Publicly Traded Healthcare Firm Embraces XRP With Crypto Reserve

Wellgistics Health, a publicly traded healthcare infrastructure firm, plans to accept payments in XRP and will add Ripple Labs’ token to its corporate treasury—aligning the business with a growing list of publicly traded companies that have embraced digital assets in the U.S. 

Tampa-based Wellgistics plans to adopt XRP for payments infrastructure that will connect manufacturers directly to pharmacies, the company said Thursday in a statement. The firm’s blockchain-powered platform, which is still under development, could reduce costs, increase transaction speeds, and promote financial transparency across its healthcare network, according to the company.  

 “We are developing a platform that connects manufacturers directly to pharmacies and patients—bypassing the red tape and placing control back in the hands of those who deliver care,” Wellgistics Health CEO Brian Norton said Friday in a statement. 

XRP was recently trading at $2.35, up 5% in the past 24 hours, according to data provider CoinGecko. 

Wellgistics Health plans to capitalize its XRP initiatives with a $50 million equity line of credit. 

It is not immediately clear how much that credit line will go toward the company’s crypto-enabled payments network and its XRP treasury, respectively.  

Wellgistics Health did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment. 

The firm’s plans to develop a blockchain-powered payments platform come as various publicly traded companies dabble with digital assets and distributed-ledger technology, emboldened by lawmakers’ recent push to establish more favorable crypto industry regulations in the U.S. 

Biglari Holdings subsidiary Steak ‘n Shake announced it would accept Bitcoin across the U.S., beginning May 16. Meanwhile, fintech firm Stripe, which is rumored to be considering an IPO launch, recently introduced support for USDC transactions through Ethereum and Solana, in addition to rolling out stablecoin payment options. 

Several companies have also begun stacking cryptocurrencies in their treasuries, emulating Michael Saylor-led software firm Strategy’s push to amass more than $50 billion in Bitcoin over the past few years. Auto firm Worksport signaled in December that it would spend $5 million on XRP and Bitcoin, while Upexi and Janover this year announced plans to add millions of dollars worth of Solana to their balance sheets. 

Wellgistics Health said in its statement that it plans to use XRP to back credit lines that will enable independent pharmacies to continue operating their businesses. By combining XRP and its payments infrastructure, the company also aims to support global vendor payouts with near-zero foreign transaction and wire costs, in addition to supporting the automatic calculation of drug rebates based on real-world data. 

“The future winners in healthcare won’t be the companies with the biggest buildings,” Norton said. “They’ll be those with the fastest rails, cleanest data, and most efficient platforms. We’re betting on infrastructure…not inertia.”

Edited by James Rubin