Ripple Aims to Make Investments in Startups That Will use XRP Cryptocurrency
Payments firm Ripple announced that it intends to invest in technology startups to broaden the scope of XRP - its' cryptocurrency which is presently the third biggest digital coin behind ethereum and bitcoin, relative to total market capitalization.
In January and December, XRP rose in value after a crypto market surge that involved bitcoin reaching almost $20k per coin. Collectively, the value of XRP was over $128 billion at its' highest, prior to a January market slump that diminished that value substantially. Now, the coin has a $30 billion market cap, however Ripple has been criticized for XRP's apparent lack of use. Originally, this was advertised as a banking tool, but it has only attracted overseas payment services as clients.
CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, spoke at the Singapore Money2020 event. He said that Ripple remains committed to promoting its' software products to banks --- which are a mixture of services, not all of which use XRP. However, he said that Ripple is looking invest in firms that could use XRP in alternative ways.
This approach is being adopted elsewhere. At least six firms that raised money through ICOs are developing investment strategies that involve giving capital to firms that could utilize their platform or product. Only a month ago, a group of leading blockchain firms came together to release a $100,000,000 grant fund, which could be expanded as well to cover investing for profit.
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