XRP - Taking the Fast Lane

Author: @TplusZero (https://twitter.com/TplusZero)

version 1.0

This document is no investment advice. I strongly recommend to do your own research before investing. Statements may not be accurate. The author is a holder of XRP. The author is not related to the company 'Ripple‘ in any way.

XRP taking the fast lane? #SWIFT2.0 #BitcoinForBanks #GlobalBridgeCurrency

XRP taking the fast lane?

Facts & Figures Performance XRP is ~900x faster to transact than Bitcoin1) XRP is ~1,400x cheaper to transact than Bitcoin1) XRP can handle ~160x more on-ledger transactions per second than Bitcoin1) XRP is superior to Bitcoin‘s inefficient, energy intense ‘mining‘ (~128 KWh/transaction!)2) XRP has been the best performing major cryptocurrency year-to-date (+3,955%)6) XRP has a $11 billion market capitalisation (which is still just ¼ of Bitcoin‘s)

Reliability all >30 million blocks have closed without issues since incepton (2012)1)

Governance clear governance + usecases, eg payment channels already implemented (whereas the Bitcoin community is trying to activate ‘lightning‘ since > 18 months)

Institutional Backing

XRP validators are run by established institutions like Microsoft, Amazon, MIT etc.1) Ripple network consists of >75 global banks already3) Institutional/ smart money starting to flow in, XRP sales up >2x since Jan-174)

Unlike any other cryptocurrency, Ripple holds ~USD 18 billion5) to further incentivize XRP usage and ecosystem growth…

1) https://ripple.com/xrp/ 2) https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption 3) https://www.paymentssource.com/news/ripple-vs-swift-rivalry-heats-up-banking-may-be-ultimate-winner 4) XRP sales at 2 billion since Jan-17 (now ~400MM XRP monthly!), see http://gtgox.com/xrp-distribution/ 5) XRP equivalent, measured in prices at the time of writing (of 9-June 2017) 6) http://coincap.io/

2 2


Executive Summary This document is intended for people who would like to get an idea on what Ripple and XRP is about. I tried to use as many sources as possible. Thoughts & feedback appreciated. Unless you are a Bitcoin enthusiast, this potential trade idea might not sound incredibly intuative to you. Putting your Dollars into a string of 1's and 0's might even feel like a capital markets suicide squad. But the market for cryptocurrencies has been constantly growing in the past few years1), though most people believe that it's still in its early days with the vast majority of growth to come with (mainstream) adoption. Indeed, it's still very inconvenient to buy (and store) digital assets. I've researched a lot (currently ~8702) cryptocurrencies in existence with a ~$100bn total market cap only) and “XRP“ looks to me to be the most promising one right now. In contrast to almost all others, XRP comes with a clear usecase and actual benefits (more on this later). Also, whereas the other cryptocurrencies have a consumer centric model, XRP is intended to be used primarily by banks and institutionals. This is particularly important, as a currency is only useful once there is meaningful adoption/network effects in place. Successfully buildung that through 7.4bn international, heterogeneous consumers is significantly harder and also less likely than teaming up with (centralised) banks, ie the ‘monetary layer‘ above consumers (the SWIFT network consists of 'only' ~11,000 member banks). Definition - XRP is an independent digital asset, native to a Global Payments Ledger (“RCL“) run by the company 'Ripple‘. 100bn units (=maximum supply!) have been created as per protocol. Vision - make XRP the global bridge currency for value transfer / world’s reserve digital currency3) - roadmap4): moving cross border interbank payments to RCL and (interconnected) blockchains so that XRP (as best positioned digital bridge currency) can enable 1) highest cost savings for banks (~60%)5) and 2) new revenue streams for market makers. Ripple will distribute its XRP holdings to market makers by subsidizing bid/offer spreads and grow the XRP ecosystem. XRP to become a global, deeply liquid digital bridge currency (which gives it tremendous value), so more usecases could become feasible (thinking of an uncorrelated asset to invest in, store of value, globalization play, consumers etc) XRP vs other cryptocurrencies For its specific usecase (which is pretty much the most valuable) XRP is superior to the other cryptocurrencies on almost every single metric (see section 2.3) XRP outlook Both Ripple‘s network of banks and ILP adoption gaining significant momentum since beginning of the year. 40% of the Japanese banking sector is going live in Q3. Regulators constructive. XRP listings gaining momentum. XRP incentive program is in place. XRP price scenarios vary anywhere between $2.25 and $70+ by 2020 (find an analysis in section 2.2) Ripple (company) - Ripple's founders are the creators of XRP and the company's vision is that value should move the way information moves today (and XRP is an important part of the equation). Ripple is a truly unique company. Check out the “Ripple (company)“ and “Credentials“ section: their achievements, track record & team is simply groundbreaking (and gives XRP a lot of credibility as a side effect) – still hardly any (mainstream media) journalist is aware of it. 1) total market cap growth 2015: 27% , 2016: 136%, 2017 YTD: 290% (source: http://www.coinmarketcap.com) 2) http://www.coinmarketcap.com 3) https://ripple.com/xrp-portal/xrp-resources/ripple-consensus-ledger-can-sustain-1000-transactions-per-second/ 4) https://www.xrpchat.com/topic/4029-explaining-xrp/?do=findComment&comment=39074 5) https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-and-xrp-can-cut-banks-global-settlement-costs-up-to-60-percent/ 6) http://www.econotimes.com/Ripple-announces-new-features-bringing-transaction-throughput-to-Visa-levels622104

2 3


Executive summary..............................................................3 1.0 Introduction............................................................................5

1.1 Ripple (company)............................................5 1.2 XRP, RCL and ILP...............................................6 2.0 XRP..............................................................................................7 2.1 XRP strategy.......................................................7

2.2 Price scenarios..................................................8 2.3 XRP vs. other cryptocurrencies.................10 2.4 Decentralization………………………………......11 2.5 Distribution…....................................................11

2.6 Where to buy...................................................12 2.7 How to store....................................................12 3.0 FAQs.........................................................................................13 4.0 Credentials.............................................................................14

4.1 Bank partnerships/ trials.............................15 4.2 Connections/ shareholders........................24 4.3 Resellers/ service providers........................28 5.0 Technical Insights / Whitepaper......................................30

4


1.0 Introduction Unless you are a Cryptocurrency enthusiast or payments expert, the chances that you ever heard of Ripple are close to zero. What you probably did hear of is eg SWIFT or some central bank hacks. And while an international email takes a few seconds, you probably asked yourself at some point A) why it takes your bank a few days to send money overseas and B) why your bank needs to charge you breathtaking fees for this poor service (either visible through direct fees and/or in a more intransparent manner by a very poor FX conversion rate). The reason for all those troubles and pressing questions is called “correspondant banking“. It's a decades old, antiquated and incredibly inefficient network of banks for processing global payments. These inefficiencies not only result in an enormous cost (an estimated $1.7 trillion1) per year for all participants in the ecosystem), but also fail to meet the needs of today’s banking customers. In a globalized world, coporates (think of Google, Amazon, Ueber etc) for example are in the need of transacting millions of (in particular small value) international payments, on a daily basis. Also, remittances are still a (way too) costly thing, even worse for smaller value transfers. Don't even think of the evolving Internet Of Things (“IoT“): about 30 billion devices are expected to be connected to the internet (and most of them in need of transacting micropayments) by 2020. It becomes clear that the current cross border payments system in place is just not capable of catching up to needs of the world we are living in.

1.1 Ripple (company) Ripple is there to help banks make cross border payments 21st century compatible. By using Ripple's distributed ledger technology, banks are enabled to transact directly, without routing a single payment through multiple correspondant banks that each charge fees, act as potential points of failure and importantly: take ages to transact. Ripple was founded in 2012, grew to >150 employees since, with offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Luxembourg and Sydney. It has highly successful, influential and forward thinking shareholders, for example Google, Accenture, SBI Group, Santander, Standard Chartered, CME Group, IDG, Lightspeed and Andreessen Horowitz. As an industry advocate for an “Internet of Value“ (let money move the way information moves today), Ripple sits on the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payments Task Force Steering Committee and co-chairs the W3C’s Web Payments Working Group. Ripple and its employees also received numerous awards, the World Economic Forum's “Technology Pioneer“ and “50 smartest companies globally“ by MIT (Technology Review) are maybe the most outstanding ones5). Ripple was also one of the first companies to receive the so called “BitLicense“ from the State of New York, allowing Ripple to officially sell and custody it's cryptocurrency XRP4). This is a result of Ripple's constructive and close relationship with regulators worldwide. It's supportive approach to regulations is basically the opposite one of Bitcoin & Co, whose backers strive to replace/ destroy the current financial system. Ripple already works with >150 banks (this includes 15 of the 50 largest banks globally), A consortium of Japanese banks (representing >40% of the domestic banking sector) has recently committed to implement Ripple's solutions6). 1) Ripple analysis across: World Trade Organization, International Trade Statistics 2014; Institute of International Finance, Aggregate Capital Flows 2014; Federal Reserve Financial Services, Cross-Border Payments 2015 2) https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/internet/popular-internet-of-things-forecast-of-50-billion-devicesby-2020-is-outdated 3) https://ripple.com/ripple_press/ripple-labs-awarded-as-technology-pioneer-by-world-economic-forum/ 4) http://www.coindesk.com/new-york-bitlicense-ripple/ 5) http://www2.technologyreview.com/tr50/2014/ 6) https://ripple.com/insights/forty-seven-japanese-banks-move-towards-commercial-phase-using-ripple/

5


1.2 XRP, RCL and ILP Architected to fit within a bank’s existing infrastructure, Ripple is designed to comply with (and often improve on) risk, privacy and compliance requirements. In order to achieve what Ripple labels as the 'Internet of Value', where value moves as fast and seamlessly as information moves today, there are basically 3 important building blocks neccessary: 1) Interledger Protocol Ripple’s solution is built around a self-developed, but nowadays open and neutral protocol (Interledger Protocol or ILP) to power payments across different ledgers and networks globally. It offers a cryptographically secure end-to-end payment flow with transaction immutability and information redundancy1). According to the Federal Reserve in it's latest payments report, ILP is “a particular industry development of note“2). ILP is gaining momentum with dozens of banks already having joined Ripple's (ILP enabled) payments network. 2) Ripple's Global Payments Ledger (“RCL“ - which stands for Ripple Consensus Ledger) Global payments can and do take place on this ledger. More importantly though, it serves to 'ground' XRP, which is RCL's native token/currency. This comes with an incredible advantage: in contrast to other currencies out there, XRP is an asset by definition. All XRPs in existence are stored on the RCL, and so your XRP stash is not subject to counterparty risk (watch out though: if eg an exchange is holding XRPs on your behalf, you do face counterparty and/or accessibility risks). Contrary, other currencies like EURs or USDs (either on RCL or other places) will always expose you to counterparty risks as you're having just a claim against whoever holds it in custody for you. The only exception being if you store it as cash under your pillow (which makes it pretty hard to move globally in seconds). If at all, the RCL could be considered your only 'counterparty'. But it is cryptographically secure, and most reliable tech (payments have been processed in >30 million 'blocks' since inception, with none having faiiled). Worth to mention: established companies/institutions now starting to act as transaction validators on the RCL. The RCL is expected to be more decentralised than Bitcoin soon.3) 3) XRP4) XRP is the currency/token native to Ripple's RCL. Unlike USD, trading through XRP does not require bank accounts, service fees, counterparty risk, or additional operational costs. By using XRP, market makers can specialize in certain currency corridors, reduce operational costs, and ultimately, offer more competitive FX pricing. This is critical, as once Ripple adoption grows, so do the number of currencies and counterparties. Market makers need to maintain accounts with each counterparty for each currency – a capital- and timeintensive endeavor that spreads liquidity thin. For the more exotic currencies, multiple trading parties are required, who each layer costs to the transaction. Market makers can bridge any currencies directly through XRP in a trade. Similar to USD in today’s currency market, XRP enables liquidity concentration around fewer pairs, creating order book thickness and competitive FX rates, especially for exotic currency pairs. With proven governance and the fastest transaction confirmation of its kind, XRP is the most efficient settlement option for financial institutions and liquidity providers seeking global reach, accessibility and fast settlement finality for interbank flows. To gain market share in (the more inefficient) FX corridors, Ripple pledged to use parts of its XRP holdings to subsidize bid/offer spreads for market makers (and as a result kick-start usage and trading volumes).

1) https://ripple.com/technology/ 2) https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/feds/2016/files/2016095pap.pdf 3) https://ripple.com/insights/how-we-are-further-decentralizing-the-ripple-consensus-ledger-rcl-to-bolster-robustness-forenterprise-use/ 4) https://ripple.com/xrp-portal/

6


2.0 XRP 2.1 XRP strategy1) So in the last section (1.2) I shortly introduced XRP. For me, Ripple's XRP strategy is the most important subsection in this document. Even the majority of cryptocurrency traders constantly demonstrate that they have not fully understood Ripple's strategy on making XRP a deeply liquid and useful digital currency. Firstly, both the SWIFT interbank payments network and FX market (with the latter already having $5 trillion daily volume) are closed networks, ie not really 'accessible' far any third parties or blockchain based tokens/ currencies. Establish a competing network then? Well, Ripple realized early, that banks didn't want to be 'forced' into using one specific ledger, network or a specific asset. Ripple then made a change to its strategy, and started working on what they named 'ILP' (a protocol that connects blockchains). The idea is, as the financial market moves into the ILP/ distributed ledger/ blockchain world, to have that newly built infrastructure interconnected – and accessible! (by the way, not only banks, also eg internet browsers, like Google Chrome, are now ILP enabled, for upcoming in-browser payment functions2)) So in that new, open & interconnected world, XRP will not be 'mandatory' to use. Bad news? Certainly not. Think of Ripple as Twitter: Imagine Twitter without the internet. Twitter is actually pretty happy that the internet exists, although it enables other companies to compete. The common internet protocols established a substantial, global market. And taking a decent share of something really big is usually way more interesting than having a 100% share of something very small. So what's the benefit of ILP? Every ILP enabled ledger/ network, eliminates every technical obstacle to let a crossborder payment being bridged by XRP (or any other digital asset). Going forward, with banks and payment providers adopting ILP enabled solutions, a crossborder payment (eg from USD to MXN) will be bridged through XRP, if XRP offers the tightest bid/offer spread. It's a breathtaking market and opportunity for XRP (as fastest and most efficient digital asset). So how can XRP offer the tightest bid/offer spreads? That's where the distribution of XRP comes into play. Ripple has been massively criticized by the 'Bitcoin community' for owning the majority of XRP. For me, this is the reason I buy into it! Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, that have to give away their currency to 'miners' (which hasn't really worked out, as 5 Chinese mining pools now actually control >50% of the hashrate and therefor effectively control Bitcoin, for Ethereum it's only 3 mining pools!), Ripple can distribute XRP in the way that benefits the currency the most. As part of their XRP strategy, Ripple will, in the beginning, target inefficient (but still decent sized) FX corridors (eg EUR/INR) and use its XRP to subsidize market makers in order to have the tightest bid/offer spreads via XRP. Rewarding market makers in XRP also results in a longterm alignment of interest to make XRP a viable currency in the interbank/ payments market. The FX market works on tiny margins, so every incentive has an incredible impact. At the time of writing, Ripple's XRP stake is worth USD ~18 billion. Ripple also distributes its XRP to other participants (like institutional investors, wallet providers, exchanges etc.), to grow the XRP ecosystem (eg to have an exchange list XRP pairs). These distributions are usually coming with a lockup period, to also have a longterm alignment of interest.

