Ripple: regulators taking more positive stance on cryptos

Ripple has claimed that regulators are finally waking up to the benefits of cryptocurrencies.

In an interview with CNBC Markets on Monday, Sagar Sarbhai, head of regulatory relations for Ripple in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, said regulators were starting to take a more holistic approach to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

“A couple of years ago the narrative was blockchain good, crypto bad. But I think what we’re now seeing is that more and more regulators are taking the whole space in one conjunction. So, I think that narrative thankfully is now changing because policymakers, regulators are seeing that there is a strong benefit that digital assets, cryptocurrencies bring in,” said Sarbhai.

Crypto benefits

Sarbhai pointed to recent developments in Thailand, where a regulatory framework for crypto assets has come into being.

Increased financial inclusion and frictionless trade were among the benefits of cryptos being increasingly recognized, according to Sarbhai.

Sarbhai: confident there will be “good news” on xRapid within “the next month or so”

XRP classification

In the same interview, Sarbhai rebutted suggestions that Ripple’s XRP was likely to be classified as a security by US regulators.

Sarbhai pointed out that countries such as Australia, the Philippines and Thailand had chosen to classify XRP as a commodity.

Although Ripple still owns most XRP tokens, a situation that has led some to claim it effectively exerts some control over the crypto, Sarbhai emphasized the opensource protocol of the XRP ledger, claiming that this makes the network itself relatively independent.

Ripple controls just 7% of the network’s validator nodes, according to Sarbhai.

xRapid news

He also indicated that there was likely to be some positive news on the commercial application of xRapid within “the next month or so.”

xRapid is a liquidity solution for payment providers and banks that uses XRP as a bridging currency.