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As the Federal Reserve prepares to upgrade its payment system by transitioning to the ISO 20022 standard, industry experts are turning their attention to Ripple's native token XRP. This is not only a major change for the US payment system but also opens new opportunities for XRP in this context.
Ripple and opportunities from ISO 20022
ISO 20022, an international standard for financial messages, brings a revolution in the way financial transactions are conducted. This standard promises to provide richer data, greater efficiency, and better interoperability compared to older payment systems. On July 1, the Fed officially adopted ISO 20022 for its Fedwire payment system. This is considered one of the most significant advancements in the payment industry in decades.
This transformation process is not only a technical upgrade but also a strong signal of change in the way payments are made between global financial institutions. This move follows the adoption of ISO 20022 in global payment systems like SWIFT, raising great expectations for improvements in the industry.
Although ISO 20022 does not directly mention cryptocurrencies, the XRP community is very optimistic about the future of this token in the new ecosystem. Ripple has had a long-standing connection with this standard, as in May 2020, the company became one of the first organizations to participate in the ISO 20022 standards body. This has paved the way for the integration of Ripple and XRP into the global payment system in the future.
Furthermore, Ripple has also established an important partnership with Volante Technologies, a global payment solution provider, allowing XRP to be used as a payment method in the new Fedwire system. Volante will enable organizations to use the Fedwire-as-a-Service platform to make payments using XRP through a connection to RippleNet.
According to analysts, the application of ISO 20022 could create a significant potential playing field for effective blockchain-based payment solutions like Ripple and Volante, especially in the context where Fedwire may handle large transaction volumes.
Not only focused on promoting payment solutions, Ripple is also actively building a solid institutional framework to enhance credibility and trust in the global financial industry. One of Ripple's important moves is applying for a national bank charter in the United States through its subsidiary Standard Custody. If granted, Ripple will officially be supervised by state and federal regulators, reinforcing its position in the market.
Ripple has also requested to open a master account at the Fed, allowing the company to hold reserves for the stablecoin RLUSD. RLUSD is a USD-pegged stablecoin that has been approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and is currently being custodied at BNY Mellon, one of the oldest banks in the United States.
The strong growth of XRP
These efforts by Ripple have begun to show clear results in the value of the XRP token. Over the past week, XRP has seen significant growth, with its value increasing by 6% in the last 24 hours and nearly 31% compared to the previous week. Since the beginning of the year, XRP has grown by 416%, and is currently only about 13% away from its all-time high (of $3.4 recorded in 2018).
This growth is primarily driven by the strong activity of 'whales' (wallets holding large amounts of XRP) and optimism within the community about XRP's growth potential in the future. According to reports from Santiment, the number of 'whale' wallets holding at least 1 million XRP tokens has reached a new record with 2,743 addresses. These wallets currently hold a total of 47.32 billion XRP, and this number continues to rise.
At the beginning of the week, XRP continued its growth trend by reaching its highest level since March, surpassing the $3 mark before stabilizing around this level at the time of writing. This bullish momentum is not only due to increased whale activity but also from the strong development of the stablecoin RLUSD.
On July 12, Ripple announced that RLUSD is reforming global remittance operations, providing faster, cheaper, and more transparent payments. The push for RLUSD largely comes from the increasing demand from banks looking for effective payment solutions and alternatives to traditional methods.
Long-term bullish signs
According to EGRAG Crypto analyst's assessment, one of the factors driving XRP's strong recent price increase is a rare three-candle pattern appearing on the monthly price chart. This pattern, first analyzed in November 2023, has predicted a strong price surge in the future. Historically, monthly three-candle patterns often lead to consolidation periods followed by strong growth explosions.
XRP training expert Edoardo Farina also shared that XRP exceeding $4 this week is not surprising, considering the current momentum and macro factors.
