Since I am new to the Steem Community, I wanted to write my first article based off some very exciting news I recently came across regarding the integration of virtual blockchain technology with ground based real world Financial Institutions.
This is something I had personally been asking myself for a while, such as which banks are using Cryptocurrency to exchange to other banks in order to lower their exchange rate and fees, and what is the coin they are using? Observing the current exchange platforms that offer USD to international currency exchange, wires and other formats far exceed the transaction fees that many virtual Altcoin platforms currently offer to date.
Back in the middle of November, American Express made an announcement that they would be partnering with Ripple, (XRP) Which is a Fintech Startup company that has been around since 2012, a company with a goal of enabling businesses and people to branch out from typical financial institution networks, or platforms like PayPal, Banks and uprising of the newly introduced "Cash" apps. Their goal is to build on the same platform as bitcoin, but increase the transaction speeds and lower the fees associated with these money transfers.
The unique thing about Ripple, is that it has a built in payment platform shell that can be built on top of, This feature has attracted a few international companies that are currently testing Ripples payment system to integrate with their systems in order to lower their transaction fees exponentially. It is not yet known if the Ripple coin system will be introduced as the format of moving currency for American Express, but in the event that it does it is highly likely to see an increasing rise in the price of this coin. This ties together with American Express' long term history of implementing new technologies to its services.
With a company structure based off high level customer service and lower fees has made a mark in the industry, and is one of the main reasons why many business owners choose American Express to begin with. This move marks one of the very first official introductions of blockchain technology to a Financial Institution, and we may begin to see other companies follow suit in this trend if it shows a high success rate.
By lowering the fees of international transactions to their clients, Amex will create a unique market that will make the platform appealing to businesses that utilize international transactions on a daily basis. As will the end customer reap the benefits of lower fees than the typical exchange(s) currently offered. One of the reasons why I believe Amex chose this platform is due to the fact that Ripple has already licensed their technology platform to 100+ banks, and has the backing of a few established financial holding companies.
XRP's trend before the news of this partnership was holding steady in the .10-20$ coin range. Taking into account the surge of bitcoin price that has naturally increased the price of many Altcoin, its recent uprising back into the top ten cryptocurrencies is very likely due to the high interest in this coin. The coin currently rests at .83 cents USD, .00005070 BTC. Year to date, XRP has grown nearly 7000% and had its market cap increased to over 7500%.
I have a strong feeling many will be on the lookout for this coin in the future as I am excited to see its growth and implementation of the blockchain into physical financial institutions.