Ripple to Assist Financial Firms Seeking to Offer Crypto Trading Services

San Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple recently announced that it will launch a product that will allow financial services companies to offer their clients access to crypto trading.

Ripple Liquidity Hub

In an official blog post, the company noted that the new product, dubbed the “Ripple Liquidity Hub,” will grant enterprise clients access to digital assets from a wide range of providers, including market makers, exchanges, and over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks.

The service will leverage smart order routing to provide enterprise clients with digital assets at the best possible rates in the market.

The announcement also revealed that the Liquidity Hub will initially provide support for six of the most prominent cryptocurrencies in the industry, with more digital assets scheduled to be added over time.

The first six coins include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and, of course, Ripple (XRP).

The blockchain company pointed out that the availability of these digital assets, however, will be determined by geographical locations.

Commenting on the new development, Asheesh Birla, the general manager at RippleNet said,

“We know full well the need for easy and efficient liquidity management. Crypto and financial institutions are embedded in our DNA. So, it makes perfect sense that as they prepare for a crypto-first world, our customers would want access to the same trusted one-stop shop for buying, selling, and holding crypto assets that have powered our own extensive work with financial institutions.”

Launching Next Year

As per the announcement, Ripple will add extra features to the Liquidity Hub, including staking and several yield generating functionalities.

Birla noted that the infrastructure for the Ripple Liquidity Hub is already mostly in place. The service is currently in its preview stage and is expected to go live in early 2022.

The first partner for the alpha version of the product is Coinme, America’s first licensed Bitcoin ATM provider.

Ripple Vs SEC Legal Battle Continues

Meanwhile, Ripple is still in an ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator alleged that the company and its executives had raised over $1.3 billion in an unauthorized securities offering.

Although a fake report emerged last month claiming that the SEC vs Ripple case is over, Ripple is yet to settle with the financial watchdog.