In the past few years, cryptocurrency’s surge in popularity has completely changed the world of finances. More and more people are becoming attracted to the idea of a decentralized, digital currency, which is not under the thumb of any authority figure.
Cryptocurrencies have come a long way since the release of Bitcoin in 2009. Since then, many new cryptocurrencies have been unveiled to the market, including Ethereum, Tether, etc. One of the most popular cryptocurrency exchange networks is Ripple, created in 2012 by Ripple Labs Inc.
In 2020, Ripple Labs Inc. was embroidered in a controversy with the Security and Exchange Commission (henceforth SEC). Namely, the SEC sued the company for, allegedly, offering an unregistered sum of money, exceeding a billion dollars in XRP, the company’s latest cryptocurrency. The company suffered a large hit, as it was essentially barred from the United States.
However, according to Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, 2021 has been the best year for their company so far. It seems that, while the company was walled off from the States, the rest of the world kept using and flocking to Ripple. Thanks to this, the company has seen a 130% increase in transactions, and business for Ripple is booming.
The company’s token, XRP has recently seen a 0.77% increase in value, and has reached a market cap exceeding $40,000,000,000. The Ripple cryptocurrency is available for purchase on many online, crypto trading websites, and is becoming more and more popular, especially in Eastern countries, like Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan, according to InsideBitcoins.com. This has prompted Brad Garlinghouse to criticize the way the western world treats cryptocurrency. The main criticism centered around the idea that Europe and the North American countries, treat cryptocurrency like a black market, while eastern countries have found ways to regulate it, and profit off of it.
But why don’t western countries seek to profit off of cryptocurrency? One reason may be that cryptocurrency is largely associated with technological advancements and cyberspace. Most people, even in the digital age, are reticent to trust technology, and view it as a waste of time, or a distraction. Though that is not necessarily the case, one can understand the feelings of these people, considering that our (western) pop culture science fiction is predominantly filled with stories about “technology gone bad”.
The benefits of regulating the crypto market are self-evident. Countries like the United Arab Emirates and Singapore have started treating cryptocurrency as a viable investment and money-making option, with the Singapore government claiming that governments that don’t embrace crypto will be “left behind”.
Experts on cryptocurrency predict, that in 2022 Dubai will become the crypto capital of the world. The city has started unleashing so-called crypto zones, and it is expected that the Dubai World Trade Center will be overflowing with cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency providers of all kinds. This is expected to drastically improve the city’s economy, not just due to the opportunities that regulated cryptocurrency will provide, but also due to a flow of tourists who have most of their money in crypto currency.
On the other side of the coin, however, there are people who are absolutely against the idea of governments regulating cryptocurrency. For one, the whole idea of cryptocurrency stems from the philosophy developed by Friedrich von Hayek, which places emphasis on the benefits and virtues of decentralized currency, says Britannica. The idea behind Bitcoin (and by extension, all cryptocurrency) was to create an unregulated, decentralized, digital currency, which was not under the thumb of governments or banks. Placing government regulations on cryptocurrency is against the very core idea and philosophy out of which cryptocurrency arose.
Many people, though, are in support of what Ripple CEO said, and think crypto ought to be regulated. Government-imposed regulations on cryptocurrency would lead to a decrease in the volatility of the values of cryptocurrencies, and would crack down on some of the more unsavory ways that cryptocurrencies are used. Still, the debate rages on, both online and offline, as people have their opinions on cryptocurrencies, government regulation, and politics in general.
Whether one agrees with Ripple CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, on the regulations of cryptocurrency or not, one thing is not up for debate. Ripple XRP has been having a great year. The price of Ripple XRP rose quite a bit in the past year, and has reached a market cap exceeding $4 billion. Experts on investments, finance, economics, and cryptocurrency predict that 2022 will be an even better year for the cryptocurrency, and that the price of Ripple XRP will rise. Many believe that it is possible that the XRP price will be doubled by mid-2022. Ripple XRP is available on most, if not all, crypto trading sites, and is quickly becoming one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the current crypto market.
