Morning Minute: Ripple Buybacks, Across Explores Token-to-Equity Swaps

Ripple is buying back shares at a $50 billion valuation, while Binance is pushing back at the Wall Street Journal's recent reporting.

By Tyler Warner

8 min read

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. And check out our new daily news show covering all of the top stories in 5 minutes or less, downloadable on Apple Pod or Spotify.

GM!

Today’s top news:

  • Crypto majors grind higher alongside oil; BTC +1% at $70,600
  • HYPE / BTC ratio finds new ATH as HYPE soars to $37.60
  • Ripple buys back $750M of its equity at $50B valuation
  • Across Protocol proposes new token-to-equity model (ACX +50%)
  • Myriad announces Season 3, exclusively settling with USD1 on BNB

💸 Ripple Is Buying Back Shares at a $50B Valuation

Ripple has launched a tender offer to buy back up to $750M in shares from employees and early investors, pricing the transaction at a $50B valuation.

The offer runs through April, and employees and investors who want liquidity can sell shares back directly to Ripple.

This is a notable move given the broader IPO conversation that has followed Ripple for years. But it looks like CEO Brad Garlinghouse has his sights set much higher.

“There will be a trillion-dollar crypto company, I don’t doubt that for a second,” said Garlinghouse during a XRP community event held on X in February. “I think Ripple has the opportunity, if we do things well in partnership with the overall XRP ecosystem, to be that company.”

Key Details

  • Ripple is buying back up to $750M in shares
  • Transaction priced at a $50B company valuation
  • Gives employees and early investors liquidity without requiring an IPO

🧩 Across Is Testing Crypto’s “Holy Grail” With Token-for-Equity Swaps

Across Protocol, the Paradigm-backed cross-chain bridge that has processed more than $35B in volume, posted a governance temperature check on March 11 exploring one of the most ambitious structural changes in recent DeFi history:

  • Converting from a DAO into a U.S. C-corporation, and
  • Letting ACX tokenholders exchange their tokens for equity in the new company.

Exchanging tokens for company equity - the crypto holy grail.

The proposal would create an operating entity called AcrossCo. ACX holders would get two options over a six-month window.

  • First, swap ACX for equity in AcrossCo at a 1:1 ratio
  • Second, redeem tokens for USDC at a 25% premium over the past month’s average price

If the temperature check gets positive feedback, co-founder Hart Lambur said the team will initiate a formal governance vote within two weeks.

The market reacted immediately. ACX was up roughly 85% on the day, trading near $0.06, with derivatives volume jumping over 7,700%. The token was still down about 84% over the past year heading into the announcement.

Key Details

  • Across Protocol exploring a DAO-to-C-corp transition via a new entity called AcrossCo
  • ACX holders get two choices: swap tokens 1:1 for equity, or redeem for USDC at a ~25% premium (~$0.04375/token)
  • ACX jumped ~85% on the news; $51M in daily spot volume, $138M in derivatives

💳 Mastercard Recruits Binance, Ripple, and PayPal for Crypto Partner Program

Mastercard launched its Crypto Partner Program on March 11, bringing more than 85 companies into a structured collaboration around the future of on-chain payments.

The participant list includes Binance, Circle, Ripple, PayPal, Gemini, Paxos, Bybit, Crypto.com, BitGo, MoonPay, Anchorage Digital, and the core teams behind Solana, Avalanche, Aptos, and Polygon.

These companies will work alongside Mastercard teams on the design of future products, with specific focus on cross-border payments, B2B transfers, and global payouts.

The stated goal: connect on-chain programmability and settlement speed to Mastercard’s existing network of 150+ million merchant locations worldwide.

Key Details

  • 85+ companies enrolled including Binance, Circle, Ripple, PayPal, Gemini, Paxos, and major L1/L2 networks
  • Partners will co-develop products bridging on-chain assets to Mastercard’s global card rails
  • Focus areas: cross-border transfers, B2B payments, global payouts

⚖️ Binance Pushes Back on WSJ as DOJ Probe Report Emerges

The Wall Street Journal reported on March 11 that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Iranian networks used Binance to move funds in violation of American sanctions.

The report says DOJ officials have contacted people with knowledge of more than $1B in transactions allegedly routed through the exchange to networks linked to Iran-backed groups, including Yemen’s Houthi militants.

The same day, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones in the Southern District of New York.

