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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Banks Might Hold XRP for Decades
XRP has tangible benefits over the legacy systems it's competing with. Those benefits are difficult to improve on by much. It also has a suite of compliance features that are already built in. 10 stocks we like better than XRP › For decades, international payments have been routed through the SWIFT network, which is a messaging system that connects thousands of banks. SWIFT transactions can take days, sometimes weeks, because of intermediary banks, currency conversions, and messaging delays. The main users, banks, need to carry liquidity buffers to cover the risk of those issues. This means that using SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, comes with a capital burden for banks. XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is a cryptocurrency designed for nothing flashier than moving value from A to B almost instantly and for almost nothing in fees. Banks wrestling with faster-payments mandates and cross-border fee pressure now have a tool that settles transactions in the time it takes to blink, so long as they're willing to abandon SWIFT. Here's why some of those banks and other financial companies are starting to consider XRP as a core reserve they might keep for decades rather than merely as a cryptocurrency investment to hold on the balance sheet. On the XRP ledger (known as XRPL), a transfer finalizes in roughly three to five seconds, with typical network fees of less than 0.001 XRP, or about a tenth of a cent at recent prices. For the sake of comparison, consider that SWIFT's own progress report touts a "dramatic" improvement to a 24-hour average for cross-border settlement last year, down from 96 hours in 2019. Why does that transaction time and cost gap matter to banks when it comes to choosing a technology to use? If you're a bank, capital that's trapped in transit is capital that isn't earning a yield. Every hour shaved off transaction settlement frees up capital that can be redeployed, thereby enabling the bank to generate more earnings than it would otherwise. Thus, there's a strong financial incentive here for banks to switch, and little that keeps them tied to the legacy solution except for inertia. Furthermore, XRP's fee structure is predictable. SWIFT's message charges, foreign exchange spreads, and flat fees can be on the order of $50 per transfer. Typically, those exchange fees are billed as a percentage of the transfer amount, with 1% being a common take, so costs add up quickly for players that need to transact frequently and in large sums. With XRP, costs stay microscopic regardless of notional transaction size, and there is no currency being exchanged, so there are no exchange fees at all. That reliability underpins the token's appeal as a utility reserve rather than a speculative investment. Once adopted, if it's anything like SWIFT, banks will be loath to transition to something else unless the benefits of doing so are very compelling. The speed of a solution alone has probably never sold a big bank's chief compliance officer on adopting a new technology. What moves the needle is control and traceability. XRP's ledger natively bakes a slew of regulatory compliance features directly into the protocol. Asset issuers, including those with key assets like stablecoins, can freeze individual trust lines, enact a global freeze, or enable deposit authorization so an account only accepts funds it has vetted. These features let banks satisfy know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) obligations without incorporating external smart contract code, which is a tremendous headache on many other chains, particularly Ethereum. As a result of XRP's compliance features and potential to cut costs, real-world pilots of financial businesses and organizations trialing XRP are piling up. Bhutan's central bank began a central bank digital currency (CBDC) sandbox on XRP's tech three years ago, looking to extend financial inclusion across its mountainous villages. More recently, Dubai green-lit a property tokenization platform that records deeds on XRPL, targeting $16 billion in real estate. Each project requires the ledger to prove it can handle regulated assets at scale, which is progress that risk officers and bank executives watch far more closely than investors typically do. If those trials mature into production systems, banks holding XRP as an operational reserve gain a second benefit of optionality. The same tokens that are useful for making large international payments can also pay ledger fees for tokenized bonds or be used for trading other tokenized financial instruments. That versatility hedges against the risk that today's fast payment rails become tomorrow's legacy drag in the way that SWIFT is. Thus, the durability of XRP as an asset is starting to look more persuasive than ever. XRP's price can be volatile, yet the direction of travel toward faster payments, programmable compliance, and institutional custody is hard to miss. For investors, that means the thesis behind buying and holding XRP today hinges less on a meme-driven price spike and more on the quiet decisions banks make to incorporate it over the next decade. Ripple, the company that issues XRP, is highly motivated to ensure that banks keep adopting the coin for their back-end use. If XRP becomes the solution for tokenized deposits, CBDCs, and cross-border wholesale flows, demand from institutions with no intention of selling could easily anchor the coin's long-term value. And so far, the evidence is that things are moving in that direction. Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Banks Might Hold XRP for Decades was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin and Xi's meeting marks the start of a dangerous new world order
Xi Jinping's arrival in Moscow, to commemorate Russia's VE day, on May 9, (a day after Europe, the UK and the US), wasn't just a formality. It was a very public and deliberate show of support from Russia's closest ally. We already know that China is a critical part of the 'axis of totalitarian states', made up of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran. The countries in this group, prompted by China, have delivered a great deal of support to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. This includes a significant number of drones from Iran in the early stages of the war, and now weapons and ammunition from North Korea. It was China that helped arrange the rapprochement between North Korea and Russia, opening the door to huge levels of military support. It is worth remembering that, at that time, Russia was in some difficulty and had begun running low on artillery ammunition and other weaponry. Perhaps the best example of this support is the estimated delivery of over five million artillery shells from North Korea, not to mention the thousands of North Korean soldiers now engaged in fighting alongside Russian troops in the Kursk region. During a recent visit to Ukraine, the