From SEC Lawsuit to Impressive Growth: How Ripple is Paving the Way for Cryptocurrency Payments

Ripple, the San Francisco-based blockchain payments company, has faced a number of serious hurdles over the past few years. The company was hit with a lawsuit by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in December 2020, which alleged that Ripple and its executives sold unregistered securities in the form of XRP tokens. As well as this the cryptocurrency industry has experienced a tumultuous year, with the implosion of Terra Luna, followed by FTX. FTX in particular had a devastating impact on the industry, sparking a wave of bankruptcies.

The Impressive Growth of RippleNet and ODL

Despite the setback of the SEC case and the chaos in the wider crypto market, Ripple has persevered and continued to innovate, making significant strides in the world of cryptocurrency payments. While the regulatory uncertainty caused by the SEC lawsuit stagnated growth in the US, Ripple turned its attention primarily to Asia and the MENA region (Middle-East and North Africa).

In 2021, Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product saw tremendous growth, with its international volume growing 25-fold by Q3. This success continued into 2022, with Ripple reporting its strongest year to date, as more customers adopted ODL. By the end of 2022, the crypto payment solution was available in almost 40 markets, up from just 3 in 2020 (the year the long-running SEC vs Ripple).

Ripple acquired a 40% stake in Asia-Pacific payments specialist Tranglo in March 2021. Tranglo uses ODL for all of its payment corridors, thus giving Ripple an advantage in the South East Asian market.

ODL is a payment solution developed by Ripple that uses the XRP cryptocurrency to facilitate instant cross-border payments. ODL allows financial institutions and payment providers to source liquidity on-demand, using XRP to bridge two currencies in real-time. This eliminates the need for pre-funded accounts in destination currencies, reducing liquidity costs and enabling faster, more efficient payments. ODL is particularly useful for high-volume, low-value transactions, as it offers lower transaction fees and faster settlement times compared to traditional payment methods.

Asia and the Middle-East have shown that it is more receptive to blockchain and digital currency, with countries such as the UAE introducing much-needed regulatory clarity for the crypto industry. In a recent interview for zawya.com, Ripple’s Navin Gupta noted:

Ripple’s XRP Ledger and EVM Compatability

Another significant milestone for Ripple was the release of the first phase of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain for the XRP Ledger. This allowed more developers access to the XRPL’s features, such as speed, sustainability, and low-cost transactions, while being able to code Solidity-based smart contracts. Ripple noted that this development was important for opening the door for successful DeFi applications like Uniswap, Aave, and Compound to launch on the XRPL.

Ripple, Government, and CBDCs

Ripple has also made waves in the world of government and institutional adoption. In July 2022, the Colombian government’s National Land Agency launched a national land registry on the XRP Ledger to store and authenticate Colombian property titles.

See Also

Crypto and Stablecoins: GAO’s Urgent Call for Legislative Action in Blockchain Regulation

Additionally, countries such as Montenegro, Palau, and Bhutan have chosen Ripple’s technology to build their sovereign digital currencies.

Ripple is also active in shaping and influencing CBDC policy. Ripple is a member of the Digital Euro Association and the Digital Pound Foundation, where it assists in “facilitating knowledge exchange and driving educational efforts in respect of digital currencies”.

Ripple’s Growth Since the SEC Lawsuit: Final Thoughts

Despite the SEC lawsuit and crypto bear market, Ripple has continued to push forward and achieve significant milestones. This shows Ripple’s strength as a company and one that is leading in the blockchain space.

As more governments and institutions explore and adopt blockchain technology, Ripple’s role in shaping the future of crypto payments is likely to grow.