Cryptocurrency payments service Ripple (XRP) continues to see global adoption of its payment services despite a long-winded legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission over its XRP token.
Cointelegraph sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Ripple’s UK and European Union managing director Sendi Young at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, unpacking the firm’s growing remit across the world regardless of regulatory scrutiny in the U.S.
Cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses have been at odds with U.S. regulators over the past year, criticizing a lack of regulatory frameworks that threaten to stifle innovation and adoption of blockchain-based services, systems and cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile the European Union is well on its way to instituting a raft of requirements and standards for the cryptocurrency industry across the continent after the long-awaited Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation was signed into law on May 31.
The contrast between regulatory standpoints in the U.S. and Europe is stark as Young told Cointelegraph, highlighting Ripple’s business growth outside of America which is in part due to progressive regulatory oversight in different markets:
“That lawsuit is very isolated to U.S. regulations or the lack of clarity and certainty thereof. It almost accentuates the kind of environment that we have in Europe and the UK.”
Young added that Ripple continues to foster private public partnerships and open dialogue with regulators and policymakers, with both parties educating each other as the industry develops:
“It does enable business to grow and innovation to happen. I would say we’re very fortunate in this sort of UK, Europe environment which is setting standards globally.”
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In a European context, Young believes that the MiCA regulatory framework will facilitate the creation of a ‘level playing field’ that fosters healthy competition and innovation in the cryptocurrency space while driving adoption among traditional finance players.
“I think that’s where we’ve seen much bigger mainstream take up and the real benefits of crypto’s utility being realized. Without clear regulation that is impossible. I see that as the first step in getting more mainstream adoption.”
Young highlighted Ripple’s expanding basket of services aimed at plugging into an increasingly interconnected financial ecosystem. This is in part facilitated by crucial fiat onramps and offramps as well as the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins:
“It’s really a number of different currencies and CBDCs. They’re all going to be coexisting and that kind of ability to interoperate, to go in and out is going to be very important.”
Ripple’s ongoing lawsuit with the SEC took an interesting turn in June 2023, as eagerly awaited documents relating to a speech from former SEC corporate finance division director Bill Hinman highlighted contradictory viewpoints on the classification of cryptocurrencies as securities.
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