Look, if you’ve been hanging around the XRP community for more than five minutes, you know the "buyback" topic is basically a religious debate at this point. People get heated. Some think it’s a magic button that sends the price to the moon, while others—honestly, including some folks at Ripple—have called certain buyback theories a straight-up scam.
But here’s the thing: things shifted in late 2025 and early 2026. We aren't just talking about Twitter rumors anymore. Between the massive $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury and those weirdly specific "put options" Ripple gave to Wall Street investors, the XRP token treasury ripple buyback conversation has moved from "conspiracy theory" to "corporate balance sheet strategy."
What’s Actually Happening with the Treasury?
Let’s clear the air first. When people say "buyback," they’re usually talking about two completely different things, and mixing them up is why everyone is so confused.
First, there’s the secondary market buyback. Ripple has been doing this for a while. They sell XRP to ODL (On-Demand Liquidity) customers—now called Ripple Payments—and then they often go out and buy XRP back from the open market to keep their "net sales" from looking like a dump. It’s about keeping the pipes clean. In December 2023, for example, they did a massive buyback to offset high ODL sales. It happens. It's routine.
But the second kind? That’s the "Treasury" play.
In October 2025, Ripple dropped $1 billion to buy a company called GTreasury. This wasn't just a random flex. GTreasury handles money for Fortune 500 companies. By folding this into their ecosystem, Ripple basically built a bridge for the world's biggest CFOs to manage XRP and their new RLUSD stablecoin right alongside their "real" money.
"We’ll probably slow down the acquisition binge in 2026," Brad Garlinghouse said recently.
He’s right to chill out. They spent over $2.4 billion in 2025 alone. They’ve already built the house; now they're just moving the furniture in.
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The $1 Billion Buyback That... Didn't Happen?
This is a wild story that a lot of people missed. In September 2025, Ripple actually tried to buy back $1 billion worth of its own shares from employees and early investors. They offered a price that valued the company at a cool $40 billion.
And you know what? Almost nobody wanted to sell.
It was the lowest participation rate they’d ever seen. Why? Because with XRP ETFs finally hitting the market in late 2025—shoutout to the Franklin Templeton launch—investors figured the company was worth way more than $40 billion. When your own employees won't give up their bags even for a billion-dollar payout, it tells you something about where they think the ceiling is.
The Wall Street "Safety Net"
Here is where it gets technical but super important for the token's future. In November 2025, a group of heavy hitters like Citadel Securities and Fortress Investment Group pumped $500 million into Ripple.
But they didn't just hand over the cash. They demanded "put options."
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Basically, these firms have the right to force Ripple to buy back their shares in three or four years at a guaranteed 10% return. If Ripple wants to force them out early? They have to pay a 25% return. This creates a massive, looming "buyback obligation" on Ripple's balance sheet that totals nearly $700 million.
How does Ripple pay for that? They use their treasury. And what is that treasury made of? Mostly 25 billion dollars worth of XRP.
The "Scam" vs. The Reality
You might remember David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, calling an XRP buyback proposal a "scam" back in 2023. He was talking about the "Jimmy Vallee" theory—the idea that the US government would buy back everyone's XRP for $37,500 a token to make it a global reserve currency.
Yeah, that's not happening. Let’s be real.
The actual XRP token treasury ripple buyback isn't about the government saving you; it’s about Ripple managing its own supply like a central bank. They have 37 billion XRP still locked in escrow. They release a billion a month, sell some, and often put the rest back.
But as the GTreasury integration goes live in 2026, the demand for "on-tap" liquidity is changing. Ripple is increasingly acting as a "Lender of Last Resort" for the XRPL. If a major bank using GTreasury needs $500 million in liquidity instantly, Ripple uses its treasury to facilitate that. Sometimes that means buying tokens back from the market to ensure the price doesn't crater when a big player exits a position.
What This Means for Your Portfolio
If you’re waiting for a "Big Bang" buyback where Ripple buys every token for a fixed high price, you’re going to be waiting forever. That’s just not how markets work.
However, the structured buyback—where Ripple uses its massive cash reserves (over $1 billion in cash) and its XRP holdings to support the ecosystem—is very real. It creates a floor. It reduces the "circulating supply" in a way that actually matters for price action.
Actionable Insights for 2026:
- Watch the Escrow Releases: Don't just look at the 1 billion XRP coming out; look at the "Net Sales" in the quarterly reports. If Ripple is buying back more than they're selling, that's a massive bullish signal.
- Monitor the GTreasury Rollout: The more Fortune 500 companies that onboard, the more Ripple will need to use its treasury to provide liquidity. This creates "hidden" buyback pressure.
- Don't Fall for the "Fixed Price" Trap: Any influencer telling you there's a secret plan to buy your XRP for $500 a pop is lying. Follow the institutional flow from firms like Citadel instead.
- Check the RLUSD Interaction: Ripple is now using buybacks to balance the peg of its stablecoin against XRP. This "dual-token" treasury management is the new frontier.
The game has changed from "Will the SEC win?" to "How does Ripple manage a $100 billion treasury?" It's a much better problem to have, honestly. Just keep your eyes on the balance sheet, not the hype vids.