As XRP continues to languish compared to Bitcoin, Ripple’s chief technology officer David Schwartz is engaging in frank discussions about the crypto asset’s challenges going forward.
Schwartz, one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, responded to questions on Twitter about why banks are holding back in terms of implementing XRP-powered technology.
“I think there are a combination of obstacles. Regulatory uncertainty, last mile problems, fear of reprisals from existing partners, and so on.
Another big thing is that the very best customers are ones that are going to use bridge assets to build new products.
They’re heavily motivated to see projects to completion and will push the benefits all the way down to customers. But in that case, even when they’re 100% ready to go, they still have 0 customers because the product is new. So it’s slow to get momentum.”
JPMorgan officially launched its digital currency, JPM Coin, this week.
The asset will be used to power international payments, according to Takis Georgakopoulos, JPMorgan’s head of wholesale payments, which puts it in direct competition with XRP.
Schwartz, however, says on Twitter that such an asset will have limited use.
“JPM Coin will only be useful for people who trust JPM, are in a jurisdiction that’s compatible with JPM, and aren’t concerned about their sovereignty.
A system nobody can own and control is, IMO, better – especially if you compete with JPM, or hope to.”
Ripple utilizes XRP in its cross-border payments platform, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). The company says ODL has powered $2 billion in volume since its launch in October of 2018.