There has been a large amount of hesitation from the banking industry as a whole to become involved with cryptocurrency. This most likely stems from the fact that the anonymous nature of cryptocurrency has made it the payment form of choice for terrorists and other people who want to engage in criminal activity without getting caught. However, cryptocurrency is slowly moving towards the mainstream. Ripple is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world. Ripple’s CEO is named Brad Garlinghouse. He believes that it is time for banks around the world to embrace blockchain technology. However, his pleas have often fallen on deaf ears.
There is no question that Garlinghouse has a vested interest in banks changing their way of thinking where cryptocurreny is concerned. Ripple is currently involved in selling specially designed software that can enable a financial institution to perform transactions using blockchain. This could potentially allow these banks to have dealings with billions of people who want to move money around the world and lack the means to do so. Basically, Garlinghouse has been trying to convince the big banks that the future of their industry is in cryptocurrency. He believes they should get involved with it now and start integrating it into their business model. Not surprisingly, the large banks are taking a very cautious approach.
This “wait and see” attitude is something that the banking industry is notorious for. The banks want to see how cryptocurrency pans out before they begin to use blockchain as a standard part of their business dealings. Garlinghouse believes that cryptocurrency and blockchain are revolutionary technologies that can benefit the global population. This is because it would allow people to access foreign economies very easily. This would help to improve global commerce. It is just a matter of getting the big banks to get over their preconceived notions about cryptocurrency.
There is no question that cryptocurrency has a very shady past. Websites like The Silk Road sold illegal items and the primary form of payment they received was Bitcoin. The site has since been shut down and its creator was given a long prison sentence. However, it is hard for the banking industry to believe that cryptocurrency and blockchain can benefit their companies if they use it the right way. Garlinghouse wants Ripple to be at the forefront of the cryptocurrency revolution when the banking industry finally adopts blockchain on a large scale.
