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https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/70851/ripple-opens-office-in-singapore $550 billion in trade flow yearly https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/ripple-expands-asian-presence-new-office-singapore/ Ripple Asia Pacific managing director Dilip Rao: Singapore is leading the charge when it comes to streamlining money exchange, remittance and payments systems…Our new office can support this ambition and equally brings us closer to our customer base across the Asia-Pacific region, enabling banks, payment providers and corporates to make instant payments into-and-out of the country using blockchain.

(please check my profile for prior threads: this post builds off my country threads) ***"this is all speculation"*** The Monetary Authority of Singapore For several years now, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has taken a proactive approach in exploring and trailing blockchain technology for it’s possible application into their financial system. Since 2016, MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) has established a regulatory sandbox allowing Fintech companies to experiment within regulatory parameters.¹ MAS has also collaborated with Deloitte, R3, and a consortium consisting of HSBC, J.P. Morgan,Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and etc. on Project Ubin. Project Ubin is a proof-of-concept (PoC) of interbank payments being facilitated by distributed ledger technology (DLT). The blockchain also introduced the concept of a digital SGD (Singapore Dollar) within the ledgers that is distinct from all current existing forms of digital central bank money. With Project Ubin’s ultimate goal is to explore and help reduce risks and costs for cross border payments and securities.² MAS has even taken a step further in nurturing the FinTech environment by signing multiple FinTech cooperation agreements with overseas financial regulators including Financial Conduct Authority, UK (May 2016), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (June 2016), Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (September 2016), Korean Financial Services Commission (October 2016), Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution and the Autorité des Marchés Financiers of France (March 2017), Financial Services of Agency, Japan (March 2017) and the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (June 2017). In a CNBC interview this past October, Sopnendu Mohanty (chief fintech officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore ) stated that in regards to Project Ubin’s collaboration between MAS and the consortium of banks.³ With the successful conclusion of Project Ubin last March, MAS stated that it was “in the early stages of discussions to develop links from Singapore to other countries using DLT to allow cross-border payments to settle directly using central bank accounts.”⁴ Which exactly aligns to implied future explorations on Project Ubin, cross border payments.⁵ The innovation occurring in the environment of Singapore has caught the attention of several nations due to it’s potential disruption in the current financial system. One nation being Bahrain, a country that has ambitions to be completely integrated in blockchain technology by 2020.⁶ The Economic Development Board (EDB) of Bahrain being tasked with this goal, has been observing MAS and their progress. Eventually leading to Bahrain having discussions with Singapore’s central bank to devise plans for a pilot blockchain project in the Gulf state.⁷ Potentially being a foreign partner in foreign currency transactions that Ravi Menon (the managing director of the central bank of Singapore) had hinted Project Uben wanted to explore in future phases of the project. And this further developed this past November when MAS disclosed that “a collaboration on cross-border payments with the Bank of Canada using blockchain technology” had been reached.⁸ The collaboration intends to expand Project Ubin beyond Singapore’s borders to Canada’s counterpart, Project Jasper. An interbank payment system developed by Canada’s central bank based off of distributed ledger technology.⁹ Gradually overtime, Singapore’s central bank has been able to negotiate and form partnerships with other central banks to explore the utilization of distributed ledger technology into the financial system and possibly build corridors based off the technology with one another. Enter Ripple When MAS was forming the FinTech regulatory sandbox in 2016, Ripple was sought out as a consultant for the establishment of the project.