In recent weeks and months, Ripple has frequently announced new partnerships, as well as acquisitions. The most prominent example of this was (and is) the partnership with the second-largest money transfer service provider, MoneyGram.
A few days ago, Ripple expanded its geographic and strategic influence by acquiring the Icelandic crypto-trading firm Algrim. One of the goals of the acquisition is to improve services for RippleNet’s customers. An integral part of RippleNet, xRapid as a “guarantor” for low-cost and efficient cross-border payments.
However, Ripple now abandons the term xRapid and introduces the new product name “On-Demand Liquidity”.
If you go to the official website of Ripple, you will see that the classic products xRapid, xCurrent, and xVia are no longer mentioned. The following screenshot shows a current snapshot:
The change in product name was announced via Twitter by Emi Yoshikawa, who is Senior Director for Global Operations and Partnership at Ripple. After speculating about the “abolition” of xRapid, she also clarified through her Twitter post. The “new” product On-Demand Liquidity is still xRapid, just a new name. Literally it says:
“What was previously called xRapid is now called On demand liquidity, and the abbreviation is ODL. Whether you’re using ODL or prefunding, the remittance messaging part is the same mechanism (platform).”
Even if there is no official statement for the motives of the name change, a coherent reason can be found. Because the team around Ripple has pushed its efforts for on-demand liquidity strong; especially with new payment corridors (payment channels) in the Philippines and in Mexico.
Financial institutions that are on RippleNet, but still use the traditional liquidity system, may understand the term ODL more than xRapid. In other words, it is easier to see what is behind the term on-demand liquidity than behind the fictitious word xRapid.
Recent (strategic) acquisition of Algrim plays an important role in the future ecosystem
Because the six new engineers from the “Team Algrim” are going to contribute their expertise in the further development of ODL, Algrim plays an important role in the future development of Ripple. With the acquisition, the Ripple team is now expanding its expertise by bringing in players with experience in both the traditional and cryptographic markets.
