In this summer 2021 edition of the Ripple Drop, we examine how the XRP Ledger supports NFT innovation, Ripple’s efforts to create a more inclusive work environment and the APAC region as a growth powerhouse.
XRP Ledger Unleashes the Full Potential of NFTs
David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, shares the latest on the white-hot NFT trend and why the XRP Ledger is ideally suited to help grow NFTs even further.
Though collectibles are the biggest NFT use case today, David suggests we’re just scratching the surface. He envisions a future where NFTs are the foundation of all digital rights management, even one where consumers could move away from services like Kindle or Apple to directly own the rights to purchased books and movies.
David believes the XRP Ledger delivers a unique combination of the low cost, high speed and good payments features needed to streamline NFT creation at scale. In particular, he points to the Ledger’s ability to maintain consistent transaction fees—something which is impossible on most other platforms today—as a key benefit for both buyers and sellers.
David also reveals that federated sidechains—blockchains that operate alongside other blockchains—could be available for the XRP Ledger in the coming months, opening up a host of exciting possibilities including limitless transaction scalability and expanded DeFi capabilities.
Ripple’s D&I Efforts Empower Employees
Ripple’s Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion Alison Crawford provides an update on the company’s advancements in its D&I programs.
All laddering up to Ripple’s four D&I pillars, she details a number of initiatives over the last year: external efforts like showcasing the company’s diverse workforce, and internal initiatives like promotion and hiring, cultural and professional development building amongst leadership ranks and activating our seven Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
Alison views these employee-led ERGs as critical to ensuring that Ripple sees and embraces differences so that people can do their best work. She says it’s important that, as a global company, Ripple’s D&I programming focuses on the biggest opportunities in each region, while continuing to make progress on universal issues such as equal access and advancement for women.
Alison also proudly notes that Ripple has implemented the Rooney Rule, which ensures that at least two underrepresented persons make it past a certain stage of the interview process. And she is excited about using internal survey findings to accurately map the company’s benefits to the needs of Ripplers around the world.
Recording Remarkable Growth in APAC
Finally, Ripple’s new Managing Director for APAC Brooks Entwistle stops by to discuss RippleNet’s growth and momentum in the APAC region.
Having previously served in leadership roles in APAC at Goldman Sachs, the United Nations and Uber, Brooks notes a compelling regional need for money that can move across borders quickly, affordably, and in an environmentally friendly way. He attributes RippleNet’s 10x growth in transactions in APAC last year in part to its ability to provide easy value transfer for workers sending money home or families receiving remittances from abroad.
“We want to make sure they can do that in a way that more money, more value gets to those families and gets there faster than they’re able to do right now,” says Brooks.
Looking ahead, he foresees more growth in the region for Ripple, with the goal of continuing to rapidly move Ripple and its teams and technology through that exciting growth.
Watch the latest episode of The Ripple Drop to hear more.