[section continues on next page]

1) https://www.xrpchat.com/topic/5280-valuation-models-xrp-the-digital-currency-vs-ripple-thecompany/?do=findComment&comment=50182 2) https://twitter.com/ahopebailie/status/860233100760055811

7

XRP taking the fast lane? With subzidies acting as a kickstart for XRP usage, once a decent amount of payments is being bridged through XRP, things will be starting to snowball: - initial market makers have taken the first and early rewards - new market makers will be attracted, entering the space, which creates more (XRP) demand - with increasing network effects and increasing payment volumes, XRP neccessarily needs to substantially rise in price to be able to bridge the higher 'dollar amounts' - with higher volumes comes lower volatility: - lower volatility will make banks (who before weren't comfortable to being exposed to XRP for the 3-4 seconds that a payment takes) want to hold XRP, to save 1x bid/offer spread (ie instead of “EUR->XRP and XRP->INR“ to only trade “XRP->INR“) - for banks it‘ll now make sense to replace various nostro accounts with XRP - lower volatility will also make corporates, who need to regularly do payments in specific (XRP dominated) FX corridors, to hold XRP, instead of constantly holding X different currencies According to a recent news article2), Ripple‘s constructive and pro-active approach with regulatos seems to ‘have paid‘ off in the sense, that some regulatory bodies are now actively pushing for banks to adopt XRP (given the positive impacts on capital, risk & transparency metrics). Everyone who has ever worked in a bank knows about the power & impact that regulators do have.

2.2 XRP price scenarios Obviously, the higher the return, the higher the risk. Is it possible that XRP will become the global bridge currency, a digital reserve currency? Yes, indeed. Could it fail on that mission? Sure, it could. Are there any scenarios inbetween, where XRP would still be a valuable digital asset? I'm pretty sure there are. Having that in mind, the scenario in which Ripple succeeds with its XRP strategy, is probably the hardest in terms of actual price scenarios. I would literally say, the sky is the limit. Global corporates can have a massive market value these days (think of Google, Amazon, Apple with $500 billion+). Now think of a currency. And now a global one. This is, what got me excited about cryptocurrencies. For the past years (even after constant bugging and pressing questions from the community) neither Ripple nor its employees have given out any XRP price thoughts, scenarios or targets. A few weeks ago, a tiny piece of information came out. It's not a price target, but still, it gives you an idea on the dimensions we are talking about (see screenshot on the right side - XRP‘s price at the time of writing is at around $0.30). David Schwartz (username JoelKatz) is Ripple‘s Chief Cryptographer and an original architect of the Ripple network. He enjoys tremendous respect from the entire cryptocurrency industry.

[section continues on the next page] 1) https://twitter.com/ahopebailie/status/860233100760055811 2) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ripple-and-xrp-are-more-stable-than-youthink_us_591cb3bee4b0b28a33f62915

8


I really do like a specific valuation concept for cryptocurrencies. It was recently introduced/ promoted by ARK Invest (@ARKblockchain on Twitter). It‘s similar to what we know as Price/Earnings Ratio from the Equity markets. ‘Price‘ in cryptocurrencies is the network value (outstanding units multiplied by price). ‘Earnings‘ is a bit tricky though. Let‘s say, the more frequent currencies are used, the higher the network effects, the more valuable they should be/ become. As a proxy for usage, we can use trading volumes. Given that volatile movements in cryptocurrencies go hand in hand with (sometimes artifically) inflated volumes, we should stick to a eg 30day average. Let‘s name this ratio NV/T (network value / trading volume). Bitcoin‘s NV/T historically fluctuated somewhere between 25 and 250 (currently ~35). XRP‘s NV/T (at the time of writing) is somewhere around 50. In my view, Ripple‘s higher NV/T is nothing to worry about, as the market apparently applies higher growth assumptions regarding ist future value (similar to Tesla‘s higher P/E vs BMW‘s). The question is, is it high enough? I don‘t think so: The global FX market transacts USD ~5 trillion every single day (the majority is interbank flows). Let‘s go in with conservative assumptions (vs Ripple‘s vision). ILP as the neutral, global interledger standard will be catching 10% of flows only. And from those 10%, only 1% of flows will be bridged through XRP.

Turns out this would get you to USD 5 billion daily XRP trading volume. Multiplied by Bitcoin‘s all time low NV/T ratio of 25, and you get to USD 125 billion network value for XRP. For the year 2020 (~55bn XRP in circulation) this would result in a minimum price of $2.25/XRP (currently trading at ~$0.30). Remember, these are particularly conservative estimates, and only include the interbank usecase. It excludes the fact that XRP is a deflationary currency1), as well as any direct XRP trades by corporates, consumers, between digital assets, commodities, micropayments etc. : 10% ILP | 1% XRP | 25 NV/T : $2.25 per XRP 15% ILP | 1% XRP | 25 NV/T : $3.40 per XRP 20% ILP | 1% XRP | 25 NV/T : $4.54 per XRP 15% ILP | 2% XRP | 25 NV/T : $6.80 per XRP 20% ILP | 2% XRP | 25 NV/T : $9.09 per XRP 30% ILP | 2% XRP | 30 NV/T : $16.36 per XRP 40% ILP | 2% XRP | 30 NV/T : $21.80 per XRP 50% ILP | 2% XRP | 35 NV/T : $31.80 per XRP 75% ILP | 3% XRP | 35 NV/T : $71.60 per XRP … 1) 100bn XRP exists (which is also the maximum amount as per protocol), and a tiny fraction of XRP is being destroyed for every transaction. The destroyed amount, even for the next decades, will be negligible. It just serves as an anti SPAM mechanism.

9


2.3 XRP vs. other cryptocurrencies1) In the future, probably just a handful of digital assets will emerge from today‘s cryptocurrency sector that prove to be extremely valuable and helpful. Below you see a comparison of the Top 3 digital assets. Bitcoin or Ether may be useful at some point in the future, for some specific usecase. Ripple has been laserfocused on the usecase ‘value transfer / digital bridge currency‘ since ist early days. And the performance metrics for this specific usecase are clearly in favour of XRP:

Governance Decentralization Settlement Speed Settlement Finality Transactions/Second (on-l edger)

Transactions/Second (off-l edger, pymt cha nnel s )

avg transaction fee

Bitcoin

Ether

XRP

weak weak 1 hour+ no

average weak 2 min+ no

very good very weak* 4 sec yes

3-6

15

~1,000

N/A

N/A

~50,000

$ 2.68

$ 0.12

$ 0.001

* see chapter '2.4 Dezentralization'

1) https://ripple.com/xrp/ & Twitter

10


2.4 Decentralization So this is a critical metric, that most cryptocurrency investors don‘t get. Newcomers usually get brainwashed by the Bitcoin maximalist community that it‘s all about decentralisation (which is ironic, as just 5 Chinese mining pools control the majority of Bitcoin‘s hashrate, ie they could easily corrupt the network and execute double spend transactions). Don‘t get me wrong, I think decentralisation is absolutely adding value and trust for a cryptocurrency network. But what most people overlook is that the timing is the critical part. This is how it should be: Step 1)

Have a decent governance, with a fast & efficient decision making process (this indeed works best with some sort of centralization)

Step 2)

build that network and its features to perfection (Ripple has basically executed that step)

Step 3)

after that, decentralize the network, with well established institutions (which is what Ripple is trying to do right now)1)

Replace ‘well established institutions‘ with ‘shady mining companies‘, and do the process exactly the other way round, and you end up on what Bitcoin and Ethereum have been (and still are, and will be) doing. And then you understand why eg Bitcoin still hasn‘t managed to implement a lightning network in 18 months, whereas Ripple already ticked that box a while ago and keeps on being way ahead of others.

2.5 Distribution3) Ripple managed to build out ist payment network by hiring world class developers. They financed it by USD >90MM of financing rounds with high profile investors. By that, they didn‘t have to sell too many of their XRPs, and today still own slightly more than half of it. As the tech is now in place, they can start using their XRP stake strategically to build out the ecosystem and incentivize XRP usage. Ripple keeps on engaging in distribution strategies that go hand in hand with a rising XRP price (which is not too surprising, as the most recent XRP rise turned them from a $400MM company into a multi billion USD corporate). Ripple has a strong interest to execute on the vision it has for XRP. To mitigate any potential supply concerns, they placed the majority of XRPs into a 55 months long, cryptographically secured escrow contract, that releases ~1bn XRP every month. If they eg only allocate 400MM XRP to a market maker/ bank/ instituional partner in a given month, the difference (600MM XRP) will go into (a 55 months long) escrow again. This gives market participants certainty and a maximum amount of XRPs that could get into the market. Worth to note, most XRP allocations come with a lockup period, to have a longterm incentive and alignment of interest. 1) https://ripple.com/insights/how-we-are-further-decentralizing-the-ripple-consensus-ledger-rcl-to-bolsterrobustness-for-enterprise-use/ 2) https://ripple.com/insights/news/xrp-liquidity-to-deepen-with-listings-on-six-new-exchanges/ 3) https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-to-place-55-billion-xrp-in-escrow-to-ensure-certainty-into-total-xrp-supply/

11


2.6 Where to buy Since beginning of the year, XRP got listed on a few more exchanges, and access has improved accordingly. Most recently on 6 additional exchanges at the same time2). Ripple is still being focused on getting XRP listed on more cryptocurrency (and also traditional) exchanges, to drive demand and liquidity. Most cryptocurrencies just get listings on exchanges vs Bitcoin. For XRP‘s success it‘s critical to also keep on getting listed vs fiat pairs (eg CAD, MXN, NZD, etc.), so that actual realworld payments can get bridged via XRP. I don‘t want to give out any specific recommendations on which exchanges you should use to buy XRP. But I can at least tell you that I‘ve made only good experiences with both Bitstamp and Kraken. Bitstamp (https://www.bitstamp.net/) is the first fully regulated Cryptocurrency Exchange in the European Union, and you can buy XRP directly vs. USD, or EUR, or Bitcoin.

2.7 How to store In the cryptocurrency world this is a very critical and important ‘To Do‘. Most importantly: if you hold large amounts of cryptocurrency (ie also XRP), and intend to not sell it in the very near future, I would highly recommend to get it ‘off the exchange‘ and transfer them into a ‘cold wallet‘. Just too many exchanges have been hacked in the past. A cold wallet can actually be just a piece of paper, with two numbers on it: For every XRP wallet you have a public key (the equivalent to a ‘bank account number‘) and a secret key. The secret key let‘s you transact. You should never share your secret key with anyone. Creating a cold wallet is realtively easy. When you send funds from your exchange to your (cold wallet) public key, just make sure you checked 10x that it‘s the correct public key, with no typos etc. (I also always do a ‘test transaction‘ with just a few XRPs, to see if everything works out). The XRP community has a few tutorials in place. This one is on how to create cold wallets:

https://www.xrpchat.com/topic/3187-beginners-guide-creating-a-cold-ripple-wallet-20/

12


3.0 FAQs The cryptocurrency world is still relatively immature, hardly regulated and also full of market participants spreading FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) to push their agenda. To counter the Bitcoin idealists concerns, please find the most frequently asked questions and concerns below1): Myth: “Ripple controls the price of XRP“ Ripple response: “Ripple does not control the price of XRP. We take the integrity of the XRP market incredibly seriously and would never do anything to compromise that integrity. In order to strengthen stability of XRP, Ripple is working toward increasing liquidity, payments volume, and low spread volatility. Our current off ledger liquidity building efforts speak very clearly to these goals. Also, it’s in Ripple’s own interest to promote the long term value of XRP. As such, any attempt to intentionally influence the short term price of XRP is nonsensical as it would imperil trust in the company and the asset.“ Myth: “There’s no bank use case for XRP“

Ripple's response: “XRP has a clear institutional use case and ultimately, considerable value as a bridge currency. Going forward, XRP’s use as a value transfer mechanism will increase its utility which could translate to an increase in its value. To facilitate larger notional transfers by financial institutions XRP will necessarily have to be worth more. It’s important to note that while our ultimate vision incorporates XRP into global bank cross border payments via our Ripple solution, there are myriad scenarios and uses which are constructive to XRP.“ Myth: “It’s risky for liquidity providers to use XRP“ Ripple's response: “We are in the process of listing XRP on several non-RCL exchanges. This will expand access to XRP, increase the liquidity needed for XRP to facilitate cross border payments, and will reduce the market’s dependence on gateways. Additionally, we will soon offer an XRP lending facility to qualified market participants. This allows liquidity providers to fully participate in XRP markets without necessarily having to own XRP.“ Myth: “The value of XRP is inversely proportional to the value of Ripple as a company – and Ripple’s traction with banks has nothing to do with XRP’s success as a digital asset“ Ripple's response: “The long-term value of XRP will ultimately be driven by its adoption as a cross border value transfer mechanism. Though XRP has important attributes which make it particularly useful for this use case, these attributes do not ensure full integration with our enterprise software solution. Ultimately, XRP can be successful regardless of Ripple’s success. Either way, we continue to do everything we can to make sure XRP eventually becomes the digital asset standard for international value transfer.“

1) https://ripple.com/xrp-portal/xrpresources/xrp%E3%81%AB%E9%96%A2%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%EF%BC%96%E3%81%A4%E3%81%AE%E8%BF %B7%E4%BF%A1/#english

13


4.0 Credentials Special thanks for this section goes to user tomb and the moderators from xrpchat.com

“Blockchain and related technologies are a paradigm shift from the status quo and increasingly a major focus of innovation for us. Through our partnership with Ripple, we are optimizing our global payments as one of the first major banks to implement distributed financial technology in a commercial setting.” Paolo Cederle, CEO of UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions

Santander plans to become 'Ripple evangelist' International Business Times, 22nd October 2015

“Using the Ripple solution, we are working on a new commercial payment service for retail customers that will allow them to send money from China to the U.S. and other countries in real-time.” Andrew Fang, General Manager & Head of Innovation and Research at SHRB

“As a leading international bank committed to facilitating trade, commerce and investments, this partnership will go a long way in progressing our digitization agenda to develop innovative solutions for our clients.” Gautam Jain, Global Head, Digitization and Client Access, Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered

