- Ripple, which is a blockchain-powered online money transfer service provider, has announced that it is going to expand further into the world of tokenised services as part of its evolution.
- The company said that it was taking the decision against a background of more exchanges – especially when it came to cross-border payments.
- “We’re expanding from a cross-border payments network to a platform providing tokenized services,” explained a senior spokesperson for RippleNet.
Blockchain-powered online money transfer service provider Ripple has confirmed that it is going to open up a new line of business in tokenised services.
The company said that it will move further into the field of tokenisation, which refers to the practice of representing asset ownership through the blockchain.
In practice, Ripple said, the company will now mainly be focusing on offering services to facilitate this sort of tokenisation.
It will do this, it said, by offering services to clients such as digital-first banks, which focus on e-commerce, cross-border payments, and more.
These, the firm said, were “high volume, low value”.
The move comes as the firm continues to be embroiled in a row with a major US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC claims that XRP, which is offered by the firm, was an unregistered security.
Ripple denies the allegation.
However, a spokesperson for the company focused on the new announcement, saying in a blog post that the crypto framework has changed.
Asheesh Birla, who is the general manager at RippleNet, explained that Ripple originally entered a market in which there were few opportunities for crypto exchange.
Now, though, the volume and opportunities for exchanging have skyrocketed.
“Back in 2012 when Ripple first launched, crypto and blockchain largely lacked the infrastructure, liquidity, and trust needed for adoption,” he said.
“There were only a few exchanges at that time doing a few million dollars a year in volume compared to traditional exchanges like Nasdaq with about 5 billion dollars in volume per day.”
“Fast forward to today, there are hundreds of exchanges around the world doing billions in volume every day.”
He used that as a springboard to explain where Ripple would go next.
“We’re expanding from a cross-border payments network to a platform providing tokenized services that will bring crypto capabilities to the enterprise and prepare them for a future where crypto is front and center,” he said.
“RippleNet was initially built to solve the challenges with speed, cost and transparency in cross-border payments for those that have been grossly underserved by the financial system at large.”
Birla also struck a bold note about the future direction of the sector.
“There’s no question – those who don’t embrace these new technologies will be left behind,” he said.
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