Ripple has announced that it will not proceed with the complete acquisition of Nevada-based trust company Fortress Trust. In a tweet, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed that although the company had signed a letter of intent to acquire Fortress Trust, it has now decided against the outright acquisition. However, Ripple will remain an investor in the company. The decision comes after Fortress Trust disclosed a theft of customers’ cryptocurrency amounting to approximately $15 million. The blame for the theft was placed on an unnamed third-party vendor that fell victim to a phishing attack.
Garlinghouse acknowledged the talent of the Fortress team and expressed support for their products, emphasizing that Ripple hopes to work together with them in the future. It should be noted that the talks surrounding the acquisition were initiated before the cryptocurrency theft occurred. CoinDesk identified the third-party vendor as Retool, a San Francisco-based company with Fortune 500 customers. It was revealed that Retool had built a portal for a select group of Fortress clients to access their funds. Despite the outcome not aligning with the original plans, Ripple remains committed to supporting Fortress Trust.