¹⁰ Not only did this demonstrate that Ripple is viewed as a leader in the FinTech space but that the company has expertise in understanding the importance of regulatory compliance between companies and regulators. Along with that, Ravi Menon (Managing Director of MAS) praised Ripple for having a solution to real-time gross settlement, currency exchange, and remittance thru DLT. Menon also stated that, MAS reaching out to Ripple also revealed that government institutions such central banks and financial regulatory authorities have been consulted and in discussions with Ripple for cooperation in the development of projects. Which is evident by the number of proof-of-concepts Ripple has participated with both central banks and regional banks. In latter reports on Project Ubin progress released by MAS, the central authority revealed that a prototype integrating the Ripple blockchain for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) transactions across geographies would be trialed.¹² While in Singapore these past few weeks, multiple news outlets are reporting that Ripple is in discussions for its technology to be part of the MAS's blockchain experiment in cross-border payments.¹³ ¹⁴ The Bank of England also held it’s own proof-of-concept (PoC), selecting Ripple to help to demonstrate cross-border payments and settlement using two different Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems.¹⁵ The PoC intention was to demonstrate synchronisation of cash movements made using two simulated RTGS systems utilizing the open-source Interledger Protocol (RippleNet). The results of the PoC were ultimately shared later last year with words of encouragement for Ripple’s technology.¹⁶ The Bank of England sharing thru a report, The report ended by disclosing that Implying that the Bank of England and Ripple’s discourse has yet to end and leaving an open question on the possible utilization of XRP as a liquidity solution. And we know that Ripple has been holding discussions with several central banks and authorities thru social media. Notable examples such as Ryan Zagone (Director of Regulatory Relations at Ripple) with the central bank of Indonesia and Dilip Rao (Global Head, Infrastructure Innovation at Ripple) with Bahrain EDB’s Khalid Saad. Interestingly enough, this past December EDB’s Khalid Saad gave an insightful interview to Singapore Business Review on Bahrain and Singapore’s relationship in the financial technology space. When asked about Singapore’s innovation in FinTech, Saad replied by saying Also elaborating to a question regarding both country’s collaborations, With Saad’s photo with Dilip Rao, Bahrain’s intentions to build a corridor between themselves and Singapore, and MAS wanting to expand Project Ubin to partner countries utilizing RippleNet for cross-border payments, it certainly leaves the strong possibility that Ripple will more than likely be involved. And there is one other subtle but odd coincidence in regards to Bahrain and Ripple. There is, and appears to be an increasing an amount of nodes within Ripple’s network displaying conflicting time zones that are intended for the Bahrain region. One other noteworthy point, Khalid was appointed as CEO of Bahrain FinTech Bay (“BFB”).¹⁹ Saad will oversee the implementation of BFB’s long and short-term objectives which will certainly align with the nations goal to have country wide adoption on blockchain technology by 2020. Returning to the previously mentioned collaboration between the central banks of Canada and Singapore on cross-border payments based on the utilization of DLT, unveils subtle connections to Ripple.²⁰ MAS is not the only participant with ties to Ripple but the majority of the participants in Project Jasper have individually trialed Ripple technology or collaborated with the company.²¹ Banks and collaborators consisting of the Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, TD Bank, and R3 have all direct trials and collaborations with Ripple at some point in time.²² ²³ Essentially if not all, almost all Project Jasper participants are cooperating with Ripple already. In the latest report released on Project Jasper, future exploration on central bank to central bank digital cross-border currency exchange is a priority. Specifically on how might a single-currency DLT zone best be connected with other currencies .²⁴ The report puts the central banks collaboration into perspective while Ripple blockchain technology seems to be the next logical step to be trialed. Ripple’s prominence in the finance world has grown so much that just this past November, Ripple alongside the IMF, held a Central Bank Summit in New York City. The summit was able to gather more than two dozen central banks from around the world. The summit provide the right environment to provide Both the IMF and Ripple also went in depth on the current financial system’s structure and shortcomings in cross-border payments. Proceeding with the advantages of adopting distributed ledger technology and the issuing of central bank digital currencies.