“It uses XRP to help facilitate part of this process, hence the trading volumes on our platforms. It's a higher percentage on our platform, as overall crypto market volumes remain relatively flat across the industry."
Ripple transactions accounted for $10.2 million in 24-hour volume on the Sydney-based Independent Reserve, which is far more than all other cryptocurrencies combined during the period.
The exchange's chief executive officer, Adrian Prezelozny, said clients trading Ripple included market makers and international senders on the ODL network.
influential court case
Billing itself as an innovative, low-cost challenger to the dominance of international banks over foreign exchange services, Ripple is currently at the center of a federal court case in New York that is likely to have a major impact on crypto markets.
The landmark civil case is set to resolve whether Ripple and potentially all other cryptocurrencies should be treated as securities under the jurisdiction of the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC brought the case after accusing Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through the illegal sale of unregistered tokens in 2020.
Experts expect the long-awaited ruling to affect the market value of Ripple and the broader crypto markets.
Ms. Bowler said: “We are following the SEC case as the outcome is likely to affect XRP price volatility. However, as the SEC does not regulate us here in Australia, our focus remains on broader regulatory discussions closer to home."
historical issues
In Australia, cryptocurrency exchanges must register with the international money laundering regulator AUSTRAC, which requires compliance with anti-money laundering know-your-customer and suspicious transaction reporting obligations.
In the past, major Australian banks have denied banking services to crypto remittance companies, including Aus Merchant and Bitcoin Babe, because it was believed that the banks were dissatisfied with the ability of some senders to identify the beneficial owner in a currency transaction. based on cryptography. even if the exchanges are registered with AUSTRAC.
In November 2019, Westpac faced a scandal when it emerged that some of its clients were sending money to criminals in the Philippines. AUSTRAC's claim against Westpac focused on the bank's failures related to "correspondent banking", or the provision of services by one bank for another in a different country.
In August 2020, New Payments Platform (NPP), a payments services company owned by 13 Australian banks, including ANZ, NAB, CBA, Westpac and the Reserve Bank, launched federal court proceedings against Ripple for allegedly copying the trademark. of NPP.
The court issued an injunction to NPP to prevent Ripple from advertising in Australia under a "PayID" brand similar to NPP. In November 2020, Ripple agreed to change its trademark to continue operating in Australia.