“Using blockchain technology, ATB Financial became the first financial institution in Canada to complete an overseas payment in a matter of seconds. The transaction we performed proves we can significantly reduce the time it takes to move money across borders. This could revolutionize banking for our customers.” Curtis Stange, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer at ATB Financial

14


4.1 Bank partnerships/ trials ANZ “The fourth largest bank by market capitalisation in Australia.” Press: http://www.coindesk.com/australian-banks-westpac-and-anz-experiment-with-ripple/ ATB Financial “ATB successfully transferred CA$1,000 (EUR 667) to ReiseBank using a network built on SAP technology and Ripple’s pioneering network of enterprise blockchain solutions.” Press: http://news.sap.com/atb-financial-sends-one-of-the-worlds-first-real-time-paymentsfrom-canada-to-germany-using-blockchain-technology-supported-by-sap/ Bank of America Merrill Lynch Bank of America is an American multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the corporate and investment banking division of Bank of America. Press: http://siliconangle.com/blog/2016/09/26/ripple-signs-deal-with-global-banks-toestablish-blockchain-based-global-transfer-system/ Bank of Yokohama The Bank of Yokohama, Ltd. is a Japanese regional bank, operating mainly in Kanagawa Prefecture and southwestern Tokyo. It is one of Japan's leading banks, the seventh largest bank in Japan by market value. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/japan-banks-blockchain-currency-exchange-ripple/ (Central) Bank of England The Bank of England (BoE) is the central bank of the United Kingdom. Founded in 1694, the Bank's mission is to promote the good of the people of the UK. http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/Pages/home.aspx Press: https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-selected-to-participate-in-the-bank-of-englandfintech-accelerators-exploration-of-the-use-of-blockchain-for-global-rtgs/ BMO (Bank of Montreal) BMO offers a wide range of personal banking services including mortgages, credit cards, loans and insurance. Access accounts with 24/7 online banking. Press: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-15/ripple-raises-55-million-addsseven-more-banks-to-its-network

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, commonly referred to as CIBC, is one of the Big Five banks in Canada. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/7-financial-institutions-announce-partnerships-ripple/

15


CBW Bank “The innovative Weir, Kansas bank (it was the original institution behind BankSimple and Moven, and partners with cryptocurrency firm Ripple Labs on cross-border payments) will formally launch a new payment tool called the ONE Card this quarter. (Published Feb. 25, 2015)“ “It offers something most banks can't, and which the Federal Reserve has begun nudging the industry to build: real-time payments. Press: http://www.americanbanker.com/news/bank-technology/cbw-bank-readies-launch-ofreal-time-payments-1072921-1.html Commonwealth Bank of Australia The number 1 bank in Australia $129.89 billion market capitalization. “The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Fiji, Asia, USA and the United Kingdom.” Press: https://cointelegraph.com/news/commonwealth-bank-of-australia-to-integrate-ripplefor-instant-settlements Cross River Bank “One of the first U.S.-based banks that will use the Ripple protocol to offer its business and personal banking customers real-time international payments between the U.S. and Western Europe.” Press: https://ripple.com/ripple_press/cross-river-bank-to-integrate-ripple-for-real-timeinternational-payments/ DBS Bank “DBS Bank is the largest bank in South East Asia by assets and among the larger banks in Asia.” Press: http://finovate.com/ripple-technology-drives-invoice-trading-platform/ Fidor Bank Fidor Bank is a German online bank. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/fidor-becomes-first-bank-to-use-ripple-payment-protocol/ Mizuho Financial Group It holds assets in excess of $2 trillion US dollars through its control of Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank, and other operating subsidiaries.[1] The company's combined holdings form the second largest financial services group in Japan. Its banking businesses rank the third in Japan. Press: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-15/ripple-raises-55-million-addsseven-more-banks-to-its-network NAB (National Australia Bank) National Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. Press: https://ripple.com/ripple_press/ripple-adds-several-new-banks-global-network/

16


National Bank of Abu Dhabi National Bank of Abu Dhabi is a bank operating in the United Arab Emirates. NBAD is the largest lender bank in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the second largest lender in the United Arab Emirates. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/7-financial-institutions-announce-partnerships-ripple/ Rabobank “Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands.” Press: https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/experimenteren-met-internationaal-betalen-metbitcointechnologie Reisebank Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, ReiseBank has more than 85 years of experience in business travel payment. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/7-financial-institutions-announce-partnerships-ripple/ Royal Bank of Canada “Royal Bank of Canada, is the largest bank in Canada. The bank serves over 16 million clients and has 78,000 employees worldwide.” Press: http://www.coindesk.com/royal-bank-canada-reveals-blockchain-remittance-trial-ripple/

Royal Bank of Scotland “The Royal Bank of Scotland has around 700 branches, mainly in Scotland though there are branches in many larger towns and cities throughout England and Wales.” Press: http://bravenewcoin.com/news/rbs-trials-ripple-tech-for-automated-interbank-transfers/ Saldo.mx “Cross currency wallet for underserved migrant communities built on Ripple.” Press: https://ripple.com/insights/how-marco-montes-is-empowering-migrant-workers/ Santander Bank “Santander is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and among the top 12 banks on a global basis.” Press: https://ripple.com/insights/santander-becomes-first-uk-bank-use-ripple-cross-borderpayments/ SBI Sumishin Net Bank SBI Sumishin Net Bank is an Internet bank jointly established, as an innovative customeroriented new bank, by SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/japan-banks-blockchain-currency-exchange-ripple/ Shanghai Huarui “Registered in Shanghai (Pilot) Free Trade Zone with a capital of 3 billion yuan ($484 million), will mainly serve small and micro enterprises that have difficulty getting loans from large Stateowned banks.” Press: https://ripple.com/ripple_press/ripple-adds-several-new-banks-global-network/

17


Standard Chartered Bank “Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London. It operates a network of more than 1,200 branches and outlets across more than 70 countries and employs around 87,000 people.” Press: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-15/ripple-raises-55-million-addsseven-more-banks-to-its-network Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp Japanese multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. SMBC is the second largest bank in Japan by asset. Press: http://cryptohustle.com/japanese-banks-are-starting-to-use-the-ripple-network TD Bank Canada “TD Canada Trust is the personal, small business and commercial banking operation of the Toronto-Dominion Bank in Canada.” Info: https://ripple.com/insights/money-2020-how-banks-can-leverage-distributed-financialtechnology/ UniCredit UniCredit Group is an Italian global banking and financial services company. Its network spanning 50 markets in 17 countries, with more than 8,500 branches and over 147,000 employees. Press: https://ripple.com/insights/seven-leading-banks-join-ripples-global-network/ Western Union “The Western Union Company is an American financial services and communications company.” Press: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/ripple-labs-larsen-partnering-western-unionpayment-settlements/ Westpac “An Australian bank and financial-services provider headquartered in Westpac Place, Sydney. It is one of Australia's "big four" banks.” http://www.coindesk.com/australian-banks-westpac-and-anz-experiment-with-ripple/ Ripple SBI Asia consortium members: 77 Bank “A Japanese regional bank headquartered in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. As the designated financial institution of the prefecture, the city, and many other cities and towns throughout the prefecture, it performs duties such as holding deposits for public money and handling payments. It is also the biggest regional bank in the Tōhoku region.” Press: https://www.77bank.co.jp/pdf/newsrelease/16101400_block.pdf AEON Bank “You can use AEON Bank ATMs to withdraw Japanese Yen.More than 2000 ATMs nationwide are available while visiting Japan.” Press: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO07911570S6A001C1NN7000/

