The article written by Monica Long, president of Ripple, outlines the company’s vision for the future of the global financial infrastructure through the use of blockchain technology and digital crypto assets. 

Ripple, founded on the belief that blockchain will become the global financial infrastructure of the future, has worked for over a decade to make this vision a reality.

Evolution of the crypto market and the roadmap of Ripple’s blockchain

The article begins with a summary of the evolution of the cryptocurrency market. In the beginning, when the price of Bitcoin was below $20 and Ethereum did not yet exist, the market lacked infrastructure, liquidity, trust, and regulatory clarity. 

Today, however, we see the first Spot ETFs on BTC and ETH approved in the United States, BlackRock launching its first tokenized fund on a public blockchain, and the European Union implementing comprehensive regulations with MiCA. Additionally, financial institutions and payment companies like Fidelity, Itaú Unibanco, Stripe, and PayPal are making cryptocurrencies more accessible to their customers.

Ripple has capitalized on this market maturation by adapting and expanding its suite of products. Initially, the company focused on cross-border payments, leveraging the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and its native digital asset XRP to move value efficiently. Thanks to the speed, low costs, transparency, and scalability of XRPL, Ripple Payments has achieved near-global coverage with over 80 payment markets, processing more than 50 billion dollars in volume.

The acquisition of Metaco in 2023 represented a significant step for Ripple. Metaco, a provider of digital asset custody technology, serves top-tier banks such as BBVA Switzerland, HSBC, and Société Générale. This allowed Ripple to further enhance its product offering, with the creation of Ripple Custody, which aims to expand the company’s presence in the digital asset custody sector.

Connecting TradFi and Crypto

Another key development discussed in the article is the imminent launch of Ripple USD (RLUSD), a stablecoin that will be available on XRP Ledger and Ethereum. This step aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and cryptocurrencies, integrating RLUSD into Ripple Payments to meet the growing needs of customers in cross-border payments. The article highlights how XRPL is the blockchain of choice for institutional DeFi use cases, thanks to its reliability, high performance, low transaction costs, and speed.

XRPL is the fulcrum of Ripple’s technological infrastructure, having processed over 2.8 billion transactions since 2012 without failures or security breaches. Its native decentralized exchange (DEX) allows users to trade any type of token without intermediaries, offering advanced features such as auto-bridging and pathfinding to find the best deals.

Ripple is collaborating with various projects such as Zoniqx, Orchestra Finance, CredeFi, Sologenic, and Archax to build applications on XRPL, bringing modern financial instruments to traditional finance. The integration of XRPL’s sophisticated technical and financial features directly into Ripple’s business offers the advantages of decentralized finance to global customers in a secure and compliant manner.

Conclusions and the ambitions of Ripple 

Ripple has demonstrated its longevity by navigating the bull and bear cycles of the cryptocurrency market. The company has always adopted a long-term vision, collaborating with financial institutions, regulators, and policymakers to transform the legacy system from within.

Ripple’s ambition is to become the leading provider of infrastructure for digital assets for financial services. The company aims to be a reference point for businesses that want to integrate blockchain into their operations without having to develop and maintain the technology internally. Ripple stands out as one of the few players capable of offering a complete digital infrastructure that connects TradFi and cryptocurrencies thanks to its experience and established reputation.

The article by Monica Long highlights Ripple’s journey towards creating a global financial infrastructure based on blockchain and digital assets. Through the evolution of their products, the integration of new technologies such as digital asset custody, and the launch of stablecoins, Ripple is building a bridge between traditional finance and the world of cryptocurrencies. 

Their long-term vision and collaboration with financial institutions and regulators position Ripple as a leader in the digital infrastructure sector for financial services.