Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is one of the major banks of Kuwait, most famous for being one of the first banks to open, operating under Sharia law. KFH are a major firm within Kuwait, trading on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, with a market capitalisation of $8.2 billion as of 2016.

According to reports out today, KFH are the first bank in Kuwait to have successfully trialled and completed a Ripple powered blockchain transaction, one that suggests going forward, KFH will be integrating with Ripple’s xRapid to facilitate all future cross border payments.

According to LiveBitcoinnews.com, a video released by KFH regarding this announcement has said:

“The Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has successfully accomplished the first ever blockchain transaction in the country. And this transaction had been possible due to the use of Ripple Technology. The transaction was tested and successfully completed with a beneficiary of KSA Bank.”

It does seem that KFH have tapped into Ripple technologies prior to this update, having recently announced that they would be joining RippleNet in order to become a recognised firm within the growing blockchain ecosystem. According to LiveBitcoinnews.com:

“KFH also conveyed that they would soon be joining RippleNet, which they initially announced back in May. This would enable them to become an active part of the globally recognized and ever-growing blockchain technology ecosystem. The KFH is all set to use Ripple’s software solutions to enhance the quality and service of cross-border payments and make it more efficient for its clients. While neighboring Saudi Arabia may have banned cryptocurrency trading, it is obvious that Kuwait very bullish on the underlying technology of virtual currencies.”

See more for yourself,

here

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If a cryptocurrency is going to be adopted in Kuwait, it’s most likely to be XRP. With the big banks now using Ripple’s technology, it only makes sense, however we don’t think national adoption is on the cards just yet. Instead, we expect KFH to lead a charge towards adoption of Ripple’s blockchain technologies first. Once KFH become fully integrated, the inherent advantages of this technology will become apparent to other banks in the country and therefore, we should expect that they too will work towards entering the blockchain.

Moreover, this has implications for the countries that will be receiving payments from KFH via the Ripple blockchain as in turn, it is no doubt going to inspire them to look into the technologies too.

It’s good-ish news for XRP, but great news for the adoption of Ripple as a technological movement.