18


Aomori Bank “A Japanese regional bank headquartered in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū. The Aomori Bank provides financial services for individual and corporate customers, including deposits, loans, securities trading and investment, foreign exchange, and bond underwriting and registration services as well as credit card services.” Press: http://www.a-bank.jp/contents/cms/article/20161003004/index.html Ashikaga Bank "Deposit business, lending, securities trading business and investment business, exchange business, etc. Net income: Stand-alone: 19.7 billion 89 million yen (Year ended March 31, 2015)" Press: http://pdf.irpocket.com/C0060/xAmX/Y6EB/Zpyq.pdf Awa Bank "The Awa Bank, Ltd. is a Japan-based regional bank, primarily engaged in the provision of financial services, with a focus on banking services. The Bank has two business segments. The Banking segment is engaged in deposit, loan, securities investment, and domestic exchange and foreign exchange businesses, as well as the sale of public bond, investment trust and insurance products, the brokerage of financial products and the provision of trust services, in addition to the provision of credit guarantee and credit card services." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Bank of Yokohama “A Japanese regional bank, operating mainly in Kanagawa Prefecture and southwestern Tokyo. It is one of Japan's leading banks, the seventh largest bank in Japan by market value (FY 2012). It is listed on the Nikkei 225." Bank of The Ryukyus "Founded in 1948 by order of the U.S. military administration of Okinawa to serve as a central bank for occupied Okinawa, and was originally modeled after the Federal Reserve System of the United States and the Central Bank of the Philippines. During the U.S. administration, it was empowered to issue currency and oversee the financial administration of Okinawa in addition to serving as a commercial and retail bank." Press: http://www.ryugin.co.jp/news/8878.html Chiba Bank "the biggest bank in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Listed on the Nikkei 225, it has branches in Osaka, New York City, London, and Hong Kong. Assets — $106.1 billion (2015)." Press: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO07911570S6A001C1NN7000/ Chugoku Bank "The Company operates in four business segments. The Banking segment is engaged in the deposit, loan, marketable securities and investments, domestic and foreign exchange, trust business, as well as debt guarantee and bonds underwriting business, the sale of public bond including government bond and securities investment trust, the financial instruments brokerage business, and investment banking business including merger and acquisition (M&A)." Press: http://www.chugin.co.jp/up_load_files/news_release/1414_pdf_1.pdf

19


Daishi Bank "Based in Niigata Prefecture northwest of Tokyo, Daishi Bank is the oldest bank in Japan and the most influential institution in the prefecture. It was founded in 1873 as the Fourth National Bank of Japan." Press: http://www.daishi-bank.co.jp/release/detail.php?id=3517 Daiwa Next Bank "Daiwa Next Bank, Ltd. offers commercial banking services in Japan. The company offers services such as ordinary deposits, time deposits, payment services, fund transfer and settlement, foreign currency deposit, negotiable deposit, account transfer, and loans." Press: http://www.bank-daiwa.co.jp/info/2016/1003_2628.html Gunma Bank "A regional bank that operates in three business segments. The Banking segment is engaged in the deposit, loan, marketable securities and investments, as well as domestic and foreign exchange businesses; the sale of public bonds, investment trust and insurance products, as well as the trust business." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Hachijuni Bank "The Hachijuni Bank, Ltd. engages in the provision of financial services." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Hiroshima Bank "Deposit business, lending, securities trading business and investment business, exchange business, etc. " Press: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO07911570S6A001C1NN7000/ Hokuriku Bank "Hokuriku Bank is dealing with non-performing loans. A Japanese regional bank headquartered in Toyama, Toyama; Hokoriku refers to a greater region in Japan that encompasses Fukui, Ishikawa, and Toyoma prefectures. In addition to the Hokuriku region, the bank has branches in Kyoto, Osaka, Niigata, Nagano, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Gifu, Aichi, and Hokkaidō. The bank also operates overseas representative offices in Shanghai, Singapore, and New York City." Press: http://www.hokugin.co.jp/info/files/pdf/810.pdf Iyo Bank "The Iyo Bank, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking, leasing, and other financial services in Japan. It operates through Commercial Banking and Leasing segments." Press: http://www.iyobank.co.jp/library/new/press/16-237.pdf Juroku Bank "The Juroku Bank is industriously working to serve its customers in the prefectures of Gifu and Aichi, both part of the industrial region of Chubu. The regional bank has about 150 offices in its primary service areas, as well as offices in Osaka and Tokyo, and overseas offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai." Press: http://www.juroku.co.jp/release/post_178.html

20


Keiyo Bank "The Keiyo Bank, Ltd. engages in the provision of financial services such as banking, securities, insurance, trust, credit card, and credit guarantee. It operates through the Banking and Others segments." Press: http://www.keiyobank.co.jp/news/2016/20161003145539.html Michinoku Bank "A Japanese bank that is headquartered in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture. The name “Michinoku” is distinctive in that it was the first use of hiragana in the name of a Japanese bank. Michonoku Bank, while focused on the Tōhoku region, has a network of branches and subsidiary companies that expands beyond the region. In Japan, Michinoku has offices in Hokkaidō, Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, and Saitama Prefectures, as well as a branch in Tokyo." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Mizuho Financial Group "It holds assets in excess of $2 trillion US dollars through its control of Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank, and other operating subsidiaries. The company's combined holdings form the second largest financial services group in Japan. Its banking businesses rank the third in Japan after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and the ninth in the world by market capitalisation as of November 2009. It is the 59th largest company in the world according to Forbes Global 2000 rankings. Its shares have a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Musashino Bank "The Musashino Bank serves the Saitama region to the north of Tokyo in Japan. The bank and its 8 subsidiaries do business from about 90 offices throughout the area." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Nishi-Nippon City Bank "The Nishi-Nippon City Bank, Ltd. engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the Banking and Other segments. The Banking segment provides deposit, loan, domestic and foreign exchange, trading securities, securities investment, corporate bond trustee and registration, and agency operation services." Press: http://www.ncbank.co.jp/nr/images/2016/161003.pdf Nomura Trust and Banking Company "The Nomura Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. offers trust and banking products and services. The company also offers investment advisory and management services. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Tokyo, Japan." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html North Pacific Bank "North Pacific Bank has total funds of 6 trillion 841.5 billion yen. Its main branch is in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Within Hokkaido it has 188 branches and in Tokyo it is developing operations through one retail branch. It offers comprehensive financial products and services to a wide array of customers, from individuals to corporations." Press: http://www.hokuyobank.co.jp/newsrelease/pdf/20161003_070664.pdf

