On 19 July 2024, Monica Long, President of Ripple, published a detailed blog post outlining Ripple’s vision and progress in leveraging blockchain technology for financial services. Long began by reflecting on Ripple’s founding belief that blockchain would become the global financial infrastructure of the future, enabling more affordable services for people and businesses worldwide. She noted that the early days of crypto lacked the necessary infrastructure, liquidity, trust, and regulatory clarity for institutional adoption.
Long highlighted the significant advancements over the past decade, such as the approval of the first BTC and ETH Spot ETFs in the U.S., BlackRock’s launch of its tokenized fund, and the EU’s comprehensive crypto regulations under MiCA. She pointed out that financial institutions like Fidelity, Itaú Unibanco, Stripe, and PayPal are now facilitating crypto trades, holdings, and usage, marking substantial progress in the crypto market’s acceptance and maturity.
Long said that Ripple has evolved to seize these opportunities, validating blockchain’s potential to offer faster, lower-cost, and more reliable financial services. She emphasized the need for simple, trusted digital asset infrastructure, akin to the essential components of running an Internet-based business. This infrastructure includes on- and off-ramps, custody, and liquidity.
Ripple’s first major initiative, using the XRP Ledger (XRPL) for cross-border payments, showcased blockchain’s capabilities. Long explained that Ripple Payments now has near-global coverage, processing over $50 billion in volume across 80+ payout markets. She also mentioned that Ripple’s services have expanded to provide secure and compliant digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions.
Long also discussed Ripple’s acquisition of Metaco, a digital asset custody technology provider, now rebranded as Ripple Custody. She believes this acquisition positions Ripple to deliver on its global product roadmap and expand its custody services.
Further, Long announced Ripple’s plan to launch a stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchains; she expects this initiative to bridge traditional finance with crypto, enhancing Ripple Payments.
Long concluded by reaffirming Ripple’s commitment to using blockchain technology to deliver superior financial services, emphasizing their goal to be the leading digital asset infrastructure provider for financial services.
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