²⁶ The collaboration between Ripple and central banks is just at the beginning as Ripple now has a Infrastructure Innovation team geared towards central banks and market infrastructures that will focus on What the Future Holds It is safe to say that Ripple has not only positioned itself excellent in regards to central banks and regulators, but Ripple’s technology including it’s network and XRP, will also be compliant to however central authorities will want to impose regulations on cryptocurrencies. Implying that XRP will meet KYC, AML, and CTF standards in order for the digital asset to be adopted for both institutional and commercial applications. And because of the familiarity with RippleNet and understanding of XRP, central banks will be less likely to ban the digital asset outright considering it’s potential utilization as a liquidity solution for the markets. Both scenarios alluded to by MAS just this week, With Ravi Menon speaking on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, and mentioning that Currently regulators are beginning to cooperate with one another with the intentions to how properly regulate and address the growing cryptocurrency market.³⁰ Luckily both Ripple and XRP will probably be spared of any outright prohibitions of cryptocurrencies in the future, as most regulators will have at least been in discussions with the company in the past. An example being both Chinese³¹ and Japanese authorities being joined by South Korea for the regulations on cryptocurrencies in the region when the former group has held discussions with Ripple. One thing is certain though: in regards to central banks, authorities and regulators, both Ripple and XRP are in the perfect position to be potentially adopted for global application soon. Sources 1. http://www.mas.gov.sg/Singapore-Financial-Centre/Smart-Financial-Centre/FinTech-Regulatory-Sandbox.aspx 2. https://www.opengovasia.com/articles/7845-mas-introduced-sgd-on-ledger-concept-for-blockchain-based-interbank-payment-system-poc 3. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/26/singapore-cryptocurrency-blockchain-trial.html 4. http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Media-Releases/2017/MAS-working-withindustry-to-apply-Distributed-Ledger-Technology.aspx 5. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/26/singapore-cryptocurrency-blockchain-trial.html 6. https://www.ccn.com/bahrain-signs-fintech-pact-singapore-amid-plan-country-level-blockchain-adoption/ 7. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bahrain-in-talks-with-singapore-on-blockchain-pilot-665012.html 8. http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Speeches-and-Monetary-Policy-Statements/Speeches/2017/Singapore-FinTech-Journey-2.aspx 9. https://www.ccn.com/singapore-canadian-central-banks-unite-blockchain-cross-border-payments/ 10. https://ripple.com/files/ripple_mas_sandbox_consultation_07_2016.pdf 11. https://ripple.com/insights/singapores-continued-investment-in-banking-innovation/ 12. http://www.mas.gov.sg/~/media/ProjectUbin/Project Ubin SGD on Distributed Ledger.pdf 13. http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/cryptocurrency-player-ripple-keen-to-set-off-blockchain-waves-in 14. https://themarketmogul.com/ripple-singapore/ 15. https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-selected-to-participate-in-the-bank-of-england-fintech-accelerators-exploration-of-the-use-of-blockchain-for-global-rtgs/ 16. https://ripple.com/insights/results-of-the-bank-of-englandripple-proof-of-concept-published-today/ 17. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/fintech/ripple 18. https://www.bahrainfintechbay.com/single-post/2017/12/13/Everything-you-need-to-know-about-Singapore-and-Bahrains-FinTech-relationship 19. https://www.bahrainfintechbay.com/single-post/2018/01/14/Press-Release-Bahrain-FinTech-Bay-appointment-of-Chief-Executive-Officer 20. https://www.ccn.com/singapore-canadian-central-banks-unite-blockchain-cross-border-payments/ 21. https://www.coindesk.com/bank-canada-demos-blockchain-based-digital-dollar/ 22.https://twitter.com/Ripple/status/659442643827474432?ref_src=twsrc^tfw 23. https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-and-r3-team-up-with-12-banks-to-trial-xrp-for-cross-border-payments/ 24. https://www.payments.ca/sites/default/files/29-Sep-17/jasper_report_eng.pdf 25. https://ripple.com/insights/ripple-hosts-worlds-central-banks-to-explore-next-generation-of-payments/ 26. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2017/11/01/sp103017-fintech-and-cross-border-payments 27. https://ripple.com/insights/exploring-innovation-payment-system-infrastructures/ 28. