According to him, the decision was a “clear validation of the platform’s strength, reliability, and technology.”

In October 2025, Ripple completed the acquisition of non-bank prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion and rebranded it as Ripple Prime.

KBRA assigned the structure a BBB rating—the lowest tier of investment grade, indicating “average quality” creditworthiness with moderate risks.

Agency analysts emphasized that Ripple Prime is in a phase of active growth, focusing on clearing and brokerage services in the derivatives and repo markets. They noted that the platform:

• is a registered broker-dealer and FCM in the United States;
• deals with exchange-traded derivatives and short-term government bonds, targeting institutional clients;
• rapidly increased its balance sheet and turned profitable in 2025.

A significant factor in the rating was the support from the parent company:

• Ripple invested about $500 million following the announcement of the purchase of Hidden Road;
• the company plans further investments in the subsidiary, holding $5 billion in cash and “large reserves of XRP.”

However, KBRA pointed out several limitations, such as revenue concentration in a narrow segment of financial operations and weak business diversification. The agency’s specialists also cited the close ties between Ripple and the crypto industry as a risk. This could negatively impact the company’s profits, which may be “sensitive to price volatility and liquidity conditions, especially during a prolonged downturn in the digital asset market.”

XRP’s value has dropped more than 28% since the beginning of the year. The token is trading near $1.3—almost 64% below its all-time high of $3.65, recorded in July 2025. The asset’s market capitalization is approximately $81 billion. (CoinGecko).

Earlier, Garlinghouse predicted “record results” for Ripple by the end of the first quarter.