Ripple’s former chief market strategist, Cory Johnson, says that cross-border payments are where blockchain technology can bring the most change.

Johnson claims that speculation around cryptocurrency has slowed down the adoption of blockchain technology in traditional finance. He stated:

“Blockchain seemed like a technology that drew volatility and speculation and Lambos (...) That's not an environment that conservative businesses like, say, banks want to get themselves involved in.”

Innovation is still happening, however — especially in the field of cross-border payments. This is where Johnson believes blockchain technology can find its maximum utility. 

He elaborated that moving money across borders through traditional financial services is still quite slow. This means that transactions are subjected to currency fluctuations and therefore potential losses. 

“The money is at risk during that entire time because of systems that we're using were built in the 1970s,” he stated. 

Johnson mentioned Ripple as one of the companies that is using blockchain to provide faster and more efficient cross border payments. 

When using Ripple to move money across borders “the currency risk is virtually non-existent because it happens so quickly,” he pointed out. 

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