This week is the week of XRP regulation expansion, with Ripple obtaining a significant upgrade to its payment services license in Singapore. The upgrade has come at a very crucial time, with XRP price dropping by 5% on Monday and falling back to a key support level of $2.00. Nonetheless, improved Ripple regulatory stance could potentially improve its long-term momentum in Asia.
Ripple gets permission to expand crypto payment services in Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Ripple wider regulatory approval to expand the types of services that are included in its Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence. The new permission allows the Singapore subsidiary of Ripple, Ripple Markets APAC Pte. Ltd., to offer an expanded range of regulated, token-based settlement options.
Ripple Vice President and Asia-Pacific Managing Director Fiona Murray believes that the expanded licence will enable the company to better serve financial institutions that can accelerate the use of digital-assets in the region. The regulated operations enable Ripple to provide settlement through XRP, the RLUSD stablecoin, and other digital currencies, all in the controlled Singaporean financial framework..
Murray pointed to the on-chain activity in Asia Pacific, which he stated is increasing at a rapid speed, with the region experiencing close to 70% annual growth. Singapore, being at the center of this expansion, remains central to the global strategy of Ripple.
Ripple President Monica Long complimented MAS on clarity in regulation by saying that Singapore has a consistent framework that facilitates actual innovation. The new permissions, she said, empower Ripple to continue growing secure, transparent and efficient cross-border payments throughout Southeast Asia and invest more in the country.
Ripple Payments are Ready to spread to more regions.
The upgraded licence will greatly increase Ripple Payments, the flagship cross-border settlement product of the company. Ripple Payments is a speedy, dependable, and straightforward flow of payments, offering on- and off-ramp assistance to banks, crypto exchanges, and fintech enterprises across the globe.
By having full MPI, Ripple is now able to operate the underlying blockchain infrastructure of institutions interested in integrating digital-asset based payments.
The platform facilitates settlement flows through digital tokens like RLUSD and XRP in addition to simplifying operational processes end to end. According to Ripple, it enables financial institutions to concentrate on customer experience as opposed to technical complexity.
The further growth of Ripple in Asia Pacific is more consistent with the regional trends. APAC is the most rapidly expanding center in the world in terms of real digital-asset usage, supported by Singapore being a global crypto-friendly jurisdiction. Its more recent collaboration with Ripple, Mastercard, and Gemini as a pilot project to settle fiat card payments in RLUSD only solidifies its increased relevance to the blockchain payments industry.
XRP Slides 5% as Token Tests $2.00 Support
Although Ripple is cheering the regulatory gains, the performance of XRP in the market has gone the other way. The token dropped by 5% on Monday following a sharp rejection around its 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).
The crash returns XRP to the psychological support of $2.00. The token might make another retest of the 20-day EMA, which may prove a renewed buyer strength should there be a decisive bounce. A decline below $2.00 would however unlock further losses with $1.60 turning out as the next significant area of support.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Stochastic Oscillator (STO) are both moving downward indicating growing bearish momentum in the short run. Regardless of the decline, the traders are paying close attention to the possibility of a regulatory progress by Ripple that could move the mood towards a recovery.
