The Ripple (XRP) cryptocurrency is currently the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap, behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is following a general trend of rising in price, unlike its rivals who have seen significant dips throughout the start of 2018, and it is beginning to gain mainstream attention as having serious investment potential. However, it was hit, like others, by a dip in its own market cap earlier this year before climbing back to a respectable $30 billion cap.While a number of investors and insiders are flocking to Ripple and buying up the digital tokens, Ripple itself has a different kind of investment on its mind. The company has announced plans to invest in startups, with the intention of increasing the use case for its XRP digital currency. "We, Ripple, would stay focused on solving that institutional use case, but we would certainly partner with companies that are looking to use XRP in lots of different ways," said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse in a recent statement. The main aim of Ripple is to create digital currencies and transaction platforms that can be used by banks and financial institutions, and this remains the end goal. However, the board sees plenty of merit in branching out and offering services to new and developing companies, who could be strengthened by adding the blockchain platform. The change in strategy is a drastic one - Ripple has not spent much time on micro-transactions before, preferring to concentrate on the high-value banking applications instead. However, Ripple has already begun its investment march, with $25 million poured into San Francisco storage firm Omni. In return for the investment funds, Omni will integrate the XRP platform for use in its own business, and will approve cryptocurrency transactions. New announcements on partnership deals are expected in the coming weeks and months, as Ripple looks to cement its position as a market leader in all things crypto