How to Get Exposure to Ripple Equity before it IPOs

Forrest

Forrest

— 3 min read
How to Get Exposure to Ripple Equity before it IPOs

We called out this company last year when the stock was trading significantly lower, however, we want to update you on its recent breakout and potential valuation given the recent IPO hype that came after Circle (CRCL) ran to $300 from its $31 IPO price.

Ripple has not announced an IPO yet, but rumors are circulating that they may not be far away.

The stock we're going to discuss has one of the most bullish charts we've seen in a while, we believe it is fundamentally undervalued, and it gives significant exposure to Ripple equity pre-IPO.

SBI Holdings is a financial services company based in Tokyo, Japan that provides a range of financial and asset management services; and biotechnology-related solutions through its subsidiaries.

They also own 9% of Ripple.

SBI Holdings ($SBHGF) trades at a $10B market cap. Their underlying business, without the Ripple equity position, is justifiably worth this $10B valuation.

Here are their most recent financials from March of 2025 for those interested:

https://www.sbigroup.co.jp/english/investors/disclosure/fiscalresults/pdf/2025_hrc_en.pdf

A few highlights:

  • $10B in revenue
  • 19% Y0Y growth in revenue
  • ~11% profit margin

Note that SBI Holdings does hold crypto assets and other investment assets, so it's financials can be affected by market conditions.

SBI Holdings trades on the TSE (Tokyo Stock Exchange) under the symbol '8473'.

Here's the monthly chart of SBI Holdings denominated in Yen:

  • 20 year triangle breaking out
  • 7 year sideways range breaking out
  • Strong macro uptrend since 2012

The underlying business appears healthy and enough to justify its current $10B valuation. The chart is strong. Now let's dive into its 9% stake in Ripple.

  • SBI's investment in Ripple dates back to 2016 and includes a substantial equity stake. 
  • SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture, was established to leverage Ripple's technology and expertise to promote XRP and the XRP Ledger. 
  • SBI has actively utilized XRP and the XRP Ledger in its financial services, including remittance services through SBI Remit. 
  • SBI has been vocal in its support for Ripple's growth, including its expansion into the Japanese market and potential IPO plans.

So what is this 9% stake in Ripple worth?

Ripple has issued a share buyback program at $175 per share, implying a $25B valuation.

Ripple also owns roughly $70B - $100B worth of XRP in escrow and is quickly expanding operations int he stablecoin space with RLUSD. Circle, the dominant stablecoin competitor that recently IPO'd reached a $77B peak market cap in June.

Given the buyback program at a $25B market cap and $70B+ in XRP holdings, a $50B+ IPO valuation is not unreasonable.

A 9% stake in a $50B company is $4.5B, making SBI Holdings even more attractive at a $10B valuation.

Note that Ripple's valuation (and therefore SBI's valuation) is heavily dependent on the price of XRP. We're quite bullish on XRP and believe $10+ XRP is quite possible in the somewhat near future. If XRP rises significantly in price, we'd expect these gains to pass through to Ripple's equity valuation and then into SBI Holding's valuation.

In short, SBI Holdings appears to benefit from upside in XRP's price, while maintaining limited downside due it being a healthy, diversified business.

If you're looking for exposure to SBI Holdings, it also trades OTC on US markets through the ticker $SBHGF.

As with any investment, there is always risk involved.

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