By
Godfrey Benjamin
December 20th, 2023
The partnership with Lemonway and Xbaht will open a new path for the firm to enjoy what may turn out as a significant benefit in the long run.
Blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc is defying the current pangs being stirred by the crypto winter as it has inked a new partnership with two new partners in Europe including Lemonway and Xbaht.
According to the press release shared by the firm, the partnership is a major milestone as Lemonway, a Paris-based payment provider for online marketplaces, and Xbaht, a Swedish money transfer provider will now gain access to the On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product.
Ripple is looking like nothing it has been through in the past couple of years as the company’s American business is still being pressured by the yet-to-be-decided legal tussle it has with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
While the SEC brawl has served as a major stumbling block for the company’s growth in the United States with the end of its partnership with MoneyGram International Inc (NASDAQ: MGI), the firm has not saddled back in pushing new business partnerships around the world.
The partnership with Lemonway and Xbaht will open a new path for the firm to enjoy what may turn out as a significant benefit in the long run. The European market is ripe and with the integration of ODL as powered by RippleNet, the firm’s influence is on track to grow in the near term.
“We are delighted to be working with Lemonway and Xbaht, our first ODL customers in France and Sweden respectively. Since our inception ten years ago, Ripple has focused on using blockchain and crypto to build real use cases. This is why we have become the partner of choice for enterprises such as Lemonway and Xbaht looking to tap into global crypto liquidity to eliminate the traditional problems associated with cross-border payments such as lack of speed, unreliability and excessive cost,” said Sendi Young, Managing Director, Europe, Ripple.
Ripple Beyond Europe: ODL’s Positive Growth Curve
Notably, Ripple Inc’s business has grown more than anticipated when the $1.3 billion lawsuit was filed in December 2020. According to the company, its RippleNet’s transaction volume surged by as much as 9x year-on-year and currently stands at around $15 billion.
The technology presented by RippleNet is such that partners can access it 24/7 and its transaction fees is about 90% less than the alternative solutions around. Ripple has been introducing new partners in order to enable a broad expansion of its liquidity base. This arguably introduces additional flexibility for all of its hosted partners.
The company’s resolve to expand its business in this crypto winter has also been highlighted by its interest in acquiring some portions of the assets of the bankrupt Celsius Network.
“It’s not pleasant to see other companies in a tough situation in this market environment, but we do find ourselves growing fast, and also we are well funded,” said Young in an interview. “We are opportunistically looking at some strategic investment opportunities.”