Ripple Labs emerged as the largest private-company holding in C1 Fund’s portfolio during the second quarter of 2026, representing 17.5% of the NYSE-listed fund’s net assets as of June 30.
C1 Fund reported that Ripple narrowly moved ahead of Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. Payward accounted for 16.9% of the fund’s net assets at the end of the second quarter.
The fund reported total net assets of $42.63 million, giving it a net asset value of $6.49 per share. Based on those figures, Ripple’s holding was valued at roughly $7.46 million, while Payward’s stake stood at around $7.20 million.
Ripple Equity Leads C1 Fund’s Private Portfolio
C1 Fund held $33.07 million worth of private company investments at fair value as of June 30, representing 77.5% of its net assets. The fund also invested $9.96 million, or 23.3% of its net assets, in short-term U.S. Treasury securities.
The portfolio included 11 private or recently listed digital asset companies. Alongside Ripple and Kraken, C1 Fund held positions in Alchemy, BitGo, Blockchain.com, Chainalysis, ConsenSys, Figment, Fireblocks, Polymarket and Uphold.
C1 Fund added Blockratize, the parent company of Polymarket, to its portfolio during the second quarter. It also increased several holdings that it first acquired in 2025. The fund picks companies from its C1 30 list, depending on availability and pricing in private secondary markets.
Ripple’s weighting reflects the fund’s remaining equity stake after it sold part of its position earlier. It should not be viewed as direct ownership of XRP. Holding Ripple shares means owning part of the private company, while XRP holders have no claim on Ripple’s revenue, assets or dividend payments.
As previously reported, Ripple equity and XRP remain legally distinct assets. Their values can react to some of the same developments involving the company, but they represent separate ownership rights and carry different risk profiles.
Ripple Buyback Delivers C1 Fund’s First Private Exit
C1 Fund sold 1,407 Ripple Series A preferred shares back to the company for $422,100 in a Ripple-sponsored transaction announced in April. The fund said the deal delivered a return of roughly 150% in less than four months.
The reported return applied only to the shares included in that transaction. It did not represent a 150% gain across C1 Fund’s full Ripple position or serve as a verified measure of Ripple’s broader private-market valuation.
C1 Fund kept a significant exposure to Ripple after the sale. Its remaining stake became the fund’s largest holding, showing that the partial exit trimmed its investment rather than removing it entirely.
Private company shares are not traded continuously on public exchanges. C1 Fund therefore values these holdings through fair-value methods. Those valuations can reflect secondary-market transactions, issuer buybacks and other inputs that are not available in a liquid public market.
Other publicly traded funds have also disclosed relatively small stakes in Ripple equity. A Kinetics mutual fund reported holding 1,875 Class A Ripple shares worth $246,319, as noted from its quarterly SEC portfolio filing. The holding accounted for roughly 0.1% of the fund’s total net assets.
C1 Fund Shares Trade Below Reported NAV
C1 Fund ended the quarter with 6,568,348 shares outstanding and a net asset value of $6.49 per share. CFND traded at around $2.85 in late August, leaving its market price more than 50% below the reported quarter-end NAV.
A closed-end fund’s share price can trade above or below the value of the assets in its portfolio. That discount does not necessarily mean investors apply the same markdown to Ripple or any specific holding. It may also reflect management fees, limited liquidity, valuation uncertainty and the challenges involved in selling private investments.
C1 Fund has been repurchasing its own shares to take advantage of that gap. Through July 31, the fund bought back and retired 249,300 shares for a total of $824,440.
Private company shares do not trade continuously on public exchanges. C1 Fund therefore values these holdings through fair-value procedures. Those valuations can include secondary-market deals, issuer buybacks and other inputs that are difficult to obtain in a liquid public market.
IPO Activity Could Open New Liquidity Routes
Kraken and Blockchain.com have filed confidential registration statements for possible U.S. public listings. While a confidential filing starts the SEC review process, it does not mean either company will ultimately move forward with an IPO.
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi confirmed in April that the exchange had entered the confidential IPO process. Blockchain.com later disclosed a similar filing, but neither company has announced final pricing or a firm listing date.
A future public listing could give C1 Fund a more transparent market value for these holdings and potentially allow the fund to sell shares once any lockup period ends. BitGo, another company in the portfolio, completed its IPO in January 2026.
Ripple has not publicly filed for an IPO or disclosed any plans for a listing timeline. Its valuation will therefore continue to depend on private-market inputs unless the company pursues another issuer-led transaction or a liquidity event takes place.
The board authorized up to $3 million in share repurchases in January. The program remains subject to market conditions and SEC requirements, while the approval does not mean the fund must use the entire amount.
