Well, it's good news for Stellar investors. IBM's Blockchain World Wire officially went live. This can be verified on their website as well as the official announcement on Twitter.
This was announced in collaboration with Stellar Lumens way back at the end of 2018 and it's IBM's cross border payment network. This went live just yesterday in over 72 countries with over 47 Fiat currencies and 44 banks on the service.
This puts them with direct competition with Ripple's xRapid.
With Blockchain World Wire, IBM aims to leverage cryptocurrencies for faster and cheaper cross-border payments between banks.
Accompanying this launch was the announcement that six major banks have signed on to use cryptocurrency Stablecoins as well as Stellar Lumens to handle those cross border payments.
IBM's Blockchain World Wire is offering exactly or near exactly what Ripple's xRapid and xCurrent is offering.
If you are a bank and you want to save time or money, then Blockchain World Wire is a no-brainer faster cheaper transactions across borders.