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- A survey done by the BitMax, a Japanese crypto exchange company has come to the conclusion that 25% of the traders prefer Ripple (XRP) over only 9% leaning towards Ethereum (ETH), and 26% using Bitcoin (BTC) as their main trade.
Despite the fact that, by Market Cap, Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market, the Japanese traders are still leaning towards Ripple. The survey has been conducted by the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange company BitMax and shared on their Twitter account on June 12th. The research shows that the BTC is just as popular as the XRP while Ethereum is falling behind by quite a huge margin.
Whole 374 (25%) of the 1496 traders, who were surveyed stated that XRP was their favorite coin compared to 388, who stated that they preferred using Bitcoin in contrast with only 135 traders stating that they used Ethereum. This is a very interesting fact considering the fact that Bitcoin is overall the most popular cryptocurrency with Ethereum following close second internationally.
It is also worth noting that due to the smaller sample size the small survey may not show the actual result, however, it is still an interesting outlook on what is going on in the Japanese exchange market.
Cryptocurrency in Japan
Trading cryptocurrencies is very much legal in Japan. It is one of the most progressive regulatory climates for the crypto market. This means that the traders can easily access and acquire any crypto they want. In April 2017 the Japanese government has issued a statement where they recognized digital currencies as a legal property under the Payment Service Act.
The reason why Japanese people adore cryptocurrencies is that they have a multitude of means of exchange without trending into too much legal or banking sector. There are no international fees, no waiting, and no limitations as to what and why the money can be used for and accessed.
Japanese people are also known for their stability. This is why we were quite shocked when BitMax stated that they prefer XRP over Bitcoin, which is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world right now. It is understandable that Ethereum is something the Japanese traders are trying to avoid. XRP is much safer when it comes to limit order types in FX trading since it has much more stable charts than Ethereum for example. ETH is extremely volatile, which means that the prices are jumping up and down and if relying too much on limit order type one may accidentally close the deal way too early losing out on significant revenue.
Ripple has partnered up with the Mexican exchange called Bitso in 2019. This was due to the Ripple’s product On-Demand Liquidity (ODL). According to Daniel Vogel, who is the CEO of Bitso, the exchange is interested in handling around 20% of all of the transfers between Mexico and the United States by the end of the year adding that:
We usually tend to see that a transaction, as we’re seeing through ODL, used to cost more than five times what it’s actually costing them right now, so I think that is one amazing advantage of the product.
Another one is a settlement, which is almost immediate, which you don’t see by any means in the traditional financial system, and how it has operated for many, many years.
How is Ripple doing in 2020?
In general, Ripple’s XRP is continuing its strong ascend in 2020. The cryptocurrency rose to as much as $0.3399 back in February, which is a huge jump from what it used to be in 2019.
With more than 300 employees around the world as well as huge customer base in more than 90 countries worldwide Ripple has come to have a significant network all across the world. Ripple and its co-founder Chris Larsen have already announced that they will be donating millions of dollars to the novel coronavirus pandemic response efforts. The way they are doing it is by donating this money to food banks, which provide for the families and individuals in the Bay Area.
Apart from the obvious, Ripple is becoming extremely popular due to the fact that a lot of migrant employees from Japan work in other countries, and XRP provides exceptionally good alternative to the traditional bank transfers, which may take days before the money actually gets transferred. Ripple transfers, in contrast, are instantaneous. This has raised the popularity of the cryptocurrency in Japan as well as whole Asia.
In addition, Ripple and Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) have paired up to provide funds for local people to help them survive. It is worth noting that even though there are many successful businesses in the Bay Area, every one in five people have less than $400 in their bank accounts and depend on external help to survive.
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