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2018/01/127084-singapore-deputy-pm-responds-amlanti-terror-financing-questions-regarding-cryptocurrency/ 29. https://www.ccn.com/singapore-central-bank-chief-wants-cryptocurrency-to-survive-crash/ 30. https://www.coindesk.com/report-south-korea-eyes-joint-crypto-regulations-with-china-japan/ 31. https://cointelegraph.com/news/ripple-talks-with-peoples-bank-of-china-key-to-chinese-blockchain-market EDIT 3-16-2018 https://www.coindesk.com/singapore-central-bank-touts-blockchain-for-cross-border-payments/ EDIT 6-22-2018 "The Governor also mentioned that the bank has begun working together with the Bank of Canada, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and some private-sector organizations to upgrade inter-bank cross-border payments, including initiatives based on DLT." https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-england-to-rebuild-settlement-system-to-interface-with-blockchain-platforms/amp?__twitter_impression=true EDIT 10-30-2018 (PAGE 28-32) BoC is working with MAS and BoE on blockchain cross border payments) https://www.bankofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/presentation-251018.pdf EDIT 11-15-2018 EDIT 12-5-2018 https://www.coindesk.com/r3s-new-corda-app-supports-payments-in-xrp-cryptocurrency

Blog URL: https://coil.com/p/Hodor/XRP-Update-Real-Business-vs-Speculation/SIaCLtS6Q If you follow XRP, you'll want to read about the latest major developments, including the formation of a new nonprofit foundation! 𝐑𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: CNBC interviews Brad Garlinghouse about Libra and blockchain regulation; The next SWELL conference is starting to become more well-defined; and Boubyan Bank becomes a member of RippleNet; 𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: Coil pays out its second installment of the Coil Boosting Pilot program; The Puma Browser publishes a new version of its browser for iOS with Coil support; and DWeb publishes a short biography of Stefan Thomas. 𝐗𝐑𝐏 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: Wietse Wind announces the new XRP Community Fund Foundation; Wietse Wind publishes a tool for encoding and decoding the new (optional) X-formatted XRP address; Rome Reginelli proposes the new TOML File specification; @DevNullProd shares its NYC XRP Meetup pics; Bitrue celebrates its one-year anniversary by scheduling an AMA with Curis Wang; Bitrue has decided to run its own XRP Validator; and Coingate offers cash-back for those using XRP for purchases. I hope you enjoy the read: Please feel free to share my blog with a friend or share it on any other platform - and thanks for doing so! My blog announcement links on other platforms: Twitter Reddit r/Ripple Reddit r/CryptoCurrency Reddit r/CryptoMarkets Reddit r/xrp Reddit r/RippleTalk Reddit r/alternativecoin Reddit r/CoilCommunity Bitcointalk - alt coin sub forum Bitcointalk - XRP speculation thread

Hi All, I am a newbie at this. I have been reading up on cryptocurrency and am ready to purchase some. I have been trying to purchase XRP for several days now. I would like to know anyone here from Singapore who have bought XRP and what is your method? What are the fees involved going through the different avenues. I am considering to buy bitcoin from coinhako and then transfer to Kraken to purchase XRP. Anyone has any view on this? Also, how do I transfer bitcoin from coinhako to kraken? If I am not mistaken, Bitstamp accept credit card purchase, but the service fee is 5%. Please help. Appreciate it much...

Blog URL: https://xrpcommunity.blog/let-critical-thinking-be-your-guide/ In my latest blog I review all the latest news - and I describe why critical thinking is guiding crypto investors to XRP. 𝐑𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: Brad Garlinghouse gives a sterling interview on hot-button topics at the Singapore Fintech Festival; CIMB Group announces their membership in RippleNet; SendFriend gets specific with regards to their xRapid implementation schedule; Evan Schwartz explains how Ripple views Layer Two; and Version 4.0 of xCurrent includes a surprise you'll want to see. 𝐂𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: Stefan Thomas and Ben Sharafian sit down for an interview with Epicenter, and it is a big one. 𝐗𝐑𝐏 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬: WietseWind reveals that XRP Ledger History is now available to the general public via Google Big Query; KingBlue makes phenomenal progress on the Uphold Referral contest; and an XRP fan publishes an "epic movie trailer" style of video about XRP. And WietseWind announces Paper Gift Accounts for the XRP Tip Bot, just in time for the holiday season! I hope you enjoy the read & thank you for the feedback! Feel free to share my blog on any platform - and thank you for doing so! My blog announcement links on other platforms: Twitter Reddit r/Ripple Reddit r/CryptoCurrency Reddit r/CryptoMarkets Reddit r/xrp Reddit r/RippleTalk Reddit r/alternativecoin Bitcointalk - alt coin sub forum Bitcointalk - XRP speculation thread

