Ripple is the talk of the town these days. Although not everyone may see the added value of this project right away, it is evident that the markets have responded positively to the company’s developments. In fact, a recent tweet by the company suggests that the year 2018 will be pretty interesting for Ripple and XRP. In fact, its CEO claims that three of the top five global money transfer companies will use XRP moving forward.

What Does the Future Hold for Ripple?

Projects such as Ripple are very different from more traditional forms of digital money. Especially when it comes to cryptocurrencies, Ripple doesn’t even come close to comparing. This is by design, mind you, as Ripple’s XRP is a digital asset which is tailored to the financial sector first and foremost. This means such a project can be of great interest to banks and other financial service providers, including remittance companies. The big question is whether or not any of those companies will actually implement XRP at some point in the future, though.

If Ripple’s team is to be believed, the year 2018 will be quite positive. We have already seen the value of its native asset skyrocket, although it is undergoing a small correction as we speak. The fact that XRP can be traded against most cryptocurrencies is somewhat of a concern, though, as it will ultimately lead to even more speculation and price manipulation over time. With over 38 billion tokens circulating across wallets and exchanges, it is evident there will be some form of manipulation at some point in the future.

At the same time, Ripple’s team remains confident that more and more companies will start using their XRP asset in the future. After successful trials in the Asian banking sector in recent years, it will be interesting to see what comes next for the company and its digital asset. It seems the next frontier waiting to be conquered is the global money transfer industry. The official Ripple Twitter account recently tweeted that three of the top 5 global money transfer companies would start using XRP in the year 2018, though to what extent they will do so was left unsaid.

Which companies this will include has yet to be determined as well. Western Union seems a very likely candidate in this regard, although nothing has been officially confirmed at this point. Other companies which could be on this list include MoneyGram, TransferWise, TransferGo, Monzo, and even PayPal. For now, there is a lot of speculation as to which companies will show an interest in XRP. Regardless of which companies come through, it will be an interesting development for Ripple as a whole.

Assuming there is any truth to this claim, we will soon see plenty of new use cases for Ripple’s native asset. That is still one of the most important developments for any cryptocurrency or digital asset. Use cases trump new exchange listings first and foremost, even though some novice users will gladly disagree on this front. Having proper use cases for XRP will not only increase global demand for this asset, but it will also have an impact on its price in the long run. 

CEO Brad Garlinghouse remains confident that a lot of actual banks and payment providers will show an interest in xRapid. For those unaware, xRapid is the XRP liquidity product provided by Ripple. Several trials have allegedly been conducted with great success. Moreover, partners have been pleased with the efficiency which XRP brings to the table, especially when it comes to cross-border transactions. The future seemingly looks bright for Ripple and XRP, but it remains to be seen what 2018 will bring.