As we edge closer into a new decade, Ripple Labs, Inc. has forecast that the year 2020 would be great for cryptocurrencies especially for digital assets that can introduce meaningful and tangible changes across a wide range of industries.

Against the backdrop of skeptics and critics who await a wrong move to send all crypto tumbling down, Ripple opines that it is optimistic about the future of digital assets more like a large set of Legos.

However, to ensure positive growth of blockchain technology in the coming years, the Silicon Valley blockchain firm said it’s expecting three major themes to develop in the first year of the new decade to enhance mainstream adoption of digital assets.

1. Digital Assets Underpinning Consumer Financial Products

Beyond XRP, the team at Ripple has said it expects other crypto assets to find solid traction in the finance industry in the coming year.

Asheesh Birla, the SVP at Ripple, predicted that mobile wallets, credit and loan products will make big entrance into the blockchain and crypto industry. Birla implied that the adoption of cryptocurrency in the above-mentioned areas will first emerge in developing countries and some part of Latin America.

Birla said: “Adoption of digital assets and blockchain technology among mobile wallets and super-apps like Gojek, Grab and PayPal will become more mainstream as they look to expand their services to keep up with customer demand and compete with digital banks.”

In the same way, Marcus Treacher envisioned that in the year 2020, international and micropayments companies will also embrace crypto to offer better services to tourists and travelers who are not interested in using credit or debit cards.

“Imagine if a Japanese tourist visiting Thailand could buy goods using a mobile app or QR code, triggering an immediate cross-border payment from their Japanese yen account to a Thai baht merchant’s account”, Treacher said.

“If more consumer purchase solutions start leveraging blockchain technology in the same way, the payoff will—quite literally—be huge!”

2. Accelerated Involvement of Institutional Players in Cryptocurrency

Ripple has predicted that come 2020, institutional players and more traditional firms will begin to deploy cryptocurrency and blockchain-based solutions.

The Head of Global Institutional Markets at Ripple, Breanne Madigan, foresaw that trusted brands like State Street or Bank of New York will also get involved in digital assets.

“The presence of recognized players will increase institutional confidence in the space and pave the way for greater institutional adoption next year,” Breanne explains.

Brad Garlinghouse in his own perception said digital assets would be held and traded by half of the top 20 biggest banks in 2020, and some fiat currencies will go digital in the next year. Brad thought that at least one non-G20 currency will go digital.

3. Evolution in the Crypto Space

Asheesh and Breanne predicted that there will be more alliances among crypto exchanges in the coming year. He said, hence, companies will grow from regional to global players.

Breanne, on her own part, believes consolidation would be driven more by the interest of institutional brands in digital assets and blockchain technology.

Breannes said: “an increased focus on true volumes, subdued retail interest in exchanges and the appearance of more institutional grade exchanges” will make way for consolidation as companies make efforts to add more customers and volume.

Brad anticipated that digital assets that do not have proven use case beyond speculation will die.

“The world doesn’t need 2000+ digital assets. This year saw the start of a shuttering of number crypto companies that Brad expects to continue into 2020”, Brad added.

Conclusion

Ripple believes the three evolution will fuel the next major pump for the digital asset market in terms of value. Ripple added that next year, digital assets and blockchain will move further in reinforcing the world’s financial future.