2017 was definitely the year of the Ripple. In terms of growth, XRP’s value outshines the rest of the coins including Bitcoin by posing a growth of over 30,000 percent. Currently, however, the digital asset has fallen back with a 75 percent decline since last year to its current price in the $0.50 region. Ripple has been in the headlines lately especially after a class action lawsuit was issued to the company from a disgruntled trader who lost money trading XRP. His claim: XRP is a security and thus he should be compensated by the company for his losses.
How XRP dealt with it
In response Ripple was quick and fast to indicate that XRP and Ripple are not related. This has been the overall stance of Ripple on the matter for quite some time. All in all, even with all the efforts made by the company to establish the difference between XRP and Ripple, XRP fans still appear to be bullish at the announcements of Ripple’s achievements and partnerships as if there is a correlation to XRP’s price.
It has become pretty common to read the news of how Ripple’s partnerships with banks and other financial institutions are about to spike the price of XRP. This is however not true. Even in interviews where Ripple officials speak, certain audiences ask Ripple executives when XRP is expected to advance in price appreciation. On the other hand, XRP’s critics argue that the token is not even a cryptocurrency. The fact that over 60 percent of XRP is being held by Ripple, and that the coin is not mined, makes a strong case for critics who claim XRP is not a currency.
But how can a digital asset be a currency also be a security?
Well, while talking to Yahoo fiancé during an interview, Cory Johnson (a chief marketing strategist at Ripple) mentioned that the endless comparison by investors and crypto enthusiasts over whether Ripple and XRP are related is a tad frustrating. He said that:
no one calls Exxon Mobil oil. Exxon Mobil has a vested interest in seeing that oil is successful but that doesn’t mean it’s the same thing.
A closer look at Ripples main products and you will realize that XRP is only used as money transfer tool in Ripple’s xRapid. In fact, one of Ripple’s main products, xCurrent, does not use XRP. With Ripple building up over 100 partnerships with banks and financial institutions across the globe, none of the partnerships have affected the price of XRP.
For the average retail trader of XRP, such nuances that make XRP stand out in the market are one of the most important factors to consider when planning a long-term investment to XRP. However, this is hardly the case. To clearly illustrate his point during the interview, Johnson pointed out that although Ripple had “the best first quarter” signing more deals than before, ”XRP had the worst quarter it ever had”.
Why does’ the hype still persist around XRP then
Well to explain this, Johnson thinks that “people have money at stake” and as a result, more traders only pay attention to the price while biased reporters promote and criticize cryptocurrencies based on their holdings. After he was asked to talk about the reason behind the slow-paced adoption rate of banks to Ripple’s technology, he mentioned that xRapid (the only product using XRP) is targeted towards remittance companies and not banks as most people think. Ripple, on the other hand, continues to focus on making cross-border payments easy fast and impactful.
For the latest cryptocurrency news, join our Telegram!
Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.
Image courtesy of Pexels
The post Ripple gains momentum and criticism almost equally; Here is what a Ripple executive thinks appeared first on Global Coin Report.
Globalcoinreport.com/ is author of this content, TheBitcoinNews.com is is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Our Social Networks: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Youtube