Ukrainian military revealed to me that these North Korean troops have proven to be more effective than existing Russian troops. But we should cast our minds back to the Winter Olympics in China in 2022. On February 4 2022, Putin flew in, clearly to discuss the coming invasion with Xi. Just 20 days later, Putin's forces invaded Ukraine. What is absolutely clear is that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine without Xi's agreement. On March 22 2023, at a previous meeting, president Xi gave Putin the strongest level of support when he said: 'Change is coming that hasn't happened in 100 years. And we are driving this change together.' This visit of Xi now re-emphasises this strong alliance between them. After all, the alliance isn't just words, as China now buys a huge proportion of Russia's oil and gas; and in return it supports Russia at the UN. This purchase of Russia's oil and gas has increased dramatically in the year following the invasion. China has also encouraged a network of other nations to do the same. When Russia invaded Ukraine, the West not only froze Russian assets but also cut off Russian financial institutions access from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), the backbone of global financial transactions. In response, China immediately stepped in and facilitated financial transactions through its own system, Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). This intervention alone saved Russia from a cash flow crisis. What should not be forgotten is that China has its own territorial ambitions in Taiwan. China's support for Russia is also because what happens in Ukraine will have a bearing on what happens in Taiwan. Xi is watching carefully to see how strong the West's resolve is over Ukraine, as this will give him a strong indication of how the US and other elements of the Nato alliance might respond if and when Taiwan is blockaded or invaded. So far, what China has seen from the West has significantly emboldened its position over Taiwan. Since the beginning of this conflict, it has become clear that Europe first and foremost was unprepared for any kind of conflict and unable to support Ukraine as they should have done. Even under president Biden, the US was unable to make its mind up whether it wanted Ukraine to win or just not to lose. This was evidenced by the early refusals to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and in restrictions on Ukraine's use of US missiles to target sites within Russia. Whilst we all want peace, any deal that trades away significant Ukrainian territory would be manna from heaven for president Xi. As Xi got off the plane in Moscow, he must be smiling to himself as he watches the divisions in the West and contemplates the beginning of a new world order. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
South China Morning Post
22-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China rolls out plan to promote its own payment system as US trade war simmers
China has released an action plan to promote the use of the yuan and its own payment system in international trade, as it seeks to reduce its dependence on the dollar amid an escalating trade war with the United States. Advertisement The plan – jointly released by the Shanghai municipal government, the People's Bank of China and the country's financial regulators on Monday – aims to leverage Shanghai's role as a global financial hub to promote the use of the Chinese currency, especially in trade involving countries in the Global South. Shanghai will 'enhance the functionality' of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) – China's alternative to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) payment system – and continue expanding the global coverage of the CIPS network, according to the policy. It will also strengthen financial support for Chinese enterprises 'going global' and advance the Belt and Road Initiative, while 'enabling all types of market players to engage in international competition and cooperation in a safer, more convenient and efficient manner', according to an official statement. Advertisement Settling more transactions using China's own currency and payment system would enable Beijing to strengthen its position in global trade networks and reduce the harm caused by any potential US move to curtail its access to the dollar-based financial system.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Buy the Dip in XRP (Ripple) Right Now?
The most direct way to build wealth in the capital markets is by purchasing securities (stocks or bonds) and adding to your winners over a long-term time horizon. With that said, during times of uncertainty, it's not uncommon for investors to begin looking for alternatives. Although the average investor enjoys seeing their portfolio rise, these same investors may panic and begin to wonder if stocks are the best choice during times of heavy market sell-offs. This mindset is a little ironic given the fact that owning stocks helped them accumulate wealth in the first place. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Popular alternative investments often include commodities, real estate, or even collectibles and novelties. However, for some investors with a higher risk profile, cryptocurrency could also round out a portfolio of alternative investments. Let's explore how the crypto market is holding up right now as President Donald Trump's tariff policies continue sending shockwaves across the market. Moreover, I'll explore a popular token called XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and assess if now is a good time to buy the dip as its price hovers around $2. One thing to understand about cryptocurrency is that only a select few tokens offer much utility. While coins such as Dogecoin or Shiba Inu are quite popular, they are both meme coins -- meaning their price fluctuations are often correlated with popular online narratives as opposed to actual fundamental progress exhibited by the asset itself. Two mainstream cryptocurrencies that actually do have some utility in the real world are Bitcoin and Ethereum. As the chart above illustrates, the returns so far this year for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and popular crypto trading exchange Coinbase are all negative. On the surface, you might think that during a time of uneasiness in the stock and bond markets, the prices of cryptocurrency would rise, as investors would be looking for other areas to invest in. And while XRP has held up better than its peers so far in 2025, I'll break down below how Trump's new tariffs could affect the cryptocurrency and how its price could move from here. Financial transactions have two core pain points: settlement times and exchange fees. Ripple is a financial technology company that created XRP as an alternative to mainstream cross-border transaction services such as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). By using Ripple's network, businesses and consumers can avoid the arduous task of using clunky intermediary payments