In its Ripple Drop holiday special, the San Francisco-based company has gone over crypto happenings in 2019.
Ripple is feeling good about the crypto space. The episode includes discussions on the effect blockchain tech and crypto have had on global technology. And what enthusiasts should expect in 2020.
CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse alongside several other members of the executive team were on ground to partake in the broadcast. They each discussed specific happenings in 2019 and their 2020 expectations.
Surprises in 2019
It seems that there was a unanimous agreement that the Libra Whitepaper launch was quite surprising. For instance, Breanna Madigan, Vice President of Global Institutional Market chaired this opinion.
She also pointed out how the announcement helped to set world government on their toes. Producing a worldwide clamor for crypto regulatory structures.
She said, “I’d say there were a few things that surprised me this year”. For instance, Libra. The way it “catalyzed global governments across the world to come together and start to understand the urgency around developing regulatory frameworks.”
At the same time, Marcus Treacher, SVP of Customer Success disclosed that RippleNet’s exponential growth was a big surprise for him. He referred to “the pace in which we were able to grow a global network, by connecting banks and payment companies.”
Monica Long, SVP of Marketing, endorsed Treacher’s opinion. She also added that “I was very pleasantly surprised by the demand that we saw for On-Demand Liquidity. […] “2019 was a breakout year for that product and customer adoption.”
Special Moments for Crypto
For Ripple CTO, David Schwartz a very special moment was when he discovered Bitcoin. He described it as the minute “everything just clicked.”
For Garlinghouse, it was when he watched Alex Holmes applaud ODL, pointing out how beneficial it was to his business. Alex Holmes is MoneyGram’s CEO.
What to expect in 2020
As we step into a new year and decade, the crypto space is in the limelight. Many crypto analysts have come forward with predictions of what to expect in 2020.
Garlinghouse believes there will be more mergers between several crypto. He said, “[…] you don’t need 3000 plus cryptocurrencies out there.” David Schwartz echoed this belief. He also added that for continued growth, crypto must profound workable solutions to real-world issues.
And said, “I think we’re going to see more growth of blockchain into different use cases. […] I think the focus is going to be can you solve an actual problem.”
Ethan Beard, SVP of Xpring, says that blockchain technology will supersede “the underpinnings of the entire financial industry.” Asheesh Birla, SVP of Product Management agreed with this notion. She also added that the long term potential of decentralized tech is huge. For Treacher, the Internet of Value is one sphere that will gain traction in the new year.
He said, “The Internet of Value that we’re creating is very much coming to life […]. I can see blockchain technology merging into other core enabling technologies and together creating the fourth industrial revolution.”
In conclusion, the new year holds a lot of potential for digital assets and decentralized tech. We expect more crypto holders, increased adoption as this technology unfolds to become a pillar in the global financial sector.
