SBI Investment, a prominent venture capital firm in Japan, recently announced its new role as a validator on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a move that could significantly impact Ripple’s XRP, particularly during its ongoing legal challenges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
SBI’s Strategic Move with XRP:
As SBI Investment begins operating its node, it also aspires to be included in the XRP Ledger Foundation’s list of trusted validators, contingent upon stable operation. This initiative arrives at a critical time for Ripple, as XRP faces substantial selling pressure within the crypto community.
Currently, XRP’s market performance shows a 16% decline year-to-date, starkly contrasting with Bitcoin’s 43% gain in the same timeframe. Additionally, XRP’s price has dropped 15% in the past 30 days, now trading at an average price of $0.512. The cryptocurrency’s 24-hour trading volume has decreased by 10%, with a market cap of approximately $28 billion.
Role of Validators and SBI’s Goals:
Validators on the XRPL, once registered on the Unique Node List (UNL), play a pivotal role in the ledger’s ecosystem by contributing to the development and voting on new features. Leveraging its longstanding relationship with XRP holders in Japan, SBI VC aims to represent their interests actively, incorporating their opinions into voting decisions through surveys and other engagements.
Looking Forward:
SBI Investment is dedicated to keeping XRP holders well-informed about new features and amendments to foster knowledgeable and constructive participation in the ecosystem. The firm’s history with XRP extends back to the inception of its services, making it a trusted name among its customers. SBI has utilized the XRP Ledger for various applications, including international remittance solutions through Ripple Payments.
Moreover, SBI Group plans to use XRPL as the blockchain infrastructure for the “EXPO2025 Digital Wallet NFT” to be issued at the upcoming 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, which it sponsors.
This strategic involvement with XRPL underscores SBI’s commitment to supporting Ripple during its regulatory challenges and could potentially catalyze a positive shift in XRP’s market dynamics.
Not a financial advice.