XRP and its ecosystem components are the health foods that the crypto market needs. We have two new exchanges supporting XRP; one from Nigeria and another one - the second one in four days - from Singapore! I also cover news about Coinjar and the Bitcoin Superstore, and wrap up with coverage of two new videos released by Ripple. All that - and more - in today's blog: Hope you enjoy the read & please leave any feedback below. Feel free to share my blog with a friend - or on any other platform or media - and thanks for doing so! Twitter Reddit r/Ripple Reddit r/CryptoCurrency Reddit r/CryptoMarkets Reddit r/xrp Reddit r/RippleTalk Reddit r/alternativecoin Bitcointalk - alt coin sub forum Bitcointalk - XRP speculation thread

***IF YOU HAVE NOT YET, PLEASE READ MY PREVIOUS THREADS ON THE GATES FOUNDATION AND INDIA*** Unlike in India, there is no singular centralized effort driving Ripple adoption but more of a collected effort done by multiple parties. However, most of these parties are being guided and aided by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in each of their respective ventures. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) The MAS is Singapore's central bank and financial regulatory authority. Compared to other central banks, MAS has been proactive when involving trialing and adopting new financial technology. Last year MAS established a fintech regulatory sandbox intended to MAS intentions is to create a space that promotes the exploration of fintech and avoid An outcome that MAS says is "undesirable" as there are promising innovations waiting to be taken advantage of. http://www.mas.gov.sg/Singapore-Financial-Centre/Smart-Financial-Centre/FinTech-Regulatory-Sandbox.aspx http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Media-Releases/2016/MAS-Issues-Regulatory-Sandbox-Guidelines-for-FinTech-Experiments.aspx On top of hosting the regulatory sandbox, MAS conducted "Project Ubin". The project, which consisted of a group of Singaporean banks, served as a prototype payment system utilizing distributed ledger technology that allowed bank users to exchange currency with one another without long processing fees, intermediaries, or expensive processing fees. Along with the banks and MAS, R3 also participated in the project. http://www.mas.gov.sg/~/media/ProjectUbin/Project Ubin SGD on Distributed Ledger.pdf With the conclusion of phase one, MAS has plans for two spinoff projects. The first project, driven by the Singapore Exchange (SGX), focuses on making the fixed income securities trading and settlement cycle more efficient through DLT. While the second project focuses on new methods to conduct cross border payments using central bank digital currency. Along with that, http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publications/Media-Releases/2017/MAS-working-with-industry-to-apply-Distributed-Ledger-Technology.aspx (keep this in mind, MAS are in discussions with other central banks on using DLT for cross-border payments) But where is Ripple on all this? During MAS's sandbox initiative, Ripple was sought as a consultant for the project. https://ripple.com/files/ripple_mas_sandbox_consultation_07_2016.pdf https://ripple.com/files/ripple_comments_mas_ppf.pdf Along with that, Ravi Menon (Managing Director of MAS), praised Ripple for having a solution to real-time gross settlement, currency exchange, and remittance thru DLT. https://ripple.com/insights/singapores-continued-investment-in-banking-innovation/ And in Project Ubin's latest report, Ripple was mentioned in their future focus section for Phase 2 of Project Ubin. Deloitte (a contributor to the project and a partner of Ripple) mentions the prototype integrating the Ripple blockchain to allow Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions across geographies. So to summarize MAS's future ventures, 1. They want to connect with other central banks thru DLT for cross border payments 2. The Ripple blockchain has been integrated into the prototype to be used for cross border transactions Onto the Middle East........... Bahrain The nation of Bahrain thru the leadership of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB), has been tasked to lay the foundation for a national adoption of blockchain technology. Bahrain wants to position itself as a leader in financial technology just as how Singapore has become. Khalid Al Rumaihi, CEO of the EDB, has stated that https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/kingdom-bahrain-aims-country-level-blockchain-adoption/ Meanwhile the government also wants to establish a ‘regulatory sandbox’ that would serve as a regulator-friendly space that complies with Bahrain laws to enable research and testing of new Fintech products and innovations specific to the region’s requirements. If this is all sounding similar, it's for good reason. The EDB is drawing inspiration from none other than Singapore/MAS's blockchain pilot project, "Project Ubin". https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/kingdom-bahrain-aims-country-level-blockchain-adoption/ And to take it even