PANews reported on February 12th that, according to The Block, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated during an online XRP Community Day event that while the company will focus on business consolidation in the first half of 2026 and does not expect large-scale acquisitions, the possibility of restarting M&A transactions in the second half of the year cannot be ruled out. Garlinghouse emphasized that "XRP is Ripple's North Star," and all of the company's business segments—including payments, custody, Ripple Prime, Ripple Treasury, and the RLUSD stablecoin—are centered around improving the utility, trust, and liquidity of XRP and XRP ledger.