Ripple Labs’ Managing Director for Europe, Sendi Young, shared her predictions for 2023 in a Twitter thread. As Young notes, 2022 was a “monumental” year for crypto with many ups and many downs.
Young expects no less major changes in the still-young year, though she doesn’t specifically address Ripple and XRP. However, a few connections can definitely be drawn.
First up, the Ripple exec expects institutional adoption of blockchain and digital assets to accelerate despite the market downturn. Specifically, companies will launch new pilot projects and further explore the technology.
Furthermore, Young predicts that there will be increased industry consolidation as healthier companies make acquisitions to fill gaps in their own capabilities following FTX’s collapse.
“We’ll also see an increasing trend for crypto/blockchain firms to be acquired by traditional financial services players, as well as established companies from other sectors,” Young predicts.
One point that Ripple consistently makes in its campaign against Bitcoin, sustainability, is also echoed in Young’s predictions. According to the Ripple exec, policymakers will increasingly scrutinize the sustainability credentials of crypto and blockchain companies.
“Greater sustainability will be achieved with less energy-intensive blockchains and blockchain-enabled solutions e.g. the tokenization of carbon credits,” Young says.
Another favored topic of Ripple, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) is picked up by Young as well. According to her, the collapse of FTX has further underscored the need for nations to adopt a reliable digital settlement asset as a secure alternative to other crypto solutions.
In light of this, Young also predicts greater adoption of fiat-backed stablecoins:
2023 will witness a greater adoption of fiat-backed stablecoins as institutions look to realize the benefits of blockchain tech such as real-time merchant settlement. The creation of new non-USD fiat currencies will also drive this trend.
Looking to Europe, Young notes that crypto regulation will arrive in the UK and Europe. After the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act is enacted, Young says regulators will develop an enforceable crypto regime so the UK can support the development of its crypto-asset sector.
In the EU, MiCA will be passed by the European Parliament, the Ripple exec foresees, further explaining that while it won’t come into effect until 2024. Once MiCA is ratified, European level 2 regulators will begin to develop detailed rules and standards that will work in practice.
What Does This Mean For Ripple?
Although Young does not mention Ripple with a single word, it is obvious that the predictions have some relation to Ripple and XRP.
Last May, for example, the company announced that it was providing $100 million to scale and strengthen global carbon markets. The funding is intended to help modernize carbon markets by investing in innovative fintechs.
In addition, Ripple plans to build a portfolio of additive, long-term, nature, and science-based carbon credits, some of which will be used to meet its own commitment to reach net zero by 2030 or earlier.
In addition, Ripple has a dedicated division for CBDCs and says it offers a complete platform for minting, managing, settling, and destroying CBDCs. Each solution is based on a private ledger, which is based on XRP Ledger technology.
Most recently, it became public that Ripple is already conducting initial pilot projects, such as with the Central Bank of Bhutan and the Republic of Palau.
At press time, the XRP price has experienced an upswing of 3.5% within the last 24 hours, but got rejected at key resistance at $0.3546 and is now trading at $0.3515.
Featured image from Reuters, Chart from TradingView.com