Enterprise blockchain company Ripple is set to acquire stablecoin firm Rail for $200 million, according to a Thursday report by Reuters.
The move will help the San Francisco-headquartered company expand its presence within the burgeoning sector.
The report says that the deal is expected to be wrapped up in the fourth quarter of the year.
The Toronto-based platform, which is backed by such players as Galaxy Ventures, focuses on providing infrastructure for using stablecoins for cross-border payments. It is worth noting that the firm accounts for 10% of the global stablecoin flow.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has commented that Ripple and Rails will be the "go-to provider" of stablecoin payments infrastructure for various financial institutions.
The market cap of Ripple's own RLUSD stablecoin, which was launched last December, recently surpassed $600 million, CoinGecko data shows.
Ripple's acquisition spree
As reported by U.Today, Ripple also bought prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion earlier this year, which marks one of the largest acquisitions to date.
In April, Ripple President Monica Long told CNBC that the company was in an acquisitive position with "billions of dollars" on its balance sheet.
While commenting on the Rail acquisition, Long told Reuters that the deal "solidifies" the company's leadership in the stablecoin sector.
Bitwise President Teddy Fusaro previously speculated that Ripple could potentially buy plenty of companies with its massive XRP holdings.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team