As the end of the year rolls around, it seems that a dose of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) is spreading through the mainstream media. Despite many of the leading digital coins regaining some strength in the latter half of 2018, recent comments by Ripple’s chief technology officer David Schwartz could derail XRP’s current run. Although Ripple and XRP are two distinct entities, their fortunes are entangled as the former has built its payment processing network using XRP. With that being the case, a number of media outlets have picked on recent comments by Schwartz that the blockchain needs to be improved before mass adoption become a reality.
“I don’t want the adoption to get ahead of the technology. It took a long time for the internet to get to the point where it was suitable for anybody to use it and you didn’t have to really understand the technology in great detail in order to be able to get it to work,” Schwartz told the Internet History Podcast.
Developers Aren’t Actually Worried
For Forbes contributor Billy Bambrough, this was enough to fuel the headline: A Ripple Executive Made A Worrying Warning Over Crypto Adoption. While there may be some merit to the use of the phrase “worrying warning,” the comment doesn’t appear to be as ominous as has been implied. Indeed, the idea that blockchain technology needs to improve before it’s used on a commercial scale has been seen numerous times. According to researchers at Imperial College London, usability and scalability are two of the main areas developers need to address before cryptos can replace fiats. Beyond that, voices of reason such as Ethereum (ETH) founder Vitalik Buterin has suggested that we’re still feeling our way through the early stages of blockchains and their potential.
Of course, what deliberately cautious headlines are trying to do is prevent a full-scale boom/bust cycle we saw between 2017 and 2018. Although coins such as Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP were making internal improvements in 2017, their price surges were fueled more by mass hysteria and FOMO (fear of missing out). When prices are artificially inflated, it’s potentially damaging for all involved. Therefore, some note of caution isn’t a bad thing when it comes to cryptos. However, what the latest headlines appear to be missing is the fact XRP price movements have been strong this year. Although the current value of $0.30 (December 17) is a far cry from its 2017 peak, it’s become a fairly consistent average price over the last few months.
Ripple Building a Solid Base with XRP
What’s more, Ripple has announced some major developments in 2018. As well as forging partnerships with the likes of Santander, the company launched xRapid. The international payment platform showed potential during initial trials and is now available on a commercial scale. Using xRapid, banks are able to make cross-border payments using the XRP token. Under this system, the payments are made faster and cheaper than traditional banking methods. While it’s still early days for xRapid, the positive signs are there. In fact, it’s likely this that Schwartz was pointing to. Only once that technology has been refined can it become a mass-market product.
That, in reality, is the nature of all technology and, therefore, not a reason to panic as some have suggested. Ripple and XRP have a way to go before they achieve commercial success. However, the groundwork has been laid and that means things can only get better moving into 2019.
*Information in this article should not be taken as investment advice
Featured image source: Pixabay
