What’s next for Ripple once the SEC victory is over?
Futureverse, an AI-Metaverse startup that combines various tech elements, announced on Tuesday that it secured $54M in funding with Ripple as a key investor.
The funding round was led by 10T Holdings, an equity fund focusing on the digital asset ecosystem, with Ripple’s involvement.
The partnership will see the implementation of Ripple’s XRPL to the Root Network, which enables the use of XRP to pay gas fees. In addition, there will be the rollout of the XLS-20 NFT standard to facilitate transactions within the metaverse.
Ripple Bets on AI and The Metaverse
The Root Network grants developers access to a ready-made platform to build revolutionary metaverse applications and games, fostering further innovation and growth in the industry.
“We are excited to continue to support the Futureverse vision and celebrate the Root Network’s integration with the XRP Ledger. While we’re at the earliest stages of what a project like this — and really the larger concept of the metaverse — can achieve, we at Ripple are thrilled to contribute to the foundational infrastructure layer and provide real utility to the end users of the open metaverse,” Monica Long, President of Ripple, expressed her excitement in supporting Futureverse’s vision.
According to Futureverse’s announcement on Twitter, the company plans to use funds for scaling technologies and developing tools that support an open, scalable, and interoperable infrastructure.
With this strategic collaboration with industry giants 10T and Ripple, Futureverse aims to bring the metaverse from concept to reality, making it practical, accessible, and highly interactive.
Futureverse’s vision has attracted several partners. Since its formation in late 2022, the open metaverse ecosystem has formed partnerships with several giants across industries such as the FIFA women’s tournament, Mastercard, