• BitBoy, a crypto influencer, argues that XRP has applications beyond Ripple’s banking-related initiatives.
• He points out the drawbacks of the current cross-border payment system involving the SWIFT network.
• Ripple developed solutions like RippleNet and XRP Ledger to offer cost-effective and faster alternatives to SWIFT for international payments.
Ripple and XRP Beyond Banking
Crypto influencer BitBoy recently raised XRP investors’ hopes by asking them to look beyond just price movements and focus on its greater utility in world trade and payment networks. He suggested that XRP has more potential uses than just banking transactions, such as governance, accounts, tokenization, decentralized finance (DeFi), and NFTs.
Challenges with the SWIFT Network
BitBoy pointed out that since 1973, SWIFT has been dependent on third parties to facilitate clearance and settlement of financial transactions among banks. These intermediaries often cause delays, inefficiencies, and higher costs for businesses handling trillions of dollars in foreign exchange market activities daily.
RippleNet & XRP Ledger Solutions
To address these issues Ripple introduced RippleNet — a real-time payments and remittance service along with advanced cross-border payment solutions — back in 2012 as an alternative to SWIFT. The second solution is the XRP Ledger which facilitates instant settlements using its native cryptocurrency for cross-border payments.
Low Adoption Rates
Despite these advancements within the crypto space, adoption rates remain low due to lack of information about their actual use cases in day-to-day operations by banks or other financial institutions. Moreover, there are regulatory challenges hindering wider adoption of these technologies for global financial services providers.
The Future of Crypto Payments
Overall, although there are still many obstacles facing wide scale adoption of blockchain based payment systems like those offered by Ripple or others based on XRP; it is promising to see companies working towards finding solutions that can revolutionize global payments in both speed and cost effectiveness compared to traditional networks like SWIFT or SEPA