- Ripple claims to have partnered with over 200 banks and payment providers
- Ripple (XRP) is currently on strong support above the $0.3070 level against the US dollar
- J.P. Morgan’s cryptocurrency project rivals Ripple’s XRP
- XRP has a bright future ahead
The first quarter of 2018 was undoubtedly a dreadful period in the cryptocurrency market. Last year’s market woes which were aligned with the almost ceaseless bitcoin ripple effect have seen many altcoins loose stability in the market and have since then dipped downwards. This bearish crash in 2018 almost brought Ripple’s XRP to its knees and in turn, created a cloud of uncertainty among its investors and followers.
Ripple had incurred a significant dip in its prices, from $3 per coin to below $0.30 by December 2018. Nevertheless, thanks to numerous partnerships, along with the completion of critical projects, Ripple seems to be on a recovery path. But what are the prospects in 2019? Will the company recover fully to be the leading provider of secure, instant and nearly free global financial transactions? Here is an in-depth forecast.
Ripple’s Past
Ripple (XRP) was launched back in 2012, by a company that was known then as Ripple Labs with the aim of providing a real-time gross settlement system and currency exchange platform. Ripple’s XRP is an independent digital asset that is native to the Ripple Consensus Ledger. Attributed to proven governance and breakneck transaction speed, XRP is rated as the most efficient settlement option for financial institutions and liquidity providers looking for global reach, accessibility and quick settlement crucial for interbank flows.
Since its commencement stages in 2013, Ripple has been adopted by numerous financial institutions around the globe who use its technology to carry out international transactions more quickly and at a cheaper cost as compared to traditional financial systems. Currently, Ripple claims to have partnered with over 200 banks and payment providers on its RippleNet network with notable financial institutions, including Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Bank of America and the Standard Chartered.
The Present
In the first quarter of 2019, Ripple underwent a lot of infrastructural development involving expanded partnership and massive charity contributions that have earned it global market recognition. Currently, the Ripple developer team’s focus on the banking industry has seen more players come onboard with better solutions and products that provide the much sought-after solution more transparently.
The latest feature is the XRP On-Demand Liquidity that has attracted many new clients. These new clients include major financial institutions such as Euro Exim Bank, Ahli Bank of Kuwait and Transpaygo who use this feature to facilitate quick cross-border payment by eliminating all administrative, slow processes that are usually performed by traditional banks. The liquidity feature also allows financial institutions to complete transactions with digital coins such as XRP, which can integrate synonymously with local currencies.
The addition of Ripple (XRP) on Coinbase Pro has been instrumental in its price growth, in addition to building confidence among its followers and investors. XRP is currently available for Coinbase Pro users in the U.S. (excluding New York), U.K., supported European Union member nations, Canada, Singapore, and Australia. The addition of Ripple (XRP) on Coinbase’s professional trading platform is a big win for Ripple which makes it stand apart from other major cryptocurrencies.
Ripple has also partnered Abra, (an unsupervised crypto wallet) to provide Abra users in more than 155 countries the ability to purchase BlueChip stocks like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and also exchange-traded funds. The addition of Ripple (XRP) on the Abra investing platform is mutually beneficial to both parties and offers a greater scope of development.
Ripple Price Analysis
Ripple (XRP) is currently on strong support above the $0.42 level against the US dollar, and it is in a decent position for more gains against the US Dollar and bitcoin. The price is, however, facing a couple of resistance near the $0.43 and $0.44 levels. The XRP/USD is likely to rebound above the $0.45 pivot level once it clears the $0.43-0.44 resistance level.
Nevertheless, the price is currently moving higher and trading nicely above the $0.41 level and the 100 hourly SMA. Ripple’s price is trading with a positive bias above the $0.4070 support.
(Source: CoinMarketCap)
Forecasting 2019 and Beyond
While it may be difficult to predict the future of Ripple, various factors are currently pointing to a very positive end game of the platform’s vision. Despite the numerous partnerships, Ripple is still aiming to add more financial institutions to the list with the upcoming application called the Xpring.
This feature will enhance transactions and attract more people on the network and use the coin. Additionally, Ripple’s legit partnership with multinational financial institutions, such as credit card provider American Express, and banks like Santander and UBS, is likely to spark a revolution in the financial industry.
The fact that the company has grown significantly in the hugely anti-cryptocurrency Chinese market via its partnership with American Express puts it in a higher position to be the leading provider of cross-border payment in the coming years. Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and his product manager Craig DeWitt stated that the entry of Ripple into the Chinese market was instrumental for their continuous growth since about 10 billion credit cards are expected to be in circulation in 2020 in China alone.
The continual growth of Ripple in the future could, however, be hindered by a recent announcement by J.P. Morgan Chase that it would soon be making its cryptocurrency to rival Ripple’s XRP. This announcement means that Ripple’s plan to integrate its cryptocurrency, XRP, in the traditional banking system is now looking unwarranted. J.P. Morgan’s cryptocurrency project is expected to be a stablecoin, known as JPM coin and is set to begin trials in the coming months. Ripple’s chief executive was quick to dismiss the project via a tweet saying:
As predicted, banks are changing their tune on crypto. But this JPM project misses the point – introducing a closed network today is like launching AOL after Netscape’s IPO. 2 years later, and bank coins still aren’t the answer https://t.co/39EAiSJwAz https://t.co/e7t7iz7h21
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) February 14, 2019
Bottom Line
To conclude, just like bitcoin, nobody can accurately predict where the coin is heading. But the fact that the XRP has now been integrated on various financial institution’s system across the globe gives it a bright future. There is also a possibility of additional partnerships in the future, in turn, increasing the XRP in circulation. However, one thing is for sure; the price will undoubtedly be higher in the future than today. Only time will tell.
