Ripple Labs, a leading cryptocurrency payments company, has forged new partnerships in France and Sweden even as countries across Europe are tightening crypto-related regulations.
The crypto solutions provider has signed deals with Lemonway, a French payments provider for online marketplaces and Xbaht, a Swedish fund transfer provider for launching its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) system.
This partnership would enable consumers and businesses in these two countries to make real-time global fund transfers using RippleNet, the financial tool of Ripple Labs.
Ripple’s announcement comes against the background of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) being approved by the Europe Parliament.
Ripple expanding into Europe
The announcement iterates Ripple’s plan to expand into the European market even as the continent is witnessing a tightening control over crypto assets by regulatory bodies.
France was the first country in Europe to introduce crypto-related laws. In 2014, the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR), the French banking and insurance regulatory authority, mandated crypto firms to obtain a license to provide crypto-related payment services in the country.
Since then, a number of crypto exchanges, including Binance, have been authorized to provide services to French users.
Sweden, on the other hand, does not have a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory regime. However, the Swedish banking and financial regulations encompass crypto-related activities so that no entity can violate anti-money laundering (AML) rules. In this regard, Sendi Young, MD, Europe, Ripple stated,
“We are delighted to be working with Lemonway and Xbaht, our first ODL customers in France and Sweden respectively… we have become the partner of choice for enterprises such as Lemonway and Xbaht looking to tap into global crypto liquidity to eliminate the traditional problems associated with cross-border payments such as lack of speed, unreliability, and excessive cost.”
Europe witnessing increasing crypto adoption
Notably, Ripple claimed in a report that 70% of respondents at financial institutions in Europe think blockchain will have a massive or significant impact on their business in the next five years, while 59% of respondents are interested in using blockchain for payments.
Ripple’s foray into the European crypto market continues while the European Parliament is working to legislate the MiCA. Only yesterday (10 October), the Parliament approved the crypto laws, with a 28-1 vote.
The upcoming G20 meeting will also deliberate upon the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) prepared by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