further, EDB has held discussions with MAS on deploying a pilot blockchain project and has even signed a partnership with the Singapore FinTech Consortium. https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bahrain-signs-fintech-pact-singapore-amid-plan-country-level-blockchain-adoption/ http://infocoin.net/en/2017/03/02/singapore-and-bahrain-plan-to-build-a-blockchain-pilot-project/ http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bahrain-in-talks-with-singapore-on-blockchain-pilot-665012.html So the fintech environment is beginning to resemble the Singaporean environment while also being shaped by the Singaporean Consortium and possibly MAS. Along with that development, blockchain has already begun it's penetration into the Bahrain's banking system thru Bank ABC. Bank ABC, formerly known as the Arab Banking Corporation, became the first financial institution in the MENA region to join the R3 blockchain consortium. https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bahrain-bank-first-mena-region-join-r3-blockchain-consortium/ There also has been one interesting development in the nation with one of Ripple's partners. Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group has a number of subsidiaries that include Tata Communications and Tata Consultancy Services. Ripple and Tata thru Tata Consultancy Services's TCS BaNCS have cooperated with another in India to provide financial solutions for Indian banks. We also know thru employee profiles, that there have been experiments with Ripple's technology in processing cross border payments. Interesting enough, we know Tata Consultancy Services has also launched an Aadhaar enabled payment platform allows retailers integrate payments across multiple channels through a single interface. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/tata-consultancy-services-starts-aadhar-enabled-payment-platform/articleshow/58361092.cms Just recently Tata Communications was chosen by Balteco as a cloud partner by utilizing Tata Communications’ IZO™ Cloud Enablement Platform. The significance of this partnership is simple. Batleco, which was established by the government, is the principal telecommunications company in Bahrain. As of today, Batelco remains majority state-owned by the Mumtalakat (Bahrain's sovereign wealth found). And the company itself remains as the majority telecommunications provider for the state. The infrastructure is being laid out..... http://batelco.com/news-media/batelco-and-tata-communications-sign-agreement-to-expand-the-reach-of-their-global-connectivity-data-centre-solutions-for-customers/ And as an update on Bahrain's "sandbox", it has opened this past summer with two tech firms already entering it. NOW Money (who Dilip Rao seems to be a fan of) and Tramonex being those two tech firms, were assisted and advised by the EDB to register into the regulatory "sandbox". http://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/banking-finance/377682-first-two-tech-firms-enter-new-bahrain-sandbox On NOWMoney, http://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/banking-finance/377682-first-two-tech-firms-enter-new-bahrain-sandbox On Tramonex, http://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/banking-finance/377682-first-two-tech-firms-enter-new-bahrain-sandbox https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/fintech-nowmoney-migrant-workers Tramonex has recently begun to test cross currency payments on blockchain. http://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/innovation/tramonex-gets-approved-uk-regulator-issue-currency-blockchain/ https://bankinnovation.net/2017/02/tramonex-to-use-smart-contracts-for-cross-currency-money-transfer/ UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Similar to Bahrain, the UAE is striving to become a fintech pioneer. Dubai in particular wants to become the first fully blockchained-powered city in the world. This challenged, backed by the UAE government, is undergone by the Smart Dubai Office (SDO). https://cointelegraph.com/news/suddenly-dubai-aims-to-become-first-blockchain-powered-city-by-2020 In the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) was established by the government to be an international financial center for local, regional and international institutions. And for the past year, it has been extremely active in both the cross border payments space and the fintech realm. This past February, the ADGM and the central bank of Bahrain (CCB) signed legislature intended https://www.adgm.com/mediacentre/press-releases/abu-dhabi-global-market-and-central-bank-of-bahrain-form-partnership-to-enhance-cross-border-cooperation/ Along with forming a partnership with CBB, ADGM has also signed an agreement with none other than MAS. The collaboration between both parties is focused on fintech innovation and cross-border activity. http://fintech.adgm.com/adgm-and-the-mas-collaborate-to-foster-fintech-innovation-and-cross-border-activities/ And ADGM themselves also has it's own regulatory sandbox which consists of five participants. With the most notable participant being.....NOW Money. