Korean investors’ love for XRP, which ranks 7th in virtual asset market capitalization, is unusual. According to a report published by global virtual asset analysis company Kaiko in October last year, XRP was the most traded virtual asset on Upbit, Korea's largest virtual asset exchange, last year.
Ripple Labs, a leading enterprise blockchain and cryptocurrency solution company, is also investing its efforts in the Korean market. On the 2nd, Ripple's Vice President of Strategic Planning Emi Yoshikawa (pictured) will visit Korea to attend the 'Digital Finance Innovation Forum' hosted by blockchain consulting company Catalyze Research. Vice President Yoshikawa, who met with Decenter on the 1st, said, “Korea is one of the countries with the most active and fastest-growing XRP Ledger (XRPL) community in the world, along with Japan, and we are promoting business in Korea through partnerships with Korean companies.” revealed.
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Expansion of Korea-Japan market led by ‘SBI Ripple Asia’… Fund creation plan to promote XRPL-based innovation
Vice President Yoshikawa, who joined Ripple in 2016, is leading SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture in charge of Ripple's business in the Korean and Japanese markets. In May 2016, Ripple jointly established SBI Ripple Asia with Japanese financial holding company SBI Holdings to promote the use and development of Ripple blockchain-based solutions in the Korean and Japanese markets. SBI Ripple Asia is currently seeking to expand its Korean business through partnerships with Korean overseas remittance companies such as Global Money Express, Cross, and Pinshot.
To this end, Ripple launched the 'XRPL Japan and Korea Fund' earlier this month to encourage the development and innovation of XRPL-based solutions in the Korean and Japanese markets. Through the fund, Ripple provides business, technical and financial support through corporate partnerships, developer grants, startup investments, and community growth initiatives.
In addition, Ripple is expanding its business area through various initiatives through continuous collaboration with SBI Holdings. Earlier this year, a strategic partnership was formed with SBI Ripple Asia and Hashkey DX, a Tokyo-based special consulting firm of Hashkey Group, to introduce XRPL-based enterprise solutions in the Japanese market. At the World Expo held in Osaka, Japan next year, SBI Holdings plans to issue an XRPL-based Expo commemorative NFT.
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Ripple prioritizes regulatory compliance... ‘Confidence’ in issuing own stablecoins in the second half of the year
In addition to expanding the Asian market, Ripple's biggest challenge this year is issuing its own stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD). Vice President Yoshikawa expressed confidence, saying that the launch of its own stablecoin, which is planned for the second half of this year, can be completed smoothly without regulatory risk. The position is that compliance with regulations is Ripple’s strength. Stablecoin issuance will be carried out in the United States and will be introduced globally according to each country's policy.
He said, “RLUSD can be used on exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols around the world as long as it follows each country’s regulations,” and added, “We are in close communication with regulators and policymakers to launch a stablecoin. Ripple “We are a company that puts regulatory compliance first,” he said. In order to diversify its licensing portfolio, Standard Custody recently acquired virtual asset custody (custody) company Standard Custody, which provides storage and payment for virtual currency to institutions in the United States. This is a company that has secured a service provision license.
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Ripple payment is the fastest and most efficient... Financial and technical support for Korea’s web3 technology
Ripple's goal is to make Ripple Payment, a cryptocurrency-based payment solution, the world's fastest and most efficient international payment solution for businesses. To this end, we plan to further expand payment asset options. Issuing its own stablecoin is also part of this. The expansion of the Korean and Japanese markets is also accelerating. Vice President Yoshikawa said, “We are very excited about the impact that the XRPL Japan and Korea funds will have. In particular, we believe that we will be able to further expand the XRPL community by providing financial and technical support to Korea, which has a high level of Web3 technology.”
- Reporter Kim Jeong-woo
- woo@decenter.kr
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