Ripple at $40 Billion Valuation? John Deaton Says Haters Must Admit It Is Legendary

XRP holders’ lawyer, John Deaton, has praised Ripple’s resilience and long-term focus in overcoming regulatory pressure, which has led to a thriving company. Deaton’s applause came as a reaction to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s New Year message, which highlighted significant milestones of the company.

How Ripple achieved $40 billion valuation

Notably, Deaton stated that given the company’s achievement in 2025, even those who hate Ripple must admit the huge accomplishments.

He believes that Ripple’s ability to accomplish so much in 2025 despite broader regulatory pressure and challenges remains commendable.

Ripple has had a long, drawn-out legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for about five years. The lawsuit, which commenced in 2020, finally concluded in 2025 with a $125 million fine, but the court upheld XRP’s non-security status. This decision was considered a huge milestone in the digital asset space.

Despite that challenge, Ripple currently stands at a $40 billion valuation.

Deaton maintains the accomplishment can only be pulled off by a “legendary” firm. He is implying that other firms could have collapsed or shut down operations as a result of the tough test that it passed through in 2025.

The $40 billion valuation was achieved through acquisitions like Ripple Prime and GTreasury as well as its global expansion.

GTreasury, which was acquired in December 2025 for $1 billion, is meant to further transform cross-border payments. Ripple intends to leverage it to overcome the challenges of trapped liquidity, slow settlement and high transaction costs in the traditional banking system.

Ripple’s utility-first strategy positions XRP for institutional adoption

According to Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple plans to stay focused on transforming crypto-based products like XRP and Ripple USD stablecoin (RLUSD). He emphasized that Ripple will move away from chasing market hypes and cycles to real-world utility.

Interestingly, Garlinghouse hinted that the recent green light on the U.K. Electronic Money Institution license will make 2026 more remarkable for the company. This is because Ripple now holds a very comprehensive licensing portfolio that would enable it to deliver regulated crypto infrastructure across the region.

On his part, Ripple’s executive Reece Merrick has predicted that the crypto sector is likely to see increased institutional adoption in 2026. Merrick opines that crypto is no longer an optional asset as a result of rapid changes and supportive legislation like the GENIUS Act.