Payment company Ripple continues to score victories worldwide and expand its services. The Brad Garlinghouse-led company celebrated two major milestones yesterday, one within its borders, the United States, and the second in Asia.
Ripple Takes Over Asia
According to an official announcement, the payment company received authorization from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide full payment services in the country via a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license. The company was awarded an in-principle license to provide digital payment token services earlier this year.
Now, the company can expand upon this first achievement by providing crypto payment solutions for financial institutions in the country. The company claims Singapore is a “leader in pioneering asset regulation.”
Thus, the Asian country is an “ideal location,” the announcement claims, to host its operations in the continent. Ripple offers its clients several products, including a crypto-based solution for instant payments supported by the XRP token and the XRP Ledger.
CEO at the payment company, Garlinghouse stated the following regarding this milestone and its importance for the company:
Since establishing Singapore as our Asia Pacific headquarters in 2017, the country has been pivotal to Ripple’s global business. We have hired exceptional talent and local leadership, doubling headcount over the past year and plan to continue growing our presence in a progressive jurisdiction like Singapore.
The company emphasized the regulatory environment in the country. In contrast, Ripple has been fighting with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the sale of XRP.
The payment solutions company even considered leaving its home country and explored several regions to host its operations. The United Kingdom and Singapore stood out due to its favorable regulatory environment.
Garlinghouse added:
Under MAS’ leadership, Singapore has developed into one of the leading fintech and digital asset hubs striking the balance between innovation, consumer protection and responsible growth.
Another Victory For Ripple
In addition to approving the full MPI license, the company secured another legal victory in the US. Over a month ago, Judge Analisa Torres declared retail sales of XRP as non-securities under the country’s law.
This verdict was a heavy blow against the SEC and its Chairman, Gary Gensler. The SEC Chair has been pushing the concept of “crypto securities” to every cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.
The Commission tried to appeal the verdict, but Judge Torres denied the motion due to lack of “sufficient evidence.” The case can now move to a more definite state as the parties prepare for a single round of appellate review.
As of this writing, the XRP token trades at $0.53 with a 5% profit in the last 24 hours as news of the legal decision broke.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview