In a series of regulatory achievements, blockchain company Ripple has marked another significant milestone by announcing the inclusion of its Irish subsidiary, Ripple Markets Ireland Limited, in the Central Bank of Ireland’s list of registered Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
Ireland’s Favorable Stance On Blockchain Innovation
According to the company’s announcement on December 20, Ripple’s registration as a VASP further solidifies its commitment to working closely with regulators worldwide to promote the adoption and benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrency technology in the enterprise sector.
Eric van Miltenburg, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Ripple, emphasized the importance of the Central Bank of Ireland’s decision, stating that it marks a “significant milestone” for Ripple’s presence in the region.
van Miltenburg further highlighted Ireland’s “supportive” stance towards the virtual assets industry and its reputation as a favorable operating base for companies like Ripple. van Miltenburg further stated:
Ireland has positioned itself as a supportive jurisdiction for the virtual assets industry and consequently as a great place for businesses like Ripple’s to operate, reinforcing our decision to select Ireland as our primary base for EU regulation. By providing regulatory clarity for the industry, Ireland – and the EU more broadly – are boosting confidence in the digital assets, payments, and fintech ecosystem and demonstrating their commitment to the long-term development of these industries.
Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, emphasized the significance of the Central Bank of Ireland’s registration, highlighting the company’s “remarkable momentum” in 2023.
Ripple Expands Global Compliance Efforts
Ripple’s strategic focus on regulatory compliance extends beyond Ireland. In October 2023, Ripple’s Singapore subsidiary obtained its Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Additionally, the blockchain company secured the majority of its 35 money transmitter licenses (MTLs) in the United States during the same year.
Moreover, in November 2023, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) approved the use of XRP within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
As reported by Bitcoinist, this approval enables licensed virtual asset firms within the DIFC to incorporate XRP, the native asset of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), into their range of virtual asset services.
Ripple, as a prominent contributor and user of the XRP Ledger, views this approval as a catalyst for unlocking new regional payment solutions and other virtual asset use cases on this network.
As of the current market data, XRP is trading at 0.6172, indicating a gain of 1.7% in the past 24 hours and a notable surge of 2.5% over the last seven days.
However, XRP has experienced a significant setback as Solana (SOL) has surpassed it in terms of market capitalization, reaching an impressive $33,545,341,877. In comparison, XRP currently holds a market capitalization of $33,528,227,422, according to CoinGecko data.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com