Adoption is still something that many want to achieve even this year. After Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrencies lost a significant amount of value in the last 14 months, many observers believe that adoption can make a difference and could trigger another bull run.
Regulatory clarity has been one of the reasons why adoption is quite slow for cryptocurrencies. However, Ripple has been consistently targeting institutions including banks and companies. After xRapid, Ripple has become the second biggest cryptocurrency based on market capitalization. Western Union is said to be testing Ripple’s xRapid if it can lower the cost of cross-border transactions. Also, SendFriend has been gaining popularity among investors as it targets countries like the Philippines.
JP Morgan’s Cryptocurrency
Last week, JP Morgan was reported to be developing a cryptocurrency. This report is big news for the financial world. JP Morgan, in the past, is known for its anti-Bitcoin sentiment. In the past, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon mentioned that Bitcoin is a “fraud”. He even said that he would be firing a trader who is dealing with cryptocurrencies.
For David Thomas who is the director of MSTA GlobalBlock, thinks that “The apparent U-turn is interesting as it now means that wide audiences that have to date been distant from blockchain and cryptocurrency, are now sitting up and taking notice, with many feeling that this announcement will trigger many more like it”. He even added that “When all is said and done, and irrespective of what it actually does or doesn’t do, the simple act of announcing something like this is great for demonstrating that views are changing and big players are active in the space”.
Many are looking forward to the possibility that institutional investors are going to participate in the market. Could this actually be one of those? Until today, a Bitcoin ETF is still not happening. In fact, the US SEC’s chairman mentioned that they are only going to approve a Bitcoin ETF only if the market made the necessary changes such as exchanges having surveillance tools that can monitor price manipulation.
Should Ripple Be Worried of JP Morgan’s Coin?
First, let’s agree that JP Morgan is only cherry picking components of blockchain technology that can benefit them. For this instance, it is possible that JP Morgan wants to have a faster transaction time. However, JPM coin isn’t exactly decentralized. However, the same can be said about Ripple. There was even a lawsuit on Ripple with a claim that it is a security mainly because of its centralized nature.
Bitcoin Surges
The good news is that the news that JP Morgan is planning a cryptocurrency helped the crypto space in recent days to recover. It is the first positive month for Bitcoin since July last year. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $3,800. Could this also mean that there will be a resurgence in the interest of institutional investors on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies?
Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou who works as Global Market Strategist for JP Morgan thinks that it is possible. He mentioned that it is possible that regulators are a “bit slow to realize” the benefits that are brought by cryptocurrency.
