Ripple Will Protect Customers to Enable Innovation, Could the UK Adopt XRP First?

Yesterday, Ryan Zagone, the director of regulatory relations at Ripple published a report on the Ripple website in which he discusses a dialogue between Ripple and regulators/politicians at the UK Houses of Parliament. The report can be seen in full, here- https://ripple.com/insights/evolving-regulatory-dialogue-protect-consumers-enable-innovation/ Moreover, you can see a full video transcript of the event, here- https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/df1a1232-f145-4748-a561-d2cddea27746 According to Zagone:

“Until now, most conversations have hinged on the notion that “blockchain is good” and “digital assets are bad.” Yet, as policy makers took a close and thoughtful look at the technology, this view appears to be fading. The conversation today seems focused on real-world applications for both blockchain and digital assets.”

The underlying consensus here between both Ripple and the UK’s Cryptocurrency Task Force is that generally regulation should protect customers yet enable innovation. This means that regulators should be striving for control of security and data and not the freedom of choice presented by the blockchain. Innovation can be facilitated, providing the regulations allow it to. Zagone continues:

“There’s recognition that digital assets are tools. If they are good or bad depends entirely on how they are used. Consider a hammer. You can use it to build a house, but you can also use it as a weapon, a use case for which we have laws and punishments. A hammer is only deemed good or bad by its application. The same is true for digital assets. There is great potential for this technology to serve many positive use cases. Ripple’s work exploring how digital assets can connect fiat currencies more efficiently is one example.”

The important thing to take from this is that, by having this discussion, Ripple have presented themselves to the UK Government as a serious platform for safe and innovative cryptocurrency trading. This is a really bold sentiment and says an awful lot about the team behind Ripple, as both a currency and a movement towards cryptocurrency adoption. This is also good news for UK based cryptocurrency traders and investors as it does look as if the UK Governments Cryptocurrency Task Force are starting to soften up to the idea of an open but regulated crypto-sphere in the UK, away from the initial fears that they would implement all out bans. By allowing for open and honest discussion, led by Zagone and the Ripple team, the task force will of course see that there are some very serious people behind this industry and indeed, that it is not just a hub for criminals and scammers. Zagone concludes:

“For this type of innovation to flourish, balanced rules are needed. We’re optimistic that the broader conversation is evolving – that many believe an even-handed approach to digital asset regulation is best. This approach can enable the next era of global commerce and financial inclusion, while ensuring market safety and consumer protection.”

Perhaps this is the first sign that XRP could become the first fully adopted cryptocurrency within the UK. Let’s face it, getting the UK Government on board really does put Ripple in a good position to attempt to roll out such a programme. If XRP could be used to protect customers yet enable innovation, then there really would be no reason for the UK Government to try and stop this, Ripple know that and really, I think that’s the underlying justification for this whole thing. We need to see how this transpires, overall though, I think you will agree that this event shines a very positive light on the uncertain future of cryptocurrency in the UK.