Mike Novogratz Admits to Underestimating XRP

Mike Novogratz did not expect Ripple's token to survive the SEC lawsuit.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz did not anticipate that Ripple’s token would survive the SEC lawsuit against the California-based blockchain company. He made this admission on a podcast with Kyle Chasse.

In December 2021, the regulator accused the firm of selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP worth $1.3 billion.

After years of litigation, the court finally approved the settlement reached by the parties in August 2025.

According to Novogratz, he did not think XRP would last so long.

The entrepreneur noted that he previously regarded Ripple’s token with disdain, partly due to its community, which he likened to a cult. Over time, he concluded that this could generally apply to fans of most successful cryptocurrencies. As an example, the Galaxy head mentioned his own employee who considers Bitcoin the meaning of life.

He highlighted the role of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse in the successful resolution of the legal dispute, as well as maintaining the integrity of the community, which he called “one of the strongest” in the industry.

Novogratz admitted that XRP turned out to be the best asset to invest in after November 2024, considering its rally.

“Who would have thought?” the entrepreneur remarked with irony.

In July, the token’s price reached an all-time high of $3.65. At the time of writing, XRP is trading 21% below its record mark. Over the past year, the price has surged more than 337% (CoinGecko).

Earlier, on-chain sleuth ZachXBT compared the operational models of Ripple, as well as Cardano and Hedera, to financial pyramids.