Earlier this month, FinTech firm Ripple released a report titled “Crypto Trends in Business and Beyond” about a “blockchain-driven landscape” that it calls the “Internet of Value”.
Ripple’s 44-page research report — which “focuses on the role of key blockchain use cases like payments and DeFi, and the token types — often referred to as “digital assets” — for those use cases, including cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), non-fungible-tokens (NFTs), and more” — is divided into three sections, which “touch on the main activities that occur within the Internet of Value”, i.e. tokenization of value, management of value, and movement of value.
This article looks at some of the most interesting findings of Ripple’s report.
Tokenization of Value
- “Tokens, otherwise known as digital assets, are the avatars of value on the Internet of Value.“
- “… depending on the capabilities of the token, you can: send it, exchange it, lend it, borrow it, leverage it for collateral, fractionalize it, aggregate it, track it, validate it, activate it, share it, reward it, vote with it, and more.“
- “For consumers, the token type known as a ‘non-fungible token’, or NFT, has introduced mass markets to both blockchain and to cryptocurrencies. For governments, the Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC, has introduced blockchain technology to the management of national fiat currencies, and shows potential as a gamechanger for financial efficiency and monetary policy management.“
- “Interest in NFTs exploded this year, with an incredible 38,000% increase in trading volume between 2020 and 2021, and with over $10B worth of NFTs traded in Q3 of 2021 alone.“
- “NFTs are now being widely touted as the key technology for powering ownership in what is called the metaverse…“
- “It’s been estimated that 80% of central banks around the world are actively exploring the use of what is known as a Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC.“
Management of Tokenized Assets
- “Tokenized asset liquidity and functionality drive the efficiency of the Internet of Value. From holding to exchanging, borrowing to lending, collateralizing to rewarding, fractionalizing to bundling, staking to voting, gaming to farming, the possibilities for what to do with a token are myriad.“
- “In terms of value management in the Internet of Value this year, DeFi in its many forms has clearly played a dominant role in many crypto communities.“
- “Our study shows that across global financial institutions, 76% expect to use crypto in the next three years, assuming regulation allows for it.“
- “We were disappointed to see that for both Financial Institutions and Enterprises, sustainability ranked relatively low as an attribute they would consider when selecting a specific cryptocurrency.“
Using Tokens on a Blockchain to Move Value
- “The ability to move value — in other words to make what the industry calls a payment — with little friction, great speed and high transparency, is a key driver of the efficiency and agility of the Internet of Value.“
- “Whether for intra-bank/intra-branch transfers, inter-bank payments, or customer payments, almost 70% of financial institutions surveyed for this report say they are interested in using blockchain for payments.“
- “When financial institutions were asked what they see as the key benefits of using blockchain and crypto for payments, there was a relatively even spread across a number of benefits, with data security and quality coming out slightly ahead of growth opportunities in more markets or within market, and real-time settlement.“
- “We were particularly surprised to see that the ‘no pre-funding required’ benefit tested lower than the others for both Financial Institutions and for Enterprises. This surprised us because in our daily conversations with banks, payments providers, fintechs, and others, we hear quite consistently that prefunding is a major pain point that drives up costs, reduces working capital, slows investment and expansion, and complicates accounting.”
- “It’s possible that compared to the many other powerful benefits provided by blockchain for payments, the prefunding benefit just is not perceived to be as important… we believe it is more likely that many Financial Institutions have just come to accept prefunding as a way of doing business, and therefore don’t really stop to calculate the full costs of prefunding. Innovators in the space… are turning to solutions like On Demand Liquidity from Ripple to reduce their need for prefunded accounts.“
- “… nearly one third of respondents in our survey say they would consider using crypto to make a domestic or international purchase, and one quarter say they would consider using it to send money to a domestic or international friend or family member.“
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
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