The much-discussed blockchain company Ripple now plans to expand its scope to streamline cross-border payments through partnerships with national and international banks. Ripple had focused on cross-border payments for the past five years when Brad Garlin joined the company as CEO.
After years of working with banks and financing millions directly into blockchain and cryptocurrency startups, the company has taken a step back and revised its growth strategy. Ripple seems to have realized that its core value is still XRP and the cryptocurrency that goes with it, its blockchain.
According to a Financial Times report, Ripple co-founder and CEO John Bear said the company was moving from writing checks to writing code, implying that it planned to promote the creation of new applications on the Ripple network.
“Amazon started as a bookseller and just sold books. We happen to have started with payments. Two years from now, you’re going to find that Ripple is to payments as Amazon was to books.”
The company has already announced its open-source developer platform for October 2019. Still, it was previously only intended for financial applications. The report also mentions that Ripple is developing tools to help develop blockchain – applications that examine new use cases on the Ripple network. He also expressed optimism, making the company the “Amazon of the cryptocurrency world,” a highly valued cryptocurrency in its own right, with a market capitalization of $1.5 billion.