We have recently commented on Ripple’s attempts to remove themselves from any association with XRP (the currency produced by and owned by Ripple). Today however, according to a report by The Daily Express (UK) it does seem as if actually, Ripple still want to use XRP to their advantage. In this case, it seems as if Ripple plan on giving XRP away to 2 Billion people in India to ensure that XRP can become a serious cryptocurrency, should the country move towards cryptocurrency adoption (though this is unlikely given recent news).

What’s been said by The Daily Express?

Before we begin, we do realise that The Daily Express may not be the most reliable source for cryptocurrency news, however what they discuss does raise some very thought provoking points. According to The Daily Express, Asheesh Birla, the Vice President of Product at Ripple has discussed how Ripple plan to use XRP to beat Bitcoin to India. Birla believes that Ripple have the capacity to ‘win over’ 50% of the Indian market, ensuring that Ripple then have access to a large proportion of one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

According to The Daily Express, Birla has said:

“We looked early on at India, and we looked at two billion people – a huge market. And we decided, how do you get two billion people onto Ripple? Do we give the currency away to every Indian, that’s like two billion – just give it away? That was one idea. But then we realised that if you get the top three banks in India onto Ripple, you get 80 percent of the market share.”

Moreover

"And then we looked at – where’s the future? And so we realised in the next five years, one billion people will become banked in India, but they’ll be banked through their phone. So then we started targeting mobile phone providers and telcos. So now, I think that in our pipeline we have probably 50 percent of the market in India, either integrated onto Ripple or in the deal, in the sort of pipeline to be signed to India.”

See the full article for yourself,

here

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When you look at this, you can see just how Ripple believe that a large scale XRP giveaway will benefit both people in India and Ripple, however it seems to be a bit of a mammoth task that might really upset long term investors who maybe feel that they deserve free XRP as a thanks for their commitment, over the Indian population.

If this move goes ahead (we don’t think it will mind, Birla is just teasing journalists here), it will see Ripple enter an emerging economy that will only bolster the user value and reputation of XRP. Moreover, if we consider the popularity of remittance payments via India, it does seem like a sensible move by Ripple.

Ultimately, Birla wouldn’t make these remarks for no reason at all, but as stated it does seem unlikely that Ripple are planning on breaking into India this way. We’ll have to wait and see what happens here, don’t hold your breath though.