Ripple’s highly anticipated xCurrent 4.0 upgrade is now live, enabling Ripple’s 200+ customers to integrate the XRP-powered xRapid payments system.
Ripple’s chief technology officer (CTO), David Schwartz confirmed xCurrent 4.0 is live via Twitter on May 6.
4.0 is live. We're working to get all customers upgraded, but it's a complex process. Multihop, xRapid support, much easier peering, and a much easier customer integration process are the major new features.
— David Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 6, 2019
The xCurrent 4.0 upgrade is potentially a huge deal for Ripple’s XRP digital asset because the majority of Ripple’s 200+ financial partners utilize xCurrent to facilitate instant and inexpensive cross-border transactions.
However, Ripple’s xCurrent product does not utilize the XRP cryptocurrency, but rather uses a blockchain messaging system.
But with the new xCurrent 4.0 upgrade, the system can now be integrated with Ripple’s xRapid, which does utilize XRP for cross-border remittances, providing banks and financial institutions with on-demand liquidity.
Will Ripple’s Customers Start Using XRP and xRapid?
Although the major upgrade is now live, Schwartz states that upgrading all of their existing clients to xCurrent 4.0 is a complex process. Nevertheless, Ripple is working hard to get their customers upgraded.
4.0 is live. We're working to get all customers upgraded, but it's a complex process. Multihop, xRapid support, much easier peering, and a much easier customer integration process are the major new features.
— David Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 6, 2019
Schwartz continued to respond to the XRP community’s questions via Twitter. He was overall very transparent and forthright regarding the proceedings of the xCurrent 4.0 upgrade.
When posed a question about how the upgrade will work and what kind of steps need to be taken, Schwartz admitted that it’s not a straightforward upgrade, and that it will be a bit painful, seeing as it requires changes to middleware.
Moreover, he noted that this upgrade is not yet mandatory, so customers can take their time. However, he also states that until everyone upgrades, there may be features that work inconsistently due to varying versions.
No. But having a mix of majot versions can make features work inconsistently. It's like IPv4 and IPv6. They can interoperate, but until IPv6 takes over 100%, there will always be pain points for people who don't run both, and also for people who do run both.
— David Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 6, 2019
All in all, the Ripple community appreciated Schwartz’s openness and transparency in responding to their questions, and the xCurrent 4.0 upgrade is a sure sign of continuous Ripple development and determination to push for XRP adoption.
Now that Ripple’s xCurrent customers can easily opt in to using XRP once they successfully upgrade, will they? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
