Pharmaceutical distributor Wellgistics Health will use XRP as a treasury and payments tool as part of a $50 million equity financing deal. With this move towards blockchain-based payments, Wellgistics is looking to reduce its transaction speed. Ripple, XRP’s native blockchain, typically settles its transactions in 3-5 seconds.
“At Wellgistics Health, we challenge the idea that healthcare has to be tethered to legacy systems, bloated intermediaries, and slow-moving money,” said Wellgistics Health CEO Brian Norton.
“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. Our blockchain-enabled payment system and ledger is just the next logical step in healthcare evolution, allowing us to hardwire speed, liquidity, and transparency into a system that’s long been starved of all three.”
Wellgistics Health will be relying on Ripple’s blockchain to settle vendor payouts, issue credit, and conclude transactions in a timely manner across its network, as reported by CoinDesk.
“We’re working to unlock capital velocity with surgical precision,” said Wellgistics Health CFO Mark DeSiena. “We believe that our XRP-powered infrastructure will allow us to run leaner, faster, and with more control than any of our peers in pharma infrastructure.”
Ripple Labs has been the subject of considerable controversy due to its years-long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2020, the SEC filed a case against the company, claiming that Ripple Labs violated securities laws by selling XRP as an unregistered security.
On May 8, 2025, Ripple Labs and the SEC reached a settlement deal as per a filing with the SEC, which is yet to be approved by a judge. Ripple will pay $50 million of the total $125 million penalty initially imposed by the U.S. Judge Analisa Torres.