Adoption has still been elusive in the crypto market. Many believe that it’s adoption that can change the current bearish market. In 2017, cryptocurrencies experienced a bull run. Bitcoin starting from around $1,000 reached its all-time high of near $20K. But last year was a different story. 2018 was a bloodbath for the crypto market.
Regulatory changes mainly became the reason why the price of cryptocurrencies plummeted last year. And since then, adoption has been quite elusive. Though there were developments in terms of adoption such as an increase in the number of businesses accepting cryptocurrencies from countries such as Venezuela, or the number of Bitcoin ATMs all over the globe, it still hasn’t scratched the surface.
For Ripple, their plan of action to increase adoption is via building a relationship with banks and other financial institutions. Last year, they’ve established a relationship with the likes of Santander and Western Union. And after xRapid, Ripple was able to surpass Ethereum as the second largest cryptocurrency.
What makes xRapid special is the fact that it can make cross border transactions instant. Using XRP sent to the other side, the other person can then receive the fund in an instant. This time around, Ripple has five new partners. Among these partners include Euro Exim Bank. It is expected that the bank is going to make use of XRP network in their international transactions in the first quarter of 2019. The bank is looking to serve 80 countries with Ripple’s technology.
Adoption for 2019
Brad Garlinghouse was excited about the progress that Ripple has made and said that “This is the year the wheat will be separated from the chaff. Not many months ago, the media was saying no one will use XRP, which made for good skeptical headlines. Today, you can’t say that as people are starting to use xRapid because it’s better, faster, and cheaper”.
As for Graham Bright who is the head of compliance and operations for Euro Exim Bank, he mentioned that “There’s been a lot of talk around the market about how blockchain technology can assist in trade finance. We’re interested in moving forward and creating a platform for payments for our clients who are in over 80 countries at the moment, making sure they have smooth frictionless way of paying local people”.
As for the four other institutions that are using XRP, you have JNFX, SendFriend, Transpaygo, Financial Transactions Control Systems.
Growth for The Year
Now, is Ripple going to be bigger this year? Could it be possible that Ripple is going to build momentum that it could even get more institutions to use its network? Just this month, Ripple has been able to secure 200 customers all over the globe. In addition to this, Garlinghouse mentioned that they are ready to “flip the switch” and offer XRP coffers.
The adoption by different financial institutions can play a role in the possible success of Ripple this year. Euro Exim Bank called its partnership with Ripple as “new era” of innovative payment solutions. Could it really live up to the hype?
