With some major players within banking and fintech verticals leveraging its services, Ripple offers a unique approach to cross-border transactions through its native cryptocurrency, XRP.
Ripple has faced challenges in its price performance following its legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 13. Since the partial victory in court, XRP has been on a downward trend. As of the latest data at time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.507, with the token’s market capitalization at $26,415,254,260.93
XRP’s price has experienced a significant decline of 47% (at time of writing) since the court’s decision on July 13. On-chain metrics also indicate a growing bearish sentiment. For instance, the 30-day average of 24-hour active addresses has fallen from 144,700 on August 13 2023 to 15,500, representing an 89% decrease.
In this feature, we’ll dive deep into the founding and technology behind XRP, while also shedding light on some popular applications within the Ripple ecosystem. Furthermore, we’ll discuss how atato’s Bring Your Own Chain (BYOC) feature now extends support to EVM-compatible chains like XRP, making it even easier for users to manage their XRP holdings.
Table of Contents
Ripple's Inception
2004, Canada
Initially designed as a replacement for the SWIFT payment network, Ripples serves as an intermediary for global transactions.
Founded by Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto, and David Schwartz, Ripple aimed to streamline and expedite cross-border payments within the financial industry, all within a decentralized framework.
Ripple, and more specifically, XRP, is somewhat novel within the blockchain landscape as it’s designed specifically for the finance sector. Fugger’s vision aimed to create a monetary system based on trust within social and business relationships, seeking to build a more efficient alternative to Bitcoin. Chris Larsen, an experienced entrepreneur known for founding E-Loan and Prosper, joined the team in 2012. Ripple (XRP) was fully incorporated into OpenCoin by 2013, offering a unique approach as a bridge currency for cross-border transactions. Despite some early controversies and legal battles, Ripple has continued to evolve under the leadership of Brad Garlinghouse since 2017, focusing on the financial industry’s needs for cross-border payments and settlements.
XRP's Technology
XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple network, operates on the XRP Ledger, a unique blockchain. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, XRP employs a consensus protocol and unique node lists to secure and validate transactions, ensuring rapid confirmation.
Unlike Bitcoin, it relies on trusted validators, allowing it to authenticate transactions faster and cheaper with significantly lower energy consumption. This speed is a game-changer in the world of cryptocurrency, where transactions typically take longer and cost more. The scalability of the XRP ledger, capable of handling up to 1,500 transactions per second, further enhances its efficiency. With its focus on efficient and secure transactions, XRP offers a compelling solution for users seeking quick and cost-effective cryptocurrency transactions.
This relative efficiency sets it apart from other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which often require extended confirmation times and higher transaction costs. Though, that doesn’t mean it’s completely immune to the blockchain trilemma, bear in mind.
Popular Ripple Applications
Ripple’s versatility extends beyond XRP as a currency, offering a network capable of facilitating transactions involving various fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Notable financial institutions have adopted Ripple which in itself, serves as quite the advertisement for its functionality and reliability as big banks continue to be famously reticent to embrace even the suggestion of blockchain technology. Here’s the full list of banking institutions that have adopted Ripple or integrated functionality from the company in some fashion within their payments posture:
Certainly, Ripple has established partnerships with several notable banks and financial institutions, showcasing its growing influence in the banking and fintech sector. Here are some of the banks that have collaborated with Ripple:
Bank of America (USA): As one of the largest banks in the United States and among the top 10 globally, Bank of America has been actively working with Ripple for an extended period. This partnership goes beyond 2020, as some of BofA’s senior executives have been instrumental in setting up RippleNet’s compliance standards for international payments. The bank plays a central role in ensuring Ripple XRP’s legal and operational consistency.
PNC Bank (USA): PNC Bank joined forces with Ripple in 2016 with the goal of enhancing its network speed. With approximately 12 million users, PNC Bank uses RippleNet to facilitate quick payments, thereby improving the overall banking experience for its customers.
Siam Commercial Bank (Thailand): Siam Commercial Bank, the first bank in Thailand, adopted Ripple in 2020 to launch its outward remittance service called SCB Easy. This service streamlines payments to 12 countries, making cross-border transactions more efficient for the bank’s customers.
Santander Bank (USA): Santander Bank, a subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group, began leveraging Ripple’s technology in 2018. This strategic partnership enabled the bank to introduce the One-FX service, facilitating cross-border payments between US and EU customers. It’s an example of how Ripple’s solutions enable banks to expand their services and improve international transactions.
Standard Chartered Bank (UK): The UK-based Standard Chartered bank established its collaboration with Ripple in 2016. This partnership allowed the bank to extend its payment services to customers in over 50 countries within its network, making it one of the largest banks on the RippleNet. It has particularly strengthened its influence in key trade corridors, such as the one connecting Singapore and India.
Cuallix (Mexico): Cuallix, a multinational credit payment and lending company headquartered in Mexico with branches in the USA and Hong Kong, partnered with Ripple in 2017. Cuallix was among the early adopters of XRP’s liquidity products, such as xRapid, which facilitated cross-border payments between Mexico and the USA.
Atato's Support for XRP
We’re excited to announce that Atato now fully supports XRP. Users can securely store, manage, and transact with XRP within the atato custody platform. Our commitment to expanding our supported assets aligns with our vision to provide a comprehensive solution for cryptocurrency management.
As new blockchains and tokens continually enter the market, atato strives to provide users with unparalleled freedom and convenience.
XRP on atato Custody
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital assets, security stands as paramount. Security concerns within the crypto sphere have garnered significant media attention. To address these pressing concerns and bolster industry growth and trust, atato Custody introduces an unparalleled solution—an MPC-based wallet tailored for web3 businesses.
In a significant move to enhance user flexibility, atato has introduced the Bring Your Own Chain (BYOC) feature for XRP. Users can now seamlessly integrate any EVM-compatible network and ERC-20 token of their choice into atato custody. This feature eliminates the limitations posed by many custodians, offering a straightforward process to add public or private networks with just a few clicks. Additionally, users can incorporate their custom tokens into their private networks using the Bring Your Own Token (BYOT) feature, simplifying deposits, withdrawals, and smart contract transactions.
SEC Case Highlights and Consequences
The SEC’s case against Ripple was a significant event in XRP’s history. The SEC had accused Ripple of violating US federal securities laws by offering and selling XRP as an unregistered security. On July 13, the court ruled in favor of Ripple, declaring XRP as non-security and asserting that Ripple’s sales of XRP to retail investors in the secondary market were not securities.
Despite the court’s ruling, the SEC expressed dissatisfaction and requested an interlocutory appeal on the case. If granted, this appeal would allow the SEC to challenge the ruling regarding Ripple’s programmatic sales and other distributions. The final outcome of this case could have significant consequences for Ripple and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. If the appeal is denied, it may deter the SEC from pursuing further legal actions against Ripple.
Please note that the information provided is based on the data and details you provided up to September 2021. For the most up-to-date information, including XRP’s current price, market capitalization, ranking, and legal developments, you should consult a reliable cryptocurrency market data source and news outlets.
Conclusion
Ripple’s XRP offers unique advantages in cross-border transactions, despite recent uncertainties stemming from its legal battle with the SEC. atato’s innovative wallet, with its Bring Your Own Chain (BYOC) feature, empowers users to manage XRP seamlessly. While the SEC case adds complexity, XRP’s future remains promising, especially with atato’s support.
