Ripple (XRP) holds a strong third place in the list of top cryptocurrencies – having even managed to displace Ethereum (ETH) for the second spot on occasion. However, Ripple continues to suffer an ‘internal’ public relations issue. They’ve faced constant claims that their centralized system and corporate focus goes against the basic ideals of blockchain technology. Yet, outside of the crypto-sphere, Ripple continues to succeed beyond any of their competition. More so than any other cryptocurrency, they’ve seen significant adoption in traditional business sectors. Their upcoming xRapid system will amplify this further.
Ripple recently saw a spike in price that closely coincided with the xRapid news. While the value has seen some depreciation, they continue to hold above their previous average. Despite the average crypto-investor’s skepticism involving the project, the market shows that Ripple is highly regarded in terms of future potential. The XRP token is vital to RippleNet’s liquidity pool – a product that is already in somewhat widespread use outside of the cryptocurrency industry.
xRapid and the Upcoming Release
The release of xRapid will bring Ripple’s total product number up to three – including xCurrent and xVia. All serve different functions within the financial services market. xRapid specifically helps to create liquidity or ease the movement of foreign fiat currency. To this end, xRapid uses the XRP token as a bridge currency – all trading pairs are processed through XRP, which makes some of the more exotic currencies more liquid. Rather than waiting for the desired trading pair, the exotic currency is traded for XRP and rapidly traded again for the desired end-currency. The initial exotic currency is then held within xRapid’s liquidity pool for a future transaction in the opposite direction.
While no official date has been announced, xRapid’s release is expected to coincide with 2018’s SWELL conference in San Francisco. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at the specifically fintech oriented conference – with Ripple itself hosting the event. This would create the perfect environment to release xRapid and the increasing buzz surrounding the project suggests it is close to completion. In addition, multiple companies have already signed on to the xRapid program – including a variety of cryptocurrency-adjacent institutions, but also traditional businesses like MoneyGram.
By: Adam Stone
