Ripple announced today that a total of 13 more financial institutions had joined RippleNet, putting the total at over 200. Of these, five of them will use the ripple (XRP) cryptocurrency for liquidity. Institutions named in the press release are: JNFX, SendFriend, Transpaygo, FTCS, and Euro Exim Bank. While they will use XRP to access liquidity on demand, the 8 others will not.

Kaushik Punjani, Director of Euro Exim Bank, said of the partnership:

As a leader in trade finance solutions for global corporates and fintechs, we are uniquely placed to offer new payment channels and ways to source liquidity. Our customers—whether big corporates or individual remitters—have historically been restricted from obtaining suitable funds or settling transactions in a cost efficient and timely manner. Working collaboratively with Ripple and selected counterparts, we have designed, tested and are implementing both xCurrent and xRapid in record time, and we look forward to the benefits these will bring our customers.

Significantly, most of the companies added to RippleNet will not be using XRP for liquidity. They will be using the settlement layer of RippleNet — Ripple’s enterprise blockchain — and the network of other institutions for cross-border payments. Notably, BBVA has arranged loans to Porsche and made massive instant international transfers using Ripple’s technology stack.

Ripple Price Somewhat Stable

RippleNet and xRapid are Ripple’s core offerings to the financial world. RippleNet allows banks to work with other participants in the network in ways that vastly reduce costs, while xRapid enables liquidity instantly via XRP.

The ripple price remains steadily around 37 cents over the 24-hour period.

Still a long way from its all-time-high of more than $3 per XRP, by all means Ripple continues developing its technology and business relationships in order to increase the cryptocurrency’s network value. Interest in ripple is only growing, regardless of market metrics. Of course, one thing that depresses the price of XRP is the relative plenitude of its tokens.

Brad Garlinghouse said of the new additions to RippleNet:

In 2018, nearly 100 financial institutions joined RippleNet, and we’re now signing two—sometimes three—new customers per week. We also saw a 350 percent increase last year in customers sending live payments, and we’re beginning to see more customers flip the switch and leverage XRP for on-demand liquidity. At the end of the day, our goal is to make sure our customers can provide excellent, efficient cross-border payments experiences for their customers, wherever they are in the world.

In reality, positiveness around XRP increases as more government regulation enters the crypto markets. Most importantly, it seeks to be a regulatory-compliant cryptocurrency. In other words, XRP is regulatory friendly in order to be bank friendly. Banks and financial institutions are its target market.

Brad Garlinghouse image from Ripple/YouTube. Chart from TradingView.