Since the 2017 crypto craze, the crypto market is yet to recover. There was a point when everyone was actually optimistic regarding Bitcoin and anything that has to do with blockchain technology. But after more than a year of waiting, many are still looking forward to the day institutional investors invest in the industry. And also, many are pinning their hopes on adoption. For Ripple, the XRP token is being used mainly to lessen the cost of cross-border transactions.
Over recent weeks, JP Morgan has been on the spotlight with its own version of cryptocurrency that is going to be used internally. It follows the same principle as xRapid as it claims to lessen the cost of cross-border transactions. However, the JPM Coin isn’t available for the public and it is also pegged 1 is 1 with the US dollar.
Increased Adoption of XRP?
XRP has been listed recently on Coinbase Pro. And this time around, there is another good news. One of Ripple’s backers, SBI has been planning on having banks in Japan to make use of the MoneyTap app. This application makes use of Ripple. And also, it is expected that it could potentially make regional banks to use XRP easily.
According to the SBI Holdings Representative Director and President, Yoshitaka Kitao, the SBI VCTrade is going to become available by March. Members are going to be able to buy XRP using Japanese Yen. This platform has been widely anticipated for quite some time now considering that it could potentially accommodate large volumes of trades.
Kitao mentioned in an interview that “…the use of “xRapid” using XRP is getting widespread, and the number of companies participating in ripple nets is increasing substantially. Therefore, in such a meaning, it seems that the use of Ripple’s technology will gradually become used in the form of using “XRP” in the international money transfer field”. He also touched on the possible future of cryptocurrencies. He mentioned that “Virtual currency is tough unless there is “real demand”. but we believe firm “real demand” will come out from now on”.
The goal of SBI is to increase the number of banks in Japan that make use of MoneyTap. Could this mean that there will be widespread adoption of XRP in the near future?
XRP is Number One?
For Kitao, he believes that XRP is the number one virtual currency. Considering the way the bearish market is driving the price of Bitcoin down, he shares the same sentiments with Warren buffet thinking that there is no fundamental value in Bitcoin. He mentioned that “There is basically no value for Bitcoin. The fact that bitcoins are going to be used more and more in practical use is not easy if it comes to that price”.
Kitao, in the past, believes that XRP is headed towards $10 once SBI goes live. Though it seems too far from reality, XRP is still showing promising progress given these updates.
There were already a number of partnerships built by Ripple all aimed towards the increased adoption of XRP. Western Union was reportedly using XRP in order to lessen the cost of cross-border transactions. Also, Ripple has been looking to target countries such as the Philippines which relies mostly on remittances of foreign workers.
