One of the biggest virtual currencies of last year was Ripple . It quickly became the number 2 player in the market, although the beginning of 2018, did see them slip back slightly. Ripple is different to other cryptocurrencies, and many investors want to invest in tokens like Ripple, which could see the company behind this token, Ripple Labs file to go public this year. Ripple was only founded in 2012, and the large funds brought in a lot of influential investors. Subsequent funding rounds brought in more money, with the latest in 2016 bringing in $55million. The CEO of Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse has addressed the possibility of a Ripple IPO. In September last year, he said; “I want to make sure we have the right managerial maturity, infrastructure and ability to forecast properly...At some point it will make sense. Just not today.” It isn’t necessarily clear how much more progress would be needed before an IPO could happen; however, it is clear that potential Ripple IPO investors will want to understand the business case for Ripple Labs as an entirely separate entity from the success of Ripple. In order for an IPO to be justified, Ripple Labs would need to demonstrate the ability to profit from its work beyond participating in any price gains of Ripple itself.There are a number of different reasons as to why Ripple would not do an IPO, including the fact that they are currently involved in a vigorous, back and forth legal battle with R3. Until the two can reach a final solution, which is not looking likely at the moment, the uncertainty of the outcome could lead officials to feel uncomfortable with plans to go public. This does not make Ripple any less attractive to investors. The low price and visible us help considerably. Because the coin is doing so well, it would seem a little premature to look for and IPO. They have been predicted to stay off any moves of going public until Ripple becomes a much more mainstream crypto coin.