Ripple on China and XRP – Targeting 1.3 Billion People for Cross-Border Payments

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Ripple’s VP of EU strategic accounts says the company is now targeting China and its huge population for its suite of cross-border payment solutions.

“China is definitely of interest. It is definitely a target,” Jeremy Light told CNBC in a new interview. “China is definitely a country and region of interest.”

Although China is a big proponent of blockchain technology, the country banned domestic trading, shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges and banned initial coin offerings late last year.

Ripple’s focus would “unlikely be on advancing the adoption of its cryptocurrency, XRP, as Beijing has clamped down on the trading of virtual currencies.”

Ripple will need to target banks and financial institutions across China to adopt its tech. The company already plans to power international payments between China, Europe and the US through a recent partnership with LianLian, a Hong King-based financial institution. It’s not clear whether LianLian has started using Ripple’s technology, or if it plans to use xRapid – Ripple’s real-time settlement technology that utilizes XRP.

More than 100 companies have signed up to Ripple’s network of banks and payment platforms. Most are focused on using Ripple’s xCurrent, which is designed to settle payments worldwide without necessarily using XRP.