The suit targets the Journal’s February 23 story, which alleged Binance fired compliance staff who flagged suspicious Iran-linked transactions. Binance says those departures were tied to internal data protection violations, not retaliation, and that its own investigation found no direct transactions with sanctioned Iranian entities. The company says suspicious activity was identified, reported to law enforcement, and accounts were offboarded.

Binance US announced a new CEO, Stephen Gregory, on the same day as a potential compliance-focused hire.

Key Details

  • WSJ reports DOJ is investigating whether Iran routed $1B+ through Binance to evade U.S. sanctions
  • Binance says it is unaware of any investigation and denies facilitating sanctioned transactions
  • Binance US announced a new CEO, Stephen Gregory, on the same day

🔮 Myriad Moves to USD1 on BNB Chain Ahead of Season 3

Myriad made several big announcements on Wednesday.

  • Prediction markets will be housed on BNB Chain going forward
  • It’s adopting World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin as its exclusive settlement asset
  • And kicking off Season 3 of rewards

The USD1 integration launches with Myriad’s Candles product - a new market format built around short timeframes, continuous liquidity, and automated resolution.

The BNB Chain migration introduces a central limit order book to replace the existing AMM structure, adding slippage controls, limit orders, dynamic fees, and richer market data.

A new Myriad Wallet integrated with MoonPay rolls out alongside the transition.

The effect is a product that looks more like a professional trading environment than a casual prediction app. Myriad co-founder Farokh Sarmad called the USD1 partnership a “full-circle moment,” noting that he interviewed Trump in September 2024 and saw WLFI coming.

The platform has now crossed $167M in cumulative trading volume.

Key Details

  • Myriad migrating all BNB Chain markets to USD1 as the exclusive settlement asset
  • Season 3 introduces a central limit order book replacing the AMM model, with limit orders, slippage controls, and dynamic fees
  • New Myriad Wallet with MoonPay integration launching alongside the migration

🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets

  • Crypto majors continue to grind higher; BTC +1% at $70.6k; ETH +2% at $2,070; SOL +2% at $87
  • RIVER (+18%), SKY (+8%) and HYPE (+8%) led top movers
  • Oil rebounded to $90+ as 3 more ships were struck
  • The HYPE/BTC ratio hit a new ATH after HYPE surged 8% to $37.60 overnight
  • Ripple began a $750M share buyback at a ~$50B valuation, signaling confidence ahead of a rumored IPO
  • Kraken announced Kraken CLI as its new interface for AI agents to access crypto markets natively
  • FDIC Chairman Travis Hill confirmed that stablecoin users won’t receive FDIC deposit insurance or pass-through coverage under the GENIUS Act
  • The American Bankers Association took aim at stablecoins at the same Washington Summit, citing yield competition and deposit flight risks for traditional banks under the GENIUS Act
  • The DOJ is reportedly investigating Iran’s alleged use of Binance to route $1B+ to sanctioned groups, while Binance simultaneously sued the Wall Street Journal for defamation over its earlier reporting on the probe
  • Northwestern Mutual found that 73% of Americans invested in prediction markets and crypto say they’re financially behind, with 80% of Gen Z citing these as faster paths to wealth than traditional investing
  • Revolut secured a UK banking license opening the door to expanded crypto and financial services for its 50M+ European users.

Corporate Treasuries & ETFs

  • The Bitcoin ETFs saw $115M in net inflows on Wednesday, while the ETH ETFs had $57M in inflows
  • STRC moved another 3.65M shares on Wednesday, giving Saylor capital to buy another 2,000 BTC

Meme Coin Tracker

  • Meme majors were mostly green; DOGE +3%, SHIB +5%, PEPE +1%, TRUMP -2%, PENGU +2%, SPX +2%, FARTCOIN even
  • Distorted (+50%), AgenC (+50%) and Zerebro (+20%) led notable top onchain movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

  • Myriad announced the launch of its Season 3, taking place on BNB, and with markets settling only in USD1
  • Across Protocol raised a proposal to change DAO and token structure into a token-for-equity exchange
  • Optimism Labs announced 20 layoffs, sharing that the decision “reflects a narrowing of focus, not our runway”

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

  • NFT leaders were mostly red; Punks -1% at 29.4 ETH, Pudgy -1% at 4.3 ETH, BAYC -1% at 5.37 ETH; Hypurr’s -2% at 410 HYPE
  • DXTerminal (+26%) led notable movers
  • XCOPY’s ‘The Fud’ sells for 200 ETH

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