I believe that there are a lot, if not the majority of people in the crypto community that are not a fan of any idea of a third party intermediary and therefore hate the sound of Ripple. Totally understandable, hence why Bitcoin was invented in the first place.
This made sense to me at first until I started asking the average person outside of crypto their thoughts on it. The response is overwhelmingly 'concerned' and they typically do not like it. The number 1 thing that is brought up as their qualm about crypto going mainstream is "no one is backing it". This is the first and foremost thought for everyone on the outside looking in and they're are currently 98-99% compared us 1-2% in the crypto realm after 9 years. Yes yes I know, no one is backing fiat since the 70s her in the U.S. etc but think about it, we are by far the minority who understand this and the majority aren't wild about for many crazy reasons(propaganda, silk road drug sales, and so on) but nonetheless, that is the case.
Psychology
Now, it is more of a perception of security to have a company facilitating their money transactions, but in general people actually like this. It gives them piece of mind. That said, I tend to think more realisticly than hopefully in my vision for the near future(5-10 years) of crypto and I see Ripple and XRP potentially being a big part of it. When people are ready to accept change and realize crypto is a real functioning thing that works, they are not going to want to jump into the deep end of the dark water in an unknown lake - this is how they currently view BTC(perception of no company, anon creator nowhere to be found, etc. They much rather want to slowly ease into a well lit pool(XRP). I think ppl want to be extra cautious while using something drastically new with something as precious as their money. Society will more than likely lean towards using a crypto kind of hybrid which could be much like or very well be XRP - or is at least viewed that way.
Who knows how it will pan out. There is a ton of psychology of the masses involved here that must be taken into consideration Vs what the crypto group on facebook want and talk smack about. That is just my thoughts on things after years of studying markets, human behavior, pschology, etc.
I think the idea of bitcoin is absolutely amazing without a doubt, do I think it will be implemented 100% as an actual currency any time soon or even years? No, unfortunately not.
When in a global market, I personally cannot justify hoping and waiting for what I want while in the meantime wait for everyone to 'come to' and understand all of this new crypto bank-free world. I think it can and will take time to build trust and considering the facts in front of us I think it is a great possibility Ripple and XRP will lead the way. I still see bitcoin holding immense value as the gold-like asset of crypto throughout this period and potentially forever as far as we know.
Nostro Accounts
The large banks and payment service providers will hold XRP and they will need to buy possibly multiple times. I'm not going to assume anything as for where they are going to buy and for how much - that is something out of my control.
What I do know is that large banks currently hold what are called "Nostro" accounts. When a bank would like to do business with a bank in a different country they will hold an account in that country's currency called a Nostro account. This account provides liquidity in which they can easily pay the other bank in their native currency. When these banks start using the Ripple interledger known as the ILP they will be connected. They then are able to then use the xRapid service which allows Bank A to send money in their currency (USD for example) that converts to XRP for a fast and secure transfer, then is converted to Bank B(Indian Rupee for example) totaling a complete transfer and settle time of 3-4 seconds. Banks not only like this transfer but more importantly enjoy the massive perk of freeing up the money from their Nostro account(s) - for the majority of banks this is estmately 30 million dollars amongst multiple Nostro accounts for multiple countries/banks in which they do business. It is monumental that these banks can now store XRP as a global currency, using the xRapid system, and re-allocate those previously locked Nostro funds into new investments.
According to Brad Garlinghouse there's currently $27,000,000,000,000 sitting in Nostro Accounts around the world to facilitate cross-border transactions with the current SWIFT system.
I would strongly believe this is precisely the reason is why Moneygram and Western Union are starting off right away piloting the xRapid service using XRP. I cannot imagine how many Nostro accounts they have in different countries' currencies around the world - not for long, ENTER XRP.
Progress
You must admit it is impressive the problem they are solving, their progress, and the many partnerships they're making. They are popping everywhere. Ripple is building a massive ecosystem while it seems as the many investors are sleeping on it because of their 'banker hate'. I believe this large network of businesses and banks will lead to an immense amount of transactions which in turn will have more of an effect on their deflationary model(small amounts of xrp burned with each transaction).
I also believe Ripple tackling regulation is bold and will pay off. I do not see this from many crypto at all and it is needed. Don't forget, yes we may be playing a new sport but we are still in their arena. We actually do need to work with them at least for the time being. I cannot tell you how that will unfold, all I can say is dyor on the Ripple ILP.
This is not trading advice, always do your due diligence to study the facts and I hope the best for you!
Thank You and Good Day.