Ripple Takes The Lead Over Kraken in Institutional Bet

A New York-listed closed-end fund has placed Ripple Labs at the top of its institutional crypto portfolio, edging out the parent company of rival exchange Kraken in the latest sign of growing Wall Street appetite for private digital asset equity.

Ripple Leads C1 Fund's Private Crypto Holdings

C1 Fund Inc. (NYSE: CFND), a closed-end fund focused on digital asset services and technology companies, has deployed approximately $41.3 million across 11 portfolio companies through June 30. The fund's two largest holdings as of that date are Ripple Labs Inc., representing 17.49% of net assets, and Payward Inc., the parent company of Kraken, at 16.92%.

The fund trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CFND and focuses on secondary-market investments in late-stage private companies operating across digital asset infrastructure and related services. It began trading on the NYSE on August 7, 2025, raising net proceeds of $53.3 million from its initial public offering.

The Ripple position was helped significantly by a corporate action earlier this year. In March, Ripple Labs launched a share buyback valuing the company at $50 billion, with plans to repurchase up to $750 million in shares from investors and employees. For C1 Fund, the timing proved well-placed. An early partial buyback of shares by Ripple yielded a 141.50% return to the fund on a portion of its Ripple investment in just over four months.

New Additions and a Broader IPO Pipeline

In 2026, the fund added four new positions: Polymarket, Fireblocks, Uphold, and BitGo. The addition of Polymarket, the prediction market platform, represents a notable diversification beyond pure payments and exchange infrastructure.

Several portfolio companies are also moving toward public markets. BitGo completed its initial public offering in January 2026. Kraken and Blockchain(.)com have since confidentially filed for initial public offerings.

Institutional interest in Ripple is not confined to C1 Fund. Goldman Sachs disclosed approximately $86.5 million across five spot $XRP ETFs as of June 30, after reporting no XRP ETF exposure at the end of the previous quarter. The distinction between Ripple equity and $XRP remains important: owning Ripple shares represents an ownership interest in the private company, while XRP is a separate digital asset.

Sources:
C1 Fund Inc. Q2 2026 Results (StockTitan)
Ripple Launches $750 Million Share Buyback at $50 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg)
Ripple Share Buyback Values Firm at $50 Billion (CoinDesk)