The price of Ripple’s XRP token has been rocketing in the last few days, with many believing that the token has the potential to hit $1 by the end of 2018. There has been talk about Swift’s new upgrade containing Ripple’s xRapid technology, and this is likely what’s caused the price boom. Several news outlets have reported saying that Swift will use its technology to power its cross-border payments, but Swift has come out and branded this as fake news.
Upgrading to Swift GPI
Swift is urging its clients to upgrade their systems to its new global payments platform – GPI. Many of GPI’s features sound like xRapid’s, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually using xRapid. GPI gives customers the power to credit international beneficiaries in seconds with end-to-end tracking, transparent FX rates, reduced costs, credit confirmation, and unaltered remittance data. You can see why the Ripple community would want to take credit for Swift’s new payment platform.
Swift Sibos Conference Confusion
The rumors started at the Swift Sibos conference in Sydney, where a Ripple representative was present. Reporters quickly presumed that Ripple was there as a technology partner that had made the new Swift GPI platform possible – but that’s third-rate journalism for you. In an interview with Finance Magnates, a Swift spokesperson cleared the air and stated:
“I’m not sure where those rumors are coming from but the upcoming standards release … is entirely unrelated to RippleNet. Its primary purpose is to ensure all payments include a tracking reference (UETR, Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference) which will allow banks to track their GPI payments end-to-end in real time.”
Ripple Gets Ripped
Ripple doesn’t have the best reputation in the crypto world, in fact many in the crypto world abhorrently despise the “cryptocurrency”. Anti-Ripplers say that because the majority of the XRP tokens are still held by Ripple and the founders, that it’s not a true cryptocurrency. This coupled with the fact all coins are pre-mined makes for a grim situation for Ripple. In fact, before its Swell conference, Ripple announced Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker and Ripple began to feel the heat. The crypto world trolled the announcement with a barrage of hilarious meme parodies.
A Nod from the White House
It’s no secret that America wants to rule the world, so when Trump found out that China had the power to totally control or destroy Bitcoin, he fought back. The Trump administration has held high-level talks with Ripple and is looking into fighting China’s Bitcoin dominance with XRP. Due to the fact it can’t be mined, Trump and his administration believe that China cannot influence it – making it more secure for government purchases. However, following the recent midterm election results, it looks like Trump could have a hard time doing anything the Democrats don’t like.
Swift is innovating to compete with crypto payment provider platforms such as Ripple and its xRapid technology, and the crypto community isn’t too pleased. This is most likely why Ripple fans decided to try and claim Swift’s new technology for itself. These fake news reporters need to learn that the truth will always come out, which is exactly what has happened in this case.
