One of the big pieces of news that came across the wires this week was BlackRock's potential newfound interest in XRP.
This came as no surprise to me as over the years I have heard some very credible sources discussing the heads of XRP visiting the White House, and the role XRP could play in replacing or partly replacing the SWIFT system.
Just XRP handling 10% of Swift transactions could potentially lead to an astounding valuation for Ripple compared to current levels.
For this reason, XRP has always been on my radar. Of course, getting to that 10% is the trick.
Source: Tradingview.com
The traditional Swift network, used by banks for international transfers, can be slow and costly due to intermediaries and currency exchange processes. So it makes sense innovators might look for an alternative.
Ripple has established strategic partnerships with numerous financial institutions worldwide, aiming to leverage XRP for cross-border transfers.
GateHub and XRPL Labs recently announced a strategic partnership that could reshape the landscape of blockchain integration
One of the standout aspects of this partnership is the capability it brings in establishing connections with major networks.
It is also noteworthy that multiple central banks worldwide are seeking to build government-backed currencies using Ripple’s solution.
Source: CryptoGeek
This has diminished the negative impact of losing partnerships with MoneyGram and SWIFT, which arguably meant that Ripple dropped On-Demand Liquidity.
Let's not forget that the government of Palau has entered a new stage in its collaboration with Ripple to launch the country’s stablecoin on XRP Ledger (XRPL).
From a technical perspective, XRP looks very attractive on a breakout above multi-year trendline resistance.
Santiment.net
Things look more questionable from an on-chain perspective as Development Activity is weak and Daily Active Address activity is very low and shows no strong upward trend.
Additionally, XRP could become a less appealing solution for cross-border payments when SWIFT, the largest provider of cross-border payments, upgrades its technology with Chainlink.
Therefore, a special mention has to go out to Chainlink. SWIFT recently confirmed working with Chainlink this year and other prominent financial institutions.
Chainlink is reportedly also on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DCCT) radar. The latter is the largest securities settlement system in the world.
Spurce: Twitter.com
Chainlink’s involvement with DCCT is the latest development involving the protocol that underscores efforts aimed at tapping into the tokenized assets segment. The latter is a segment that is expected to be among the biggest growth segments in WEB3.
In the interim LINK faces major pressure from a Token Unlock. Token unlocks usually lead to a higher circulating supply for the underlying asset. This is currently pressing the LINK token.
There is a notable chance that LINK could experience a significant amount of sell pressure over the coming week. However, this is not the first token unlock for LINK and previous such occasions did not yield a significant price change.
Source: Twitter.com
It should be noted that the technicals for LINK are not great, although it is currently very cheap from a historical perspective.
Source: Santiment.net
On-chain data also reveals subdued Daily Active Address and no major bullish price flows since the end of 2022.
Overall, XRP and LINK are two coins to watch, especially as CBDCs inevitably grow closer and BlackRock increasingly moves into the crypto space. Both have massive upside potential in the next bull run, especially if their fundamentals come to fruition.
