Crypto company Ripple to be valued at $16.9b after share buyback: Reuters

The news: Cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs is buying back USD285 million ($425 million) worth of company shares from early investors and employees, valuing the company at USD11.3 billion, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.

The numbers: According to the sources, Ripple investors are only allowed to sell up to 6% of their stake. The company said it plans to spend USD500 million in the planned buyback to cover costs of converting restricted stock units into shares and taxes. Ripple's CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the crypto firm now holds of USD1 billion cash and over USD25 billion worth of crypto.

The context: Ripple, which builds a payment system that facilitates cross-border transactions while promoting the use of its XRP coins, expects to do regular share buybacks to provide liquidity for investors. Boosted by a US district judge ruling last year that found Ripple did not violate federal securities law, Garlinghouse said it has no plans to go public in the US in the short term due to regulatory uncertainty.