Since Ripple has made the decision not to pursue an outright acquisition, though Ripple will still remain an investor, said Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple.
Ripple said in a statement on Sept. 8 that it intended to buy Fortress for an undisclosed amount. A source with knowledge of the matter said the price tag was less than the $250 million Ripple paid for a custody firm Metaco in May.
The day before Fortress Trust revealed a theft of customers' cryptocurrency, it was later revealed to be worth more than $15 million. It pinned the blame on an unnamed third-party vendor that had fallen victim to a phishing attack. Retool, a Silicon Valley company with Fortune 500 clients, built a portal for a handful of Fortress clients to access their funds. Ripple said the acquisition talks predated the theft, but it accelerated them.
Scott Purcell, with a significant track record in blockchain, created Fortress Trust, which provides financial and regulatory infrastructure for blockchain companies. He was CEO of the crypto-curstodian Prime Trust until 2020. Years after he left Prime Trust, BitGo was ordered into receivership by its fellow custodian, BitGo, following its proposed acquisition of the firm.
He added: 'It will continue to support them and hope to work together in the future.