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/17/abu-dhabi-global-market-admits-first-five-fintech-start-ups-into-its-reglab-sandbox.html Along with all of this, ADGM has also joined the R3 blockchain consortium. https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/abu-dhabi-regulator-joins-r3-blockchain-consortium/ http://www.econotimes.com/ADGM-becomes-first-regulatory-body-in-MENA-region-to-join-R3-blockchain-consortium-712252 We are also aware that Ripple themselves have made partnerships with multiple financial institutions in the nation, with one being with UAE Exchange. UAE Exchange is a major UAE Forex and remittance house. The CEO of UAE Exchange, Promoth Manghat, commenting on the collaboration https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/uae-remittance-giant-taps-ripple-instant-blockchain-international-payments/ The UAE Exchange themselves are part of some notable collaborations. Just this past summer the UAE Exchange and the ADGM signed an agreement to support, develop and promote the FinTech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates. http://timesofoman.com/article/114869/Business/UAE-Exchange-signs-pact-with-Abu-Dhabi-Global-Market But the most interesting collaboration (in my opinion) that the UAE Exchange is a part of is it's membership in the Indian "Bankchain" consortium. The very same blockchain consortium in India that I had previously mentioned in my prior post on India. https://www.coindesk.com/indias-bankchain-consortium-launches-blockchain-kyc-system/ Even more interesting, the UAE Exchange has already developed a digital payment platform called XPay Wallet that is already integrated to the UPI Service (Aadhaar). http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/uae-exchange-launches-xpay-wallet/article7480861.ece http://www.financialexpress.com/economy/uae-exchange-backs-govt-on-demonetisation-through-xpay-cash-wallet/443279/ http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2017/04/18/8528945.htm There is also has been activity with some UAE banks with the most publicized Ripple partnership in the nation being the one with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD). https://www.nbad.com/en-ae/about-nbad/overview/newsroom/2017/01-02-2017.html But there is one other bank in the country conducting blockchain trials that has ties to Ripple, Emirates NBD. Back in 2015, Emirates NBD and Ripple collaborated with one another shown by this Emirates NBD presentation. https://www.infosys.com/confluence/PublishingImages/17/v2/presentation/Blockchain_Emirates NBD.pdf Emirates NBD has also recently been trialing cross-border transactions on blockchain technology with ICICI Bank under theguidance of the central bank of the UAE. https://www.coindesk.com/emirates-icici-complete-cross-border-blockchain-transaction/ https://www.coindesk.com/emirates-nbd-enlists-uae-central-bank-blockchain-check-trial/ Also Infosys who is cooperating with both Emirates NBD and ICICI Bank for their blockchain trial, is very positive on Ripple technology as well. https://www.infosys.com/industries/cards-and-payments/resources/Documents/digital-bank-blue-ocean-opportunity.pdf On one final note, Tata Communications also seems be laying the foundation in the nation as well by providing the infrastructure thru the IZO Cloud Service. http://www.itp.net/613631-tata-communications-expands-izo-private-cloud-footprint-in-the-uae There you have it, central banks, regulatory authorities, banks, exchanges, and fintech firms all working together from three different countries. The best part is, there is at least one more nation in the Arabian peninsula worth mentioning in a later post........ EDIT The Saudi central bank is working with the United Arab Emirates central bank to issue a digital currency that would be accepted in cross-border transactions between the two countries, UAE central bank governor Mubarak Rashed al-Mansouri told Reuters in December. https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1FZ0LD?