Ripple has entered into a new partnership with SBI Digital Community, a subsidiary of the Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings. The association would foster the adoption of the XRP Ledger within the community interested in Web3. I feel this could potentially help speed up blockchain adoption across industries.
The partnership is aimed at increasing access to Non-Fungible Tokens through the XRPL blockchain infrastructure. SBI Digital Community has planned to trade NFTs issued on the XRP Ledger by using a dedicated marketplace called xrp.cafe. This could present opportunities for businesses, artists, and consumers within the realm of digital art that haven't been realized prior.
The thing that stands out for me personally is the intention to enable creator and community contributor payouts in XRP cryptocurrency. This could further incentivize involvement in and increase the ecosystem, thereby potentially increasing the utility of XRP.
Despite the good news, XRP's price remained relatively flat and did not move by more than a few cents above $0.57. This lack of price action could suggest that the market is taking a wait-and-see attitude to how all this actually plays out in the real world.
This is not the only recent partnership for Ripple.
Earlier this month, the company partnered with the Dubai International Financial Center, or DIFC, to increase crypto adoption in the Middle East. Such strategic partnerships show how Ripple is trying to spread its influence across the world to pave its way toward massive blockchain technology adoption in respective regions.
The deal with SBI Digital Community comes shortly after the legal development regarding the ongoing Ripple vs. SEC case breaks. By ruling, Judge Torres ordered Ripple to pay a fine for breaking some security laws of $125 million, though large by any account, that figure is lesser compared to the original sum the SEC insisted on in the first place: $2 billion. This may be considered a partial victory for Ripple, since it could increase confidence in the prospects of the company going forward.
These developments, to me, shows the complex landscape that characterizes the industry of cryptocurrency. While strategic partnerships and technological advancement move the needle on what's possible with blockchain, continual regulatory challenges shape the arc of this industry.