Ripple continues to grow its empire with the official launch of Xpring, a new investment initiative that helps fund entrepreneurs in exchange for the utilization of XRP and the XRP Ledger.
‘We’re Uniquely Positioned to Support Entrepreneurs in a Meaningful Way’
Ripple — a San Francisco-based real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange and remittance network — has announced a new initiative, Xpring, “that will invest in, incubate, acquire and provide grants to companies and projects run by proven entrepreneurs.” In return, said entrepreneurs will use Ripple’s in-house digital asset, XRP, as well as the XRP Ledger.
Explains the Ripple team in an official announcement:
As a major contributor to the XRP Ledger codebase and large holder of XRP, we often hear from entrepreneurs and developers that they’d like support in one form or another to help them with their XRP-related projects. As one of the few blockchain companies with traction for a non-speculative use case, we feel we’re uniquely positioned to support entrepreneurs in a meaningful way.
In order to successfully launch the addition to the Ripple ecosystem, the company has made a significant hire. The San Francisco-based company has hired Ethan Beard — who previously served as Director of the Facebook Developer Network, as a Senior Vice President to lead both Xpring and Ripple’s developer program. Said Beard:
I love helping startups leverage new technologies and developments to grow. At Facebook, we saw companies in areas like gaming, music, and news use our platform to become big businesses. Blockchain and digital assets have the ability to solve important problems and XRP – with it’s speed, scalability and demonstrated real-world use case – is a great tool for startups and entrepreneurs to build businesses around.
The list of entrepreneurs which will utilize XRP is already extensive. According to the official announcement, the following have already received support from Xpring:
- Talent manager, entrepreneur, and founder of SB Projects Scooter Braun, who is working on several projects that will use XRP to better enable artists to manage and monetize their content.
- Stefan Thomas, inventor of the Interledger Protocol (ILP), creator of BitcoinJS, and co-founder of TxtBear, who recently launched Coil – a new project that will use XRP and the ILP for various micropayments applications.
- Serial entrepreneur and Omni CEO and Co-founder Thomas McLeod, who will soon be integrating XRP as a currency into Omni’s marketplace.
- Bart and Brad Stephens, co-founders of Blockchain Capital, who have the first fund to accept capital calls in digital assets with ‘a focus on driving innovation in the blockchain sector.’
Braun noted his pleasure with being part of the new initiative, stating:
Blockchain technology and digital assets like XRP will provide artists with new distribution channels and revenue streams. This creates more space for artistic freedom, and I’m excited our team is among the first in the entertainment industry to lean into the blockchain movement. This is only the beginning as we will continue to build out more use cases for XRP.
What do you think about Ripple’s new initiative, Xpring? Do you think this will lend more value to XRP and the XRP Ledger? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of AdobeStock, Ripple, Xpring