infrastructure -- thereby leading to faster settlement times and incurring lower exchange fees. The problem I see when it comes to investing in XRP right now revolves around how tariffs could implicate widespread usage of crypto. If the new tariffs affect trade in the form of lower import volumes, then it's plausible that demand for cross-border payments could fall, and the need for facilitating foreign exchange transactions is not as much of a priority. With that said, this scenario pertains more to how financial institutions and businesses are using XRP. XRP's infrastructure could still be utilized under the new tariff policies by individuals who may be sending money back home to relatives in another country. In this scenario, tariffs could actually lead to higher transaction volumes for XRP, -- as people may choose to rely on Ripple's cost-efficient technology even more during this period of economic volatility. In other words, hiccups around global trade and economic uncertainty could be a headwind or a tailwind for XRP, depending on the specificity of the use case. I think XRP's recent price decline (and that of crypto more broadly) is reflective of a perplexed and reticent investment community. Given these dynamics, I think the current price of XRP could move significantly in any direction depending on how the tariff situation plays out. To me, there are too many variables that could influence the price of XRP one way or the other right now. Although there is some real utility in XRP, I still see the asset as quite speculative. Its adoption is not as widespread as other payments infrastructure, and I don't necessarily see the ongoing sell-off as an opportunity to buy the dip. For these reasons, I'd pass on investing in XRP right now. Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $526,499!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $687,684!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 818% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 156% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 14, 2025 Adam Spatacco has positions in Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Coinbase Global, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Should You Buy the Dip in XRP (Ripple) Right Now? was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
06-04-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
XRP Faces a Barrage of New Risks. Is It Still a Buy?
As a coin that's inextricably linked to the volume of global money transfers, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is in a bit of a pickle at the moment. While it's unclear whether the new package of tariffs announced on April 2 by the Trump administration will actually be put into practice, it is no surprise that the coin's price fell by 8% on April 3. But the risks facing XRP right now are even larger than what investors might be expecting. For the right investor, however, this might be a compelling time to think about buying, so let's situate ourselves and chart a path forward. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Volume-related risks involving trade just escalated substantially For the uninitiated, XRP is a coin that helps financial institutions reduce their expenses when transferring money internationally. Its transactions close nearly instantly, and its fees are negligible compared to older transfer technologies like the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). Also, because XRP is a cryptocurrency rather than a fiat currency, transfers between wallets on its blockchain do not incur currency exchange fees, which can be quite costly. That makes the coin highly exposed to risks stemming from impacts to global trade. When trade across borders occurs, buyers in one country transmit their payment to the sellers in the originating country. If there is less trade happening on a value basis, there is a lower volume of money being transferred. That equates to a somewhat lower impulse for the players involved to switch over to using XRP as the medium of exchange for the entire process, because on an absolute basis, the expenses involved are incurred less frequently due to less trade happening. But the risks to the coin are even more numerous than the above implies. Tariffs levied by one country on goods that are imported from another country are passed on to consumers in the buyer's country. It is a basic lesson of economics that if prices rise while supply stays constant, the level of demand for a product drops. Thus, if the Trump administration's tariff policies are implemented as planned, domestic demand for imported goods will drop. And banks and other financial institutions in the U.S. that might already be using XRP to process international money transfers will not need to buy or hold as much of the coin to cover their needs. As if that weren't bearish enough, there is now a financial incentive for foreign sellers to avoid using U.S.-based blockchains like XRP -- the prospect of their use being taxed somehow, especially as it pertains to making international payments for trade, is now undeniably on the table. While the basic factors driving them to use XRP are still intact, it would be disruptive to sellers' operations if a financial technology they rely on were to be suddenly subject to a new tariff or tax. They may thus prefer to use other cryptocurrencies focused on making cheap transfers, or other solutions altogether. On the bright side, this risk is not fully realized, and it might not ever be, since so far there has not been discussion of taxing cryptocurrencies in this way in the U.S. This dip might be too spicy to buy Is this tariff saga an opening for brave investors to buy the dip with XRP? It could be. But most investors probably do not have the risk tolerance or patience for it. The coin's price could easily fall by quite a bit more in the near term if the economy in the U.S. degrades, or if the situation with tariffs becomes worse -- assuming they get implemented at all. And it is not like these risks are only theoretical; there are clear and causal relationships between all of the factors involved, and the trend is bearish. With that being said, XRP will survive the next few years even if the economy becomes fairly poor. The tariffs might not come to pass, or they might not be as destructive as they appear to be guaranteed today. Buying during this volatility could well pay off, especially if it blows over sooner than anticipated. But it will almost certainly require trade and economic conditions to improve from where they appear to be headed today. The long-term thesis for investing in XRP remains alive and well. That doesn't mean it will be a comfortable hold for those who buy it now. The best move is probably to wait for things to calm down a bit before doing anything, unless you can handle having your investment potentially be underwater for a good while. Should you invest $1,000 in XRP right now? Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $578,035!* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 5, 2025