21


Orix Bank "Orix offers leasing, lending, rentals, life insurance, real estate financing and development, venture capital, investment and retail banking, commodities funds and securities brokering. In addition to expanding its offerings, Orix has also expanded globally, offering financial services in North America, Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Resona Bank "This entity served as the financing arm of the Nomura zaibatsu founded by Tokushichi Nomura. Its securities brokerage operation separated in 1926 to form Nomura Securities, now Japan's largest securities company. The bank was renamed Nomura Bank in 1927 and became the main bank for the Osaka Prefecture government in 1929, immediately following the 1929 stock market crash." Press: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO07911570S6A001C1NN7000/ San-In Godo Bank "The San-in Godo Bank, Ltd. is a regional bank mainly operating in Shimane and Tottori Prefectures. The Bank offers banking services including deposits, loans, foreign exchange transactions, and securities brokerage." Press: http://www.gogin.co.jp/about/press2016/topi16-093.pdf SBI Sumishin Net Bank "SBI Sumishin Net Bank is an Internet bank jointly established, as an innovative customeroriented new bank, by SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank." Press: https://www.netbk.co.jp/wpl/NBGate/i900500CT/PD/corp_news_20160819 Senshu Ikeda Bank "The Senshu Ikeda Bank, Ltd. is a Financial Services company located in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan." Press: http://www.sihd-bk.jp/fresh_news/0000000991/pdf/fresh.pdf Seven Bank "On March 22, 2011, Seven Bank and Western Union started the Seven Bank International Money Transfer Service as part of their mobile and internet banking services. On July 19, 2011, the service was expanded to Seven Bank ATMs, which has about 16,000 locations nationwide with English and Japanese telephone customer support." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.htm Shinkin Central Bank "Central financial institution in Japan for the cooperative regional financial institutions, known as shinkin banks, the Shinkin Central Bank (hereinafter the SCB) occupies a well-established position in Japan’s financial industry. Shinkin banks currently hold funds totaling some ¥134 trillion (around US$1,195 billion)." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Shinsei Bank "A leading diversified Japanese financial institution that provides a full range of financial products and services to both institutional and individual customers. It is headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo." Press: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO07911570S6A001C1NN7000/

22


Shikoku Bank "Shikoku Bank is primarily a provider of banking services to customers in Japan's Shikoku prefecture. The bank's financial services include both commercial and retail banking and lending among others. Shikoku Bank serves local businesses, individuals consumers, and public agencies through about 110 branches." Press: http://www.shikokubank.co.jp/newsrelease/article.php?id=748 Shimizu Bank "The Shimizu Bank, Ltd. was established in 1928 with the merger of six banks and has always been a valuable partner of the local community. The Bank has its headquarters in Shizuoka City, which has the Shimizu Port, the largest in the prefecture. Shimizu Port, located halfway between Tokyo and Osaka, plays a significant role in international trade and economic development." Press: https://www.shimizubank.co.jp/news/detail/post_99.html Sony Bank "Sony Bank is a Japanese commercial bank established in April 2001. It operates as a direct bank and has no physical branches or ATMs. It is a subsidiary of Sony Financial and a member of the Japanese electronics company Sony." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank "The largest trust company and the fifth-largest bank in Japan measured by assets." Press: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO07911570S6A001C1NN7000/ Tochigi Bank "Founded in 1942, the Tochigi Bank offers banking services to the Tochigi Prefecture in Japan (located about 60 miles north of Tokyo). Through more than 90 branches and 4 consolidated subsidiaries, Tochigi Bank offers conventional financial services products such as savings, lending, portfolio advisement, leasing, housing loan guarantees, credit cards, and foreign and domestic exchange services." Press: http://www.tochigibank.co.jp/pdfdata/news20161004144910-1.pdf Toho Bank "A Japanese regional bank headquartered in Fukushima, Fukushima Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū. The Toho Bank provides financial services for individual and corporate customers, including deposits, loans, real estate, securities trading and investment, foreign exchange, and bond underwriting and registration services as well as ATM and credit card services." Press: http://www.tohobank.co.jp/news/20161003_004597.html Tsukuba Bank "It operates through 147 branches. The company was formerly known as Ibaraki Mutual Bank, Ltd. and changed its name to The Tsukuba Bank, Limited in 1989." Press: http://www.tsukubabank.co.jp/cms/article/cd68c7d31a1e4d661068a3f203dbcf5aea8327f9 Yachiyo Bank "The company offers savings and time-deposit products, loans, credit card and guarantee services, insurance products, Internet banking services, and other banking related services. It operates through 84 branches." Press: http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/news/2016/1025_10458.html

23


Yamagata Bank "A Japanese regional bank that is based out of Yamagata city, Yamagata prefecture. Most of the bank’s branches are in Yamagata prefecture, or other major cities in the Tohoku region, with a branch in Tokyo as well." Press: http://www.yamagatabank.co.jp/release/pdf/723.pdf?1475467433270

4.2 Connections/ shareholders Microsoft “Develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers and services.” Press: http://www.coindesk.com/microsoft-hints-future-ripple-blockchain-toolkit/ MIT MIT Media Lab creates disruptive technologies that happen at the edges. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/mits-adoption-ripple-blockchain-theory/ Google Ventures “GV, formerly Google Ventures, is the venture capital investment arm of Alphabet Inc.” Press: https://gigaom.com/2013/05/14/google-ventures-invests-in-opencoin-the-firm-behindbitcoin-exchange-ripple/ W3 “The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web.” Press: https://ripple.com/insights/promoting-interoperability-and-web-payment-standardswith-the-w3c/ Andreessen Horowitz “Andreessen Horowitz is a $4 billion venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Early investor in Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb etc.“ Press: https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-labs-finalizing-a-us30-million-funding-round CME Group “CME Group is the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace.” Press: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/ripple-labs-raises-28-million-series-chicagomercantile-exchange-seagate-1432036934 IDG Capital Partners “Founded in 1993, IDG Capital Partners was one of the first foreign venture capital firms to enter the Chinese market and focus exclusively on Chinese companies.” Press: http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/idg-capital-partners-and-google-venturesinvest-in-ripple-developer-opencoin-1790495.htm

24


Seagate (Ripple shareholder) “Seagate is the global leader in data storage solutions, developing amazing products that enable people and businesses around the world to create, share and preserve their most critical memories and business data.” Press: http://www.coindesk.com/seagate-ripple-investment-shows-were-serious-aboutblockchain-tech/ Santander InnoVentures (Ripple shareholder) “We aim to support the digital revolution to make sure Santander customers around the world benefit from the latest know-how and innovations across the Banking Group’s geographies.” Press: http://www.coindesk.com/santander-innoventures-adds-4-million-to-ripples-series-around/ Digital Ventures (Ripple shareholder) “BCG Digital Ventures is a corporate investment and incubation firm. We invent, build and invest in startups with the world's most influential companies.” Press: http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/thailand-digital-ventures-invests-us-basedblockchain-firm-ripple-53627/ Core Innovation Capita (Ripple shareholder) “Our portfolio companies harness technology to build transformative financial products and services.” Press: http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/01/26/digital-payments-company-ripple-labsfinalizing-30-million-funding-round/ Susan Anthey (Ripple Advisor/Board of Directors) “She advises governments and businesses on the design of auction-based marketplaces, notably since 2007 serving as a long-term consultant to Microsoft Corporation in a variety of roles, including chief economist.” Michael Barr (Ripple Advisor) “He served from 2009-2010 as the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, and was a key architect of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.” Donald Donahue (Ripple Advisor) “Previously, Donahue served as the COO and then the CEO of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the principal post-trade infrastructure organization supporting U.S. securities and derivatives markets, which processes transactions worth more than $1.6 quadrillion annually.” Karen Gifford (Ripple Advisor) “Her work at the New York Fed included the successful defense of a claim by the Central Bank of Iran arising out of the hostage crisis for over $1 billion, and co-heading an investigation into misconduct in the sales and trading of complex leveraged derivatives at Bankers Trust.”

