Ripple is dead set on becoming the largest distributed ledger technology (DLT) company operating in the crypto space by partnering with leading banks and forex providers. In a bid to keep growing and expanding this network, Ripple has signed UAE Exchange and Unimoni to its RippleNet platform. Customers of the two entities will then be able to enjoy fast and low-cost transfers to banks using the RippleNet, ushering in a new era of financial transactions.
Next Destination, Thailand
For now, customers of UAE Exchange and Unimoni will be able to send money to people in Thailand who bank with Siam Commercial Bank – the only bank currently running on RippleNet. These payments will be converted into XRP at either UAE Exchange or Unimoni and the XRP will be sent to Siam Commercial Bank. The bank will then convert it into local currency and credit it to the necessary account, speeding up the entire process by a matter of days and removing extortionate costs from the process. The average price of a transaction will be around $0.12, down from a whopping $25.
Ripple Moving Billions in Preparation
Over the past few weeks, Ripple has moved billions in XRP to allow its platforms to operate smoothly. In its most recent XRP move, Ripple left a cryptic message that read “crawl…walk…run…”. It’s not yet clear what this message meant, but it could be Ripple tipping its hat at newcomers to its DLT ecosystem. More XRP has been moved in the past few weeks than in the last six months of 2018, indicating something huge is about to happen in the Ripplesphere.
Could This be Another Ripple Puff Piece?
Ripple is well known for overhyping projects and partnerships, and there is a good chance this partnership announcement is just another one of those. A blogger by the name of Trolley exposed numerous “partnerships” that Ripple has with non-existent, failing, or dead businesses. In fact, Ahli Bank of Kuwait has an ongoing, non-binding ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Ripple, which Trolly describes as “something businesses sign when they don’t want to do something, but don’t want to look like they don’t want to do it.” Could this partnership be in a similar vein?
While it’s great to hear that more companies are joining the Ripple ecosystem, it’s starting to look more and more like Ripple is turning to Justin Sun’s hype tactics to raise the price of its XRP token. After letting its chief marketing officer go and blaming it on crypto winter, it certainly is strange that Ripple is announcing new partnerships that will bring in a lot of cash. Be skeptical about this new partnership, as caution is arguably what’s called for.
