A collection of senior executives for blockchain payments company Ripple have given their predictions on the future of crypto-assets.
In a blog post published January 19 titled ‘Crypto and Blockchain: Looking Ahead to 2021 and Beyond,’ Ripple’s leadership predicted the coming year would prove to accelerate innovation for cryptocurrency.
RippleNet General Manager Asheesh Birla said the line between crypto and blanking was “blurring,” providing the opportunity for disruptive fintech companies to begin eroding market share from larger institutions. Birla pointed to the rapidly shifting, consumer-facing industry becoming in favor of crypto-assets, such as bitcoin’s adoption by Square, Robinhood and Paypal.
Birla said,
The tide is turning. It’s possible that we could even see a fintech or cryptocurrency company acquire a traditional financial institution this coming year.
Ripple’s head of decentralized finance (DeFi) Michael Zochowski said 2021 would witness even greater traction for DeFi products. He predicted earlier projects would begin to fizzle out, paving the way for the more innovative and productive platforms.
He said,
But the truly useful ones – most likely the simpler applications replicating financial services like wrapped assets or decentralized exchanges – should continue to gain momentum with users.
Stu Alderoty, Ripple’s General Counsel, called crypto regulation a top priority for President Biden’s newly appointed team. He said the White House understood the implications for public and private sector innovation, and would seek to create a unified framework for crypto and fintech companies.
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