__twitter_impression=true UAE and India have reached a historic agreement which will enable businesses on both sides to bypass the US dollar or any other currency https://t.co/RUwGxwOV0A?amp=1

Apologies for the long post but the Lian Lian announcement needs to be unpacked a bit because I find this fascinating and pretty exciting stuff. Happy to have the ideas tested a bit by the smart cookies on XRPChat. TL;DR? How Ripple is triggering a battle to become the new banking superpower in Asia. A key issue for China is their concern about currency outflows so any organisation that simplifies international remittance at a retail level will be under the spotlight. They know that wealthy Chinese nationals are using HK as a gateway to move funds out of China and they need to control that outflow. Some countries are making that job easier for China as part of trade negotiations - e.g. Australia imposed strict foreign investment rules that has had an immediate impact on foreign (read Chinese) investment in the Australian property market. That's not the whole story because the Chinese can't simply throw the baby out with the bathwater here. The Chinese have spent the better part of the last 40 years building up close economic ties and foreign investment in ASEAN, African and South American nations so international remittance becomes a very, very big deal. The Central Committee will therefore be watching this experiment very carefully. Why "experiment"? Since the Deng era, the Chinese government has been conducting all types of regional economic experiments in "Special Economic Zones". They often let the region run them on an informal basis (nods and winks) even where the practice is contrary to national laws. Then they sit back and watch to see how it plays out. One of the earliest examples were those conducted by Xi Zhongxun in Guandong Province in 1979. Who's Xi Zhongxun, you ask? Xi Zhongxun was the father of the PRC's current president, Xi Jinping. Xi therefore grew up in a region that was the Great Southern Gateway to Hong Kong and the West and a study case for testing capitalist ideas. That context should provide us with a clear pointer for where Xi and the Central Committee is heading with this. If this experiment is successful and avoids major financial pitfalls and adverse societal impact, any prohibitions mysteriously lift (sometimes without announcement) and we see the experiment converted into national policy. The acceleration after that is then unleashed (which is why I believe the introduction of xRapid won't be gradual, it will be sudden and explosive). The Chinese Government moves so quickly on regulation/de-regulation you can get whip-lash trying to keep up. Or worse, you wake up and find yourself in jail. What we are watching is effectively a banking technology arms race: we see a resurgent Shinzo Abe working the international circuit like you wouldn't believe, spruiking the Japanese economic recovery and drumming up support to have Japan become a Westerner-friendly counter-balance to China in Asia. The moves by SBI and Japanese FIs are significant for Ripple and XRP because it forces China/HK to play catch up and they won't like it for two main reasons: bare-knuckle nationalism and the battle to become a banking superpower in Asia. Singapore is the next one to watch. Thanks to the nature of Chinese politics and history, they can afford to calculate in generations, not years. Japan is more or less a single-party state so its political elite are effectively in the same position of strength. As is Singapore. All of this levels out the playing field and puts the heat on China who are, nonetheless, masters of the (very) long game. I bet the Central Committee is scrambling to formulate a coherent policy as we speak because they can't afford to be late to the party when the tectonic plates are shifting (apologies for the mixed metaphors). Luckily for us, they have the best and brightest working long hours to test the various scenarios including this "little experiment" being run by Lian Lian. I've stopped eating popcorn. It's just too much.

Ripple is expanding quickly: It is entering a collection of other countries and continents, enlarging the reach of XRP. In my Black Friday blog entry, I analyze the impacts of Ripple's transformation in the past few months, and determine the impacts on XRP price and liquidity. I also provide a preview of possible announcements in the remaining month of 2017, and early 2018! Hope you enjoy the read; please leave any feedback below. Feel free to share on social media and with anybody & thanks for doing so! My blog announcements on other media: Twitter Reddit r/Ripple Reddit r/Cryptocurrency Reddit r/Cryptomarkets Reddit r/XRP Bitcointalk altcoin subforum (TBD) Bitcointalk XRP Speculation Thread (TBD)

I just used my local bank's service, DBS Remit, a few days ago to deposit into my trading platform. It was an instant and free cross-border (SG to UK) payment transaction. DBS Remit - https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/support/bank-overseas-funds-transfer-service-standards.html The guy who "conceptualized" the whole thing "since 2012": https://sg.linkedin.com/in/harisivan So can I know what advantages do XRP provide over banks rolling out their own solution like DBS? Yes I've read joelkatz comments already, but I still don't get it when I see banks already providing instant remittance.

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/mas-issues-regulatory-guidelines-fintech-experiments We could be looking at another sandbox like Japan's in the making...