25


Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (Ripple Advisor) “As youngest Defense Minister in German history, he led the most significant structural reform of the German armed forces since the Bundeswehr’s founding. During his time in office he was Germany’s most popular politician.” Greg Kidd (Ripple Advisor) “Prior to Promontory, he was a senior analyst at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Greg also is a co-founder of a startup fund with early round investments in Twitter, Square, Coinbase, Coin, Shift, Stockpile, Ledger X, Kabbage, 3taps, and numerous other marketplaces, messaging, and payments companies.” Anja Manuel (Ripple Advisor) “Anja Manuel is a Co-Founder and Partner along with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in RiceHadleyGates LLC, a strategic consulting firm that assists senior executives at major U.S. companies in key emerging markets such as China, India and the Middle East.” Matthew Mellon (Ripple Advisor) Member of the Bank of New York Mellon founding family. He founded Mellon Drexel, a digital telecommunications company working to issue three billion mobile wallets worldwide, is a strong advocate of digital currencies, and serves as Chairman of the Chamber of Digital Commerce.” Mariano Belinky (Ripple Board of Directors) “Mariano Belinky is Managing Partner at Santander InnoVentures – a FinTech venture capital fund fully-owned by Grupo Santander, investing both capital and resources in companies globally.” Doug Chertok (Ripple Board of Directors) “Doug has founded, advised and invested in early-stage companies for over twenty years. He also founded Vast Ventures, a seed fund investing in technology and consumer products with an IRR exceeding 90% over ten years.” Young Guo (Ripple Board of Directors) “Prior to joining IDG Capital, Young was a member of the Soros Fund Management in New York from 1996 to 1999, where he was involved in managing a $3 billion private equity fund.” Chris Larsen (Ripple Executive Chairman) “Chris Larsen is Executive Chairman and co-founder of Ripple. Prior to Ripple, Chris cofounded and served as CEO of Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending marketplace, and E-LOAN, a publicly traded online lender. Chris is also member of the Advisory Board of HSBC and the IMF.“

26


David Schwartz (Ripple's Board of Directors) “In July of 2013, David Schwartz was elected to the Board of Directors of Ripple by the stockholders. He is currently the Chief Cryptographer at Ripple and one of the original architects of the Ripple protocol. He began work on Ripple in late 2011, investigating the use of distributed agreement protocols to solve the double spend problem in cryptographic payment systems. Prior to joining Ripple, David Schwartz was Chief Technical Officer for WebMaster Incorporated, a Santa Clara software developer. He developed encrypted cloud storage and enterprise messaging systems for organizations like CNN and the National Security Agency (NSA). Known as “JoelKatz,” he is a respected voice in the digital currency community.” Gene Sperling (Ripple's Board of Directors) “Gene Sperling served as National Economic Council Director and National Economic Advisor under President Clinton from 1997 to 2001 and then under President Obama from 2011 to 2014.” Marcus Treacher (Ripple's Global Head of Strategic Accounts) "Treacher has held a position as one of SWIFT’s more than 20 board members since 2013, where his responsibilities include overseeing its corporate advisory group and serving as a member of its banking and payments committee and technology committee."

27


4.3 Resellers/ service providers Accenture “We have extensive relationships with the world's leading companies and governments and work with organizations of all sizes—including 89 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than three quarters of the Fortune Global 500.” Press: http://www.consultancy.uk/news/2799/payments-platform-ripple-inks-partnership-withaccenture CGI Global “CGI has a long history of shaping and driving innovation in banking and payments, helping to build SWIFT, CHAPS and other payment systems.” Press: https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-and-cgi-team-up/ Crypto Facilities As a leader in digital asset derivatives, Crypto Facilities will create a marketplace for XRP derivatives. Press: https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-partners-with-crypto-facilities-for-xrp-derivatives/

Deloitte “Deloitte is one of the "Big Four" and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals. Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, enterprise risk and financial advisory services with more than 244,400 professionals globally.” Press: http://www2.deloitte.com/lu/en/pages/technology/articles/deloitte-integration-rippletechnology-temenos-t24.html D+H “A leading provider of technology solutions to financial institutions globally, today announced that it has partnered with Ripple to deliver innovative payment capabilities by integrating Global PAYplus, its global payment services hub, with Ripple's distributed ledger technology, creating a foundation for further disruptive payments innovation.” Press: http://www.dh.com/news-events/press-releases/dh-partners-ripple-deliver-innovativepayment-capabilities-and-create Earthport “Among the FinTech50, Earthport is a regulated Financial Institution under the auspices of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, transforming the future of cross-border payments.” Press: http://www.americanbanker.com/news/bank-technology/real-time-remittances-in-playfor-earthport-with-ripple-labs-deal-1071497-1.html Expertus Clients include - Bank of Montreal, Pavilion Global Markets, Central 1, CIBC, Canada Pension Plan, Desjardins, General Electric, Hedgeserv, ICD, Laurentian Bank of Canada, Mizuho Bank, National Bank of Canada, PSP Investment, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotia Bank, Software AG, United Nations, Viacom, Dupont, First National Bank, International Air Transport Association, Investors Group, Sony, Canadian Payment Association, Manulife Bank, Western Union, Virgin Atlantic, Firma Foreign Exchange, Silicon Valley Bank, Care Press: https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/64716/ripple-and-expertus-team-up-forblockchain-testing-service

28


IntellectEU “10+ years of hands-on financial integration experience. International presence (USA, Belgium, Portugal, Ukraine). Servicing Financial Institutions, Corporations, and Vendors SWIFT and Ripple integration experience and partnership.” Info: http://companyontop.com/c/304133 R3cev An innovation firm focused on building and empowering the next generation of global financial services technology. Press: http://www.coindesk.com/global-banks-test-ripples-digital-currency-new-blockchaintrial/ SBI Holdings “Ripple, global provider of financial settlement solutions, and SBI Holdings, Inc., global financial services company, today announced the creation of SBI Ripple Asia. The new company will build an engineering and sales force across Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, and ASEAN countries to sell and install Ripple’s enterprise solutions for cross-border payments at banks across the region.” Press: https://ripple.com/ripple_press/ripple-strikes-multi-national-deal-with-sbi-holdings-tomeet-growing-demand-for-ripple-solutions-across-asia/ Tas Group “TAS Group delivers software solutions for electronic money, payment systems, capital markets and ERP.” Info: http://www.tasgroup.eu/solutions/payment-networks/ripple Temenos T24 “Temenos serves over 1,000 financial institutions in more than 125 countries across the world. It claims to be used by 38 of the top 50 banks worldwide.” Press: http://www2.deloitte.com/lu/en/pages/technology/articles/deloitte-integration-rippletechnology-temenos-t24.html Volante “Volante Technologies, a software company specialized in the integration and processing of financial messages, data and payments within institutions and corporate enterprises.” Press: http://www.volantetech.com/about/media/press-releases/ripple-integration/ Yantra “Yantra Financial Technologies specializes in designing, developing and managing banking & electronic payment systems.” Press: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141103006189/en/Yantra-FinancialTechnologies-Integrates-Ripple-Protocol-Latest

29


5.0 technical insights/ whitepaper The solutions that Ripple is offering to its banking clients can be described as 'brilliant', but at the same time also as 'very complex' for people with a non-technological background. This document has been describing Ripple and XRP from a traditional investor's/ non-technological perspective. However, if you would like to take a technological deep dive, don't hesitate to check out the links below. It's fascinating!

Ripple Solutions Guide:

https://ripple.com/files/ripple_solutions_guide.pdf Interledger Whitepaper:

https://interledger.org/interledger.pdf The Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm:

https://ripple.com/files/ripple_consensus_whitepaper.pdf Any questions? The technical section of xrpchat.com is always a good place to stop by: https://www.xrpchat.com/forum/16-technical-discussion/

30

XRP - Taking the Fast Lane

Recommend Documents