Word on the street: Ripple just closed a massive half-billion-dollar share transaction that pegged the company's worth at $40B. But here's where it gets interesting—the deal allegedly came with some unusual strings attached. Select investors, including heavyweight Citadel, supposedly secured terms letting them offload their positions at a pre-set premium down the line. Translation? Built-in profit protection, regardless of how the market moves. That's one way to sweeten the pot for institutional money.