Ripple continues to grow and gain institutional clients, as the company behind the cryptocurrency clearly demonstrates that it has a firm goal for long-term success. Ripple Labs intends for its platform to become the standard for international currency transfers, and to that end it has added more banks and financial clients. Also, it has merged and re-branded its product offerings. Nevertheless, confusion remains over what role the XRP token will play in the overall Ripple ecosystem, which is causing frustration for some investors.
The month of October has been marked by positive news for Ripple. Bank of America recently acknowledged that it has tested Ripple’s network for transferring funds. Although the bank has long been known to be an advisor to Ripple’s steering group, which establishes rules and standards for the platform, this new move is a far more significant step toward adoption. Also, banking technology firm Finastra has just announced that it will soon make Ripple’s products available to its thousands of global clients.
The XRP token jumped more than five percent on these announcements, and may very well move higher. In fact, many analysts have long argued that XRP is undervalued due to Ripple being one of the few platforms that has forged notable partnerships with mainstream financial institutions. It is easy to assume that as the altcoin market begins to recover, XRP will make significant gains in value.
It is worth noting, however, that most adoption thus far has come from institutions using xCurrent, a service that uses Ripple’s network, but not the XRP token. It is the xRapid service that uses XRP, and what most investors have been counting on to drive the price of the cryptocurrency skyward. Not surprisingly, some investors have expressed frustration at Ripple Labs for giving what they see as misleading information on how much the token is actually used. Earlier this month the company announced that it would soon merge all of its products into a single offering, name RippleNet, which may assuage investors by demonstrating its commitment to the token.
Long-term success for Ripple will, of course, rely on its ability to convince banks that it is the best service available for moving funds. It must also convince the public that the XRP token is a superior crypto platform. With a myriad of competitors emerging, these will not be easy tasks. There is also the continuing challenge of meeting regulatory obligations from governments that have thus far been hostile toward blockchain assets. Nevertheless, Ripple continues to make headway, and press its case for mass adoption.
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