Ripple possible public announcement returned to the conversation after SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao presented one of the clearest, long-term roadmaps to date from major shareholder Ripple.

Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO and chairman of SBI, one of Japan’s largest financial conglomerates, he noticed that have since gained recognition from members of the XRP community. Talking about his long-term investment intentions, Kitao stated that he is willing to allocate $626 million for the bottom end and $1.25 billion for the top end of Ripple once the payment technology company goes public.

SBI CEO says Ripple must go public

The question of whether Ripple Labs will ever go public has haunted the company for years, although Ripple’s management has consistently cooled down expectations for an initial public offering.

Speaking at a recent conference in Tokyo, Japan, Kitao said that when Ripple Labs goes public, it plans to make enormous investments in the company. His statements indicate that the company would be willing to add 100 or even 200 billion yen right away to complete everything.

Interestingly, the SBI Holdings CEO added that he believes Ripple will likely go public in about 12 years, while also stating that Ripple needs to go public. On this timeline, the possible listing is outside the current cycle as it points to around 2038.

The comment matters because Kitao is one not a distant observer not an XRP commentator trying to predict the next catalyst due to the raise in XRP prices. SBI is one of Ripple’s most consistent sponsors, and its relationship with the company dates back to 2016.

SBI invested in Ripple Labs and later co-founded SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture focused on using Ripple technology for cross-border payment services in Asia. SBI also publicly it has been revealed that this is the case approximately 9% of Ripple Labs, making it one of the company’s largest external shareholders.

The company has always opposed IPO talks

Comments regarding Ripple’s IPO in particular have been circulating around the company for years after a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officially ended in 2025. Ripple did too has grown as a company in custody, stablecoin infrastructure, real-world asset tokenization and acquisitions.

However, Ripple executives also noted that the company is in no rush to pursue an initial public offering. For example, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse rejected IPO talks last year, saying the company did not need external financing.

Ripple president Monica Long also said in January 2026 that Ripple I still planned to keep it private explaining that the company’s balance sheet gives it enough room for further development without raising capital from public markets. This position also fits with Ripple’s recent strength in the private market, as Ripple raised $500 million at a valuation of approximately $40 billion at the end of 2025.

Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com