In addition to being busy fighting against the U.S. SEC, Ripple has been consistently working on the construction of cross-border payments over the past few years, or since its launch.
Written by: Yangz, Techub News
Since December 21, 2020, the struggle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has lasted nearly four years. During this period, XRP did rise to 1.9 USDT during the bull market in 2021, but it has since hovered around 0.5 USDT in the prolonged bear market. Although there have been occasional rebounds due to "litigation gains," XRP is no longer an ideal target for investors.
However, what many did not expect was that after Trump announced his victory as the next U.S. president in November, XRP began to surge significantly, reaching 2.9 USDT on Monday (it fell back to 2.55 USDT at the time of writing), setting a new historical high. Its market capitalization also surpassed Solana, reclaiming the third position.
There are countless reasons for the rise. In addition to external factors such as "regulatory benefits" and the so-called "altcoin season," we want to help everyone understand what Ripple has been doing in recent years.
Persistence and Expansion in Business
In addition to being busy fighting against the U.S. SEC, Ripple has been consistently working on the construction of cross-border payments over the past few years, or since its launch.
Before receiving the lawsuit from the U.S. SEC, Ripple had already achieved remarkable results in this field. In 2014, Ripple welcomed its first major banking partner, Germany's Fidor Bank. Subsequently, Santander Bank and American Express also reached cooperation with it. Beyond banks, Ripple has also made significant strides in the global remittance market. In 2018, Ripple reached a preliminary cooperation with MoneyGram, a leader in the remittance field, to start trialing XRP in its payment process. In 2019, the two deepened their cooperation, signing a two-year agreement, with Ripple agreeing to invest $50 million in MoneyGram. Ripple's announcement indicated that by 2019, it had partnered with over 300 financial institutions in more than 40 countries, processing cross-border payments worth billions of dollars.
Perhaps due to its "brilliant" achievements, Ripple received a lawsuit from the U.S. SEC in December 2020, initiating this protracted dispute. However, even so, Ripple did not stop its construction.
In 2021, Ripple announced the acquisition of a 40% stake in the Asian cross-border payment company Tranglo. In July of the same year, Ripple announced a partnership with Japan's largest remittance provider SBI Remit and the Philippine mobile wallet service Coins.ph to launch RippleNet's first on-demand liquidity (ODL) service in Japan. In November, Ripple partnered with the Republic of Palau to develop a cross-border payment and U.S. dollar-backed digital currency strategy for the country. By 2022, Ripple had partnered with Travelex, the first bank registered and authorized by the Brazilian central bank to engage in foreign exchange business. In November of the same year, Ripple announced its entry into the African market, partnering with local digital payment gateway MFS Africa. Recently, Ripple partnered with Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin to provide local users with faster, cheaper, and more efficient cross-border payments. According to Ripple's official website, it currently supports over 80 markets globally, processing cross-border payments worth $50 billion.
In fact, in addition to cross-border payments, Ripple is also actively expanding into other businesses, mainly including cryptocurrency custody, stablecoins, CBDCs, and RWAs.
In 2023, Ripple announced the acquisition of Swiss digital asset custody and tokenization technology provider Metaco, officially entering the cryptocurrency custody market, and established a partnership with digital asset custodian Zodia Custody in December. This year, Ripple also completed the acquisition of Standard Custody & Trust Company, further promoting the development of its custody business.
Regarding stablecoins, Ripple announced last year that it would further cooperate with the Republic of Palau to launch a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. This year, Ripple announced the launch of the native U.S. dollar stablecoin RLUSD, changing its previous strategy of relying solely on XRP. Ripple stated in its announcement that RLUSD aims to bring more utility and liquidity to the XRP Ledger, initially launching on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, with plans to expand to other blockchains over time. According to Fox News, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has approved Ripple to issue this stablecoin on December 4 (as of the time of writing, no related news has been announced). According to XRPScan data, the RLUSD Treasury is currently conducting minting tests.
In terms of CBDCs, Ripple launched the Ripple CBDC platform in 2023, aiming to provide services for the issuance of CBDCs to central banks, governments, and financial institutions. Subsequently, Ripple partnered with the Bank of the Republic of Colombia and the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).
Regarding RWAs, Ripple was selected last year for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's first digital Hong Kong dollar pilot program and plans to collaborate with Fubon Bank to research use cases for real estate asset tokenization. Recently, Ripple also partnered with RWA exchange Archax and UK asset management company ABRDN PLC to launch the first tokenized money market fund on the XRP Ledger.
Efforts in Compliance and Contributions to the Industry
In addition to improving its business, Ripple has also been making efforts towards "compliance" in recent years. In June 2023, Ripple announced that it had received in-principle approval for its "Major Payment Institution License" application from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and in October of the same year, it obtained the Major Payment Institution (MPI) license issued by the agency. In November of the same year, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) approved XRP to join its virtual asset system, allowing the use of this digital asset within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). In December, Ripple's Irish subsidiary Ripple Markets registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) with the Central Bank of Ireland. In October of this year, Ripple announced a significant piece of news, stating that it had received in-principle approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, taking another solid step in its compliance progress.
Additionally, Ripple has been eager to "speak out" for the cryptocurrency industry. In May of this year, Ripple donated $25 million to the cryptocurrency political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, bringing the total donations to $50 million, including the $25 million donated last year. Last week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that the company would continue to donate $25 million to Fairshake to help elect "candidates who support cryptocurrency, growth, and innovation" in future U.S. elections. According to Reuters, Ripple and several other cryptocurrency companies are currently competing for seats on the cryptocurrency advisory committee promised by Trump, seeking a voice in U.S. cryptocurrency policy reform.
In addition, Ripple has also been quietly working in other areas. In May of this year, Coinbase, along with several companies, initiated a technology anti-fraud alliance to combat online fraud and financial scams, in which Ripple was involved. In October, Ripple established a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), committing to invest $1 million over several years to assist the IRC.
Conclusion
When will the four-year struggle come to an end? Currently, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a final ultimatum to the U.S. SEC, ordering it to submit its final brief by January 15, 2025. However, given the various changes over these four years, it remains uncertain how the case between Ripple and the SEC will ultimately conclude. But considering various favorable policies, including expectations for an XRP ETF and Gensler's departure, perhaps Ripple can truly "sprout new miracles from an old tree"?
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