Have you ever heard about Adam Smith? Have you read his book “The Wealth of Nations? You should. This is the guy who invented Economics. He invented the idea that markets find a way to regulate themselves through supply and demand. But one thing Smith never said was that markets were rational. They’re not. Rumors, fear, momentary impulse govern them, and this is what happens with the crypto markets right now, especially with Ripple’s XRP.
Let’s review XRP’s price recent history briefly
Ripple’s yearly Swell conference started last Monday and, on the two previous weeks, the price went up. Nobody knew anything, but this is an example of speculative investors buying into rumors, trying to get into the action early before anybody else does. What happened next?
Well, Swell happened next and, while it was supposed to be a low key conference, it turned out a big announcement. Namely, that xRapid is, at last on production stage, with three partners who are already using it to settle their international money transfers.
Those were great news. And what happened next? XRP’s price went down. Let’s dig a little deeper.
Cryptocurrencies, like any other commodities or resources, can grow in value because of two reasons: they can either be useful, or speculators could be interested in them. This is Economics 101. At this point, very few crypto-coins are helpful in the real world. That means that their value is dictated by speculative pressure, mainly.
Ripple is in a transient period. It is turning into a project (and a token) that is becoming useful in the real world because banks, remittance services, and financial institutions are slowly (but surely) adopting both the platform and the coin. But the process is only beginning so speculative pressure is still very strong and it’s holding the token’s value back.
So if xRapid is finally in production, then why is the token’s price going down?
Because it’s started with three users only, which are not very big at that. But if things work well for them, other banks (bigger banks) will also adopt xRapid (Banco Santander already has another of Ripple’s platforms in production), and that will create a much bigger demand for XRP. Not because of trade in exchanges but because it’s a useful coin that solves problems for real people.
The one thing you need to know about XRP’s value is this: it’s not a sprint race; it’s a Marathon. But Ripple technology and the token have proven to be helpful for many businesses the world over so they are sure to gain more users.
And with more users, there will be a higher trade volume that will drive the coin’s price up because of usefulness, and not because of sheer speculation. Keep in mind that even Stellar Lumens and LiteCoin have seen Ripple’s project and followed suit, because they know that taking a cryptocurrency mainstream is the one thing that can make it valuable in the market, bypassing speculative measures.
This is not a time to be fooled by what’s happened this last week (XRP is down by more than 6% even during the previous 24 hours). It’s instead a time to think long-term, and there are many good long-term bets in the cryptosphere. Tron, Stellar, Bitcoin (surprise!), Cardano and a few others, but among them, there is Ripple.
Don’t worry about the current market. As I stated before, it’s irrational. Be rational and outdo the market. Not this week. Just think long-term. Is the market terrible right now? No, it’s not awful. It’s cheap. It’s probably the right time to buy. But don’t take our word. Do your own research, reach your own conclusions and never put in the crypto market money that you can’t afford to lose.
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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.
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