Coolest Brands 2015: Ripple Labs
Going for It
It is easy to pigeonhole Ripple Labs.
That’s that bitcoin company, right?
The thing is, Ripple Labs is way beyond bitcoin, even beyond “cryptocurrency.” Rather, Ripple Labs is the leading purveyor of what it calls the “distributed ledger.” Put simply, a distributed ledger is a means for massive corporate banks to settle transactions — amongst themselves. Bypassing the major international settlement channels, such as SWIFT, and effectively letting any bank make their own “crypocurrency.”
Yes, that’s a business plan with, er, cojones.
Cheryl Gurz, managing director of the emerging technology segment at Bank of New York Mellon Treasury Services, an all-star in corporate banking, recently told American Banker that “protocols like Ripple and Stellar are ‘getting rid of bilateral legacy processes that banks have been using for years to keep money in their pockets.” According to American Banker, Gurz recommended that banks consider “strategic partnerships and alliances” with such firms in order to keep up with customers’ evolving expectations.
That’s BONY Mellon making that “recommendation,” folks.
We expect nothing less that the boldest of plays from Ripple Labs’s founder, Chris Larsen, who launched E-Loan (for the old-timers out there) and Prosper.
The boldness of the business plan, which has earned the company $9 million in venture funding since its launch 2012, also means that Ripple Labs’s likelihood of success is that much more of a reach. But that’s why it’s cool: Ripple Labs is going for it. Put that in your pigeonhole and smoke it.
