Two major events have brought Ripple’s efforts to expand and its XRP coin back into focus. Recently, the blockchain payments company announced that it has partnered with African fintech platform Chipper Cash in order to enable crypto-enabled payments on the continent. Bitwise, a cryptocurrency index fund manager, has also published a long-term prediction that XRP could be worth as much as $29 in 2030 if it gains considerable traction within the payment and asset tokenization industries.
Ripple Partners with Chipper Cash To Power Crypto-Enabled Border Payments In Africa
Ripple, a blockchain payments company, has announced an important strategic partnership with African provider of payment infrastructure Chipper Cash. This is a significant step in the firm’s mission to revolutionize international remittance channels. A March 27th press release stated that Chipper Cash would leverage Ripple’s crypto-enabled payments solution, Ripple Paymessages, in order to facilitate transactions between key African countries.
Companies said that the alliance was designed to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the African payment landscape, including the high costs, the slow speeds, and the lack of transparency associated with international money transfers.
Reece Merrick – Ripple Managing Director Middle East and Africa – emphasized that the partnership was an important part of Ripple’s strategy for deepening its presence in the continent. Merrick stated that this partnership was an important step for Ripple to expand in Africa.
Chipper Cash is one of Africa’s most prominent financial technology firms. It operates in more than 20 countries, and it’s widely recognized as an important player for driving financial inclusion in the continent. Ham Serunjogi, co-founder and CEO of Chipper Cash, highlighted the benefits that crypto-enabled products can bring to reducing costs and complexity in cross-border transaction.
Serunjogi said that crypto-enabled payment systems have the ability to increase financial inclusion and access to markets in Africa, as well as empower individuals and businesses. The integration of Ripple technology with Chipper Cash will enable their customers to “receive payments faster and cheaper.”
This partnership builds on Ripple’s prior initiatives in this region. Ripple signed a partnership with African fintech Onafriq in late 2023. This enabled payments to be made between 27 African nations and markets like Australia, United Kingdom and Gulf Cooperation Council.
Ripple has been focusing on developing economies, where the adoption of blockchain is increasing. This is especially true in payments and remittances. In a recent report, blockchain analytics company Chainalysis revealed that nearly half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s transaction volume is now stablecoins. This shows the growing interest of this region in digital assets.
A report from the industry in late 2024 predicted that several African countries could become key hubs for digital assets, driven by an increasing adoption of crypto, young people who are digitally savvy, and a need urgently to have accessible financial infrastructure.
Africa is one of the costliest regions to send money. World Bank statistics show that the cost to send money to Sub-Saharan Africa averages around 8 percent, as opposed to a global average of 6 2 percent. Ripple, a blockchain-based payment network, aims to solve these problems by making international transactions more efficient, transparent and cheaper.
Merrick stated that blockchain adoption in remittances was a response to market inefficiencies. By integrating Chipper Cash’s platform with our technology, we enable faster and more affordable cross border payments, while driving economic development and innovation in the markets that they serve, he stated.
Ripple’s global expansion continues
This partnership is part of a string of global strategic victories for Ripple. Earlier in March, the company secured a payments license in Dubai, allowing it to offer cryptocurrency-powered payment solutions in the United Arab Emirates — a critical gateway between Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Ripple has gained momentum after a significant legal win in its long-running battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Ripple’s services can now be expanded without fear of legal uncertainty thanks to the court’s positive decision.
Industry observers welcome the Ripple and Chipper Cash partnership as another important step towards unlocking blockchain technology’s potential in developing economies.
Crypto analysts and financial inclusion activists have argued for years that the blockchain can reshape Africa’s financial infrastructure, as traditional banking is still limited in Africa and payments across borders are expensive and inefficient.
Ripple has yet to reveal any details about the rollout schedules and target corridors. However, this move highlights a larger trend. Africa’s payments infrastructure is evolving rapidly, and cryptocurrency is becoming a more important part of it.
In a bullish scenario, Bitwise predicts that XRP could soar as high as $29 in 2030.
In a report which has been generating a lot of buzz in the cryptocurrency industry, Bitwise Asset Management, a crypto index fund manager, revealed a number of price scenarios over the long term for the XRP coin. The asset, it says, could soar as high as $29.32 in 2030, according to its “max scenario.”
Bitwise released an ambitious forecast earlier this week based on a capital asset pricing (CAPM). It also factors in XRP’s possible market share for two key sectors, including cross-border payment and tokenization of real-world assets. Even a small penetration of these trillion-dollar markets would propel XRP to previously unimaginable levels, surpassing Microsoft’s present market cap.
Bitwise’s most optimistic estimate is that XRP could reach a market cap of $2.9 trillion at the end the decade. Each XRP coin would have a value of $29.32 at that price, placing the digital asset on par with the largest companies in the world.
Bitwise’s Report outlines conditions that must be met for the “max” scenario to occur. It highlights the importance of XRP capturing a “meaningful share” of the rapidly growing payments market, and the booming sector for asset tokenization. In particular, tokenization — the process of converting real-world assets like stocks, bonds, and commodities into digital tokens on a blockchain — is seen as a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity.
Bitwise also provided two other scenarios.
-
Bull Scenario – In a mildly optimistic scenario, XRP may reach $12.70 in 2030 if it maintains consistent growth with minimal technological or regulatory obstacles. In this case, XRP will not be able to gain a significant market share for payments or tokenization. Instead, it would rely on gradual adoption and usage.
-
Bear Scenario – Bitwise says that XRP’s value could fall to just $0.13 if the XRP Ledger ecosystem (XRPL), which is struggling to gain users, fails to achieve institutional adoption. This would be a total collapse in XRP value.
One of the most important catalysts for XRP to gain momentum in the future is the approval of a spot XRP ETF (exchange-traded funds) by the United States, a move that seems increasingly probable.
Bitwise filed its own XRP-based ETF for October 2024. Analysts expect that other financial giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity will follow. Nate Geraci of the crypto market analysts believes that XRP will be included in ETFs now that regulatory concerns have been cleared.
A XRP-based ETF could make XRP more accessible for institutional investors and retail buyers, which would potentially drive substantial flows into the asset.
The XRP Ecosystem, Tokenization and Payments
Bitwise’s price forecasts are based upon the belief that XRP will be uniquely positioned in order to profit from two strong trends. These include the growth of cross-border blockchain payments, and tokenization.
Ripple is already making significant progress in the payment sector. It recently expanded its network of payments in Africa by partnering with Fintech company Chipper Cash. Ripple is also advancing its tokenization efforts in line with the company’s broader goal of creating a seamless blockchain-based infrastructure.
Bitwise warns, however, that the future is still uncertain. In these industries, the adoption of XRP depends on Ripple’s ability to attract institutional clients and technological advances.
This site is for entertainment only. Click here to read more
