San Francisco-based blockchain enterprise company Ripple has been recognized as one of the top fintech companies of the year by global business news outlet CNBC and German statistics portal Statista.

Ripple has landed on the list of the leading digital asset companies alongside such names as cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, NFT marketplace OpenSea, blockchain sleuth Chainalysis, hardware wallet producer Legser as well as other companies.

The company, which is primarily known for its association with the XRP cryptocurrency, says that it is “honored” by the recent recognition. “Thank you to our employees, customers, and supporters on the journey with us!” Ripple said.

Overall, the jointly compiled list included 250 fintech companies across eight categories. These categories include “Payments,” “Digital Assets,” “Financial Planning,” “Neobanking,” “Business Process Solutions,” “Wealth Technology,” “Alternate Finance” and “Banking Solutions.” Notably, the “Payments” section is in the lead, with a 24% share of the total number of companies.

The U.S. is in the lead by number of fintech companies (161). The U.K. is in a distant second place. Singapore, Germany and Canada are also among the leading countries when it comes to the fintech sector.

The companies were picked based on general and specific key performance indicators (KPIs).

Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence has emerged as one of the key themes of 2024 after the rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence in 2024.