Ripple
(XRP) has been recording low prices despite Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH),
Litecoin (LTC), among others appreciating since the year began. Unfortunately,
efforts by Ripple, the major holders of XRP, are seen as the reasons why XRP is
yet to make investors proud.

Having made it clear that it’s interested in revolutionizing the banking sector, Ripple has been on a spree to court banks and other financial institutions to use its services. However, Ripple has a range of products and services, of which xCurrent and xVia don’t make use of XRP. Then again, for institutions using XRP for liquidity, purchases are made through the OTC market, away from major exchanges where prices are priced subject to supply-demand. But, could the relationship between Ripple and financial be to blame for the low XRP price?

As
noted by The_Rippening, an XRP investor:

“Ripple contracts with partners prevent them from purchasing XRP on the open market. These partners wouldn’t have bought XRP at all, OTC or on the market if Ripple didn’t onboard them. They’re buying for the purpose of using xRapid, not as a speculative investment.”

XRP Price From 2017 To 2019

A quick view of XRP prices from May 2017 to May 30th, 2019, brings out a worrying trend. For instance, on May 3rd, 2017, the price of XRP was 6 cents. Towards the end of that month, the price increased to 27 cents and closed 2017 at a price of $1.35. Fortunately, the price maintained the momentum in 2018, where it opened the year at $2.34 on Jan 2, 2018. It even reached a high of $3 on Jan 5. Unfortunately, XRP lost steam and has been recording a price of between 20 cents and slight above 40 cents since then.

Top Financial
Institutions Have Partnered with Ripple

The low prices have been evident despite Ripple inking partnerships with notable banks and financial institutions. For example, in Feb 2018, Ripple and Lian Lian, a payment company in China, entered into a partnership where the payment company agreed to use xCurrent, one of Ripple’s banking products that steer clear of XRP. In 2018, Credit Agricole, another financial institution, was added into the list of Ripple’s partners. Credit Agricole was looking for a way to enhance money transfer between France and Switzerland.

Additionally, in September 2018, Ripple and the National Retail Bank of Saudi Arabia signed a deal for the bank to use RippleNet for global payments that are cheap and instant. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Euro Exim Bank also have a soft spot for Ripple.

XRP Investors Are
in For the Long Haul

Interestingly,
XRP investors are not ready to let the thought that XRP’s price will take a
while before appreciating sink into them. Instead, as one investor tweeted:

“This should give us more confidence in holding XRP long term. If the Ripple company just wanted to get rich and retire within a couple [of] years, they would have instructed their partners to buy off exchanges, then at a price of $10-$20 they would’ve made trillions. So, this is an indicator that they are truly looking to replace SWIFT; this is not a get rich quick and then disappear scheme. If Ripple wanted to, they could’ve pumped XRP to $30 by now, in my humble opinion. But they’re looking at the bigger picture.”

The post Ripple’s Contracts with Financial Institutions Keep XRP Prices Low appeared first on Ethereum World News.