2018 proved to be a very difficult year for many cryptocurrency investors. Bitcoin’s price is down roughly 85% from it’s all-time high and most other altcoins are down over 90%. From a price perspective, 2018 has been a devastating bloodbath with no mercy.
However, if you take a moment to look back on accomplishments in the cryptocurrency industry, you would have a pleasant surprise. The industry really has accomplished a lot and the San Francisco based fintech giant, Ripple covered just that in a recent blog post.
Breakthroughs in Blockchain
According to Ripple, one of the most notable things that happened this year, is the ever increasing clarity from regulatory authorities for blockchain and digital assets.
Jurisdictions from around the world saw regulators take action by releasing regulatory frameworks that foster innovation rather than hinder it. Governments and regulators are seeing the true potential of blockchain technology.
Also, not only are regulators warming up to blockchain, but Fortune 500 companies and institutional investors are accepting cryptocurrencies as an asset class and realize the potential of the technology.
For instance, blockchain-focused initiatives from IBM, Visa, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase and others are delving into the world of cryptocurrency with crypto custody services.
2018: A Big Year for Ripple
As you might expect, a Ripple blog post about blockchain industry breakthroughs would not be complete without including mentions of the company’s own breakthroughs.
Despite the price of Ripple’s XRP token falling over 90% from it’s all-time high, Ripple has had an amazing year.
Ripple’s global payments network, RippleNet now contains a network of over 100 financial institutions and spans 40 countries across 6 continents.
Cross-Border Payments
The company is truly global and RippleNet has provided on demand liquidity for cross-border payments using the XRP digital asset. Powering these transactions is Ripple’s xRapid system which enables fast, cheap, and transparent payments.
To give context of just how effective RippleNet and the xRapid system is, the senior vice president and COO of Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union, Brad Ganey said this:
The traditional international wire experience fails to meet today’s expectations from a price, speed and ease-of-use perspective. Blockchain technology, and specifically Ripple’s xRapid product, resolves all three of these challenges simultaneously.
Breakthrough Payment Services
Besides traditional financial institutions implementing Ripple’s technology, breakthrough payment services such as Santander’s OnePay FX and CoinOne Transfer’s Cross have mobile apps that leverage RippleNet for remittance services.
Not only do companies benefit from Ripples technology, but their customers do as well. For instance, Ripple’s customer BeeTech eliminated SWIFT fees for all their remittance activities and could thus drop fees for their own customers from $20 to $2 per transaction.
Providing real insights on the service is a BeeTech Customer, Erick Gutierrez stating:
My money arrives fast, and I can see all fees. Finally, I trust receiving money from Brazil to pay bills and live well in Europe.
Academic Advancements
Apart from Ripple’s user growth and blockchain implementations, the company launched multiple academic initiatives. In May of this year, Ripple launched Xpring, which has launched several blockchain startups.
Also, Ripple established the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) this year and has been very effective at supporting increased research and innovation for blockchain, cryptocurrency, and FinTech.
Conclusion
2018 has been an outstanding year for both Ripple and the blockchain industry. Going into 2019 with crypto prices as low as they are, it will be interesting to see what the year brings in terms of both price action and further development.
How do you feel about the blockchain development accomplished in 2018? What are you most excited for in 2019? Let us know in the comment section below.
