Ripple\u2019s XRP token has lost momentum of late. A couple of weeks ago it was the second largest crypto asset by market capitalization by a good margin. At the moment it can\u2019t seem to get out of second gear as Ethereum streaks ahead increasing its lead.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s market wide crypto rally XRP has only managed to eke out a 2% gain taking it to $0.307 at the time of writing. It is down over 5% on the month while others around it have been making better gains. There have been questions about XRP market cap<\/a> and possible manipulation; it is currently being reported as $12.7 billion by Coinmarketcap.com<\/a>. This is almost $2 billion behind Ethereum which is making good gains recently in the lead up to Constantinople at the end of the month.<\/p>\n The news last week<\/a> that Wall Street giant JP Morgan intends to launch its own digital coin has drawn a big reaction in the crypto sphere. Many have said that this could be Ripple\u2019s largest rival and may even spell the end for it;<\/p>\n \u201cIf it turns out that the Blockchain\/Coin framework turns out to be a good one for banks transferring money around, then the JPM Coin should absolutely obliterate Ripple,\u201d Bloomberg business editor Joe Weisenthal tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n The arguments that the JPMCoin, which will be pegged to the dollar, could replace Ripple are strong. Tom Shaughnessy, principal at Delphi Digital, a crypto research boutique in New York, said; \u201cThis is a huge slap in the face for Ripple. Ripple\u2019s target market is cross-border payments and remittances and now JPMorgan\u2019s effort is a direct threat,\u201d<\/p>\n The relevance of these comments really depends on the usage and purpose of the new stablecoin. The bank\u2019s blockchain and digital treasury services head, Umar Farooq, explained;<\/p>\n \u201cWhen one client sends money to another over the blockchain, JPM Coins are transferred and instantaneously redeemed for the equivalent amount of U.S. dollars, reducing the typical settlement time.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This sounds remarkably similar to Ripple\u2019s xRapid platform which uses XRP instead of a stablecoin. The difference being that JPMCoin being pegged to the dollar is stable whereas XRP prices are still highly volatile. There are a number of other major differences; Ripple\u2019s system can handle multiple currencies and countries whereas JP Morgan\u2019s will only be in USD for its institutional clients according to Forbes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both solutions are centralized but JPMCoin will run on a Quorum based private permissioned blockchain that is owned by the bank making it even more centralized than XRP. Naturally Ripple boss, Brad Garlinghouse, picked up on this tweeting last week;<\/p>\n As predicted, banks are changing their tune on crypto. But this JPM project misses the point \u2013 introducing a closed network today is like launching AOL after Netscape\u2019s IPO. 2 years later, and bank coins still aren\u2019t the answer https:\/\/t.co\/39EAiSJwAz<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/e7t7iz7h21<\/a><\/p>\n — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) February 14, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nIs JPMCoin a Real Ripple Rival?<\/h2>\n
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