This week’s episode is longer than usual, but we cover a lot of ground in a relatively small amount of time, so fasten your seatbelt.
This episode was recorded in Singapore at Ripple’s 2019 Swell Conference. I interviewed four of Ripple’s executives — CEO, Brad Garlinghouse; CTO David Schwartz; SVP of Customer Success Marcus Treacher; and SVP of Global Operations, Eric van Miltenburg — and have condensed those conversations into today’s show.
If you’ve tried to move money globally, then you already know that the current banking system’s “plumbing” is long overdue for an overhaul. Outrageous fees — check. Slow as molasses — check. No money movement on Sundays — check. We’ve put a man on the moon, eradicated smallpox, and found water on Mars. But a bank wire on Sunday? Forget about it.
That’s all beginning to change with Ripple, an enterprise-level platform that uses blockchain technology to service banks and fintech companies, enabling them to move money globally…and fast. They have offices around the world and are already serving big, established banks like Santander, Bank of Tokyo, and Standard Chartered. They also serve small fintech startups. In doing so, they’re helping serve the unbanked and are bringing the arcane SWIFT system into the new millennium.
In today’s episode you’ll learn:
- Why using the SWIFT banking system if akin to mailing a postcard
- What the CEO of Ripple and your podcast host Jay Kim have in common
- What Brad means when he says all companies have to do is “flip the switch”
- Why XRP requires public market liquidity
- If David Schwartz is actually Satoshi Nakamoto
- The single greatest threat to Ripple and the XRP ledger
- The next huge vertical that will be disrupted by crypto/blockchain
- Why David Schwartz goes by the name “Joel Katz” online
- How David really feels about Twitter as a platform
- Who are Ripple’s largest customers in Asia
- What inning are we in mainstream blockchain adoption as compared to web 1.0 and internet adoption
- Why David believes a top-down approach is best for achieving mass adoption
- How Ripple maintain its great corporate culture
Listen to this episode on iTunes
What was your biggest insight from this week’s episode? Let Jay know in the comments or on Twitter: @jaykimmer.
LINKS FROM TODAY’S EPISODE
- Read the full transcript from the Ripple interviews
- Find Ripple on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- David Schwartz (Joel Katz) on Twitter
- Marcus Treacher on Facebook
- Find Eric van Miltenburg on Twitter
- Brad Garlinghouse on Twitter
- Ripple
- University Blockchain Research Initiative
DETAILED SHOW NOTES
- (00:43) Jay’s introduction of today’s show
- (01:45) Jay’s introduction of the Brad Garlinghouse segment
- (02:41) Brad’s self-introduction
- (04:41) Brad’s overview of Ripple
- (06:17) Jay and Brad discuss the current, archaic banking “plumbing”
- (07:24) Jay asks about the career field of the Ripple founders
- (08:54) Brad explains xCurrent and On Demand Liquidity
- (11:10) SWIFT versus xCurrent
- (13:09) How xCurrent and On Demand Liquidity work together
- (14:02) On correspondent banking
- (16:59) Onboarding and serving enterprise clients
- (19:19) The issue of volatility
- (22:30) Ripple’s funding
- (24:56) Brand explain why XRP is not a private digital asset
- (26:30) Part II: David Schwartz
- (27:27) David’s self-introduction and how he developed an interest in blockchain
- (29:21) So, is David actually Satoshi Nakamoto?
- (29:34) Why David decided to work on the XRP ledger and the key features of the XRP ledger
- (32:05) How the XRP ledger versus proof of work and why the XRP ledger is so fast
- (36:04) How to know if you’re dealing with a “wobbler”
- (37:36) What happens to dishonest participants?
- (38:06) Validators nodes – how many are there and how much do they cost?
- (42:19) Who are running the validator nodes?
- (44:54) What David sees as the greatest threat to the XRP ledger
- (47:24) Jay and David discuss the issue of trust within the community and why development on a live, working system is so slow
- (49:17) Clarification on who uses the XRP ledger
- (50:01) David’s advice for those wanting to enter the blockchain space
- (52:51) David explains the story of JoelKatz
- (54:57) Jay’s introduction of Ripple’s SVP, Marcus Treacher
- (55:29) A day in the life of Ripple’s SVP
- (59:30) Jay and Marcus discuss the growing number of RippleNet users and the onboarding of new customers
- (1:01:27) Marcus gives a breakdown of the profiles of Ripple’s customers
- (1:05:28) Ripple’s three core apps
- (1:10:22) An example of how On-Demand Liquidity is a game changer
- (1:12:34) Marcus shares his thoughts on Ripple’s growth in Asia
- (1:18:34) Jay’s introduction of Eric van Miltenburg, SVP of Global Operations
- (1:19:25) Eric’s day-to-day at Ripple
- (1:23:59) Eric shares his outlook on Asia
- (1:27:06) Eric addresses the question, is Asia more receptive to solving cross-border payment issues with digital assets?
- (1:29:37) The biggest pushback from regulators
- (1:32:32) Ripple’s company culture
- (1:36:16) The Asian markets Eric is most excited about
- (1:40:08) Brad’s macro view of the crypto industry
- (1:45:31) Brad’s advice for those wanting to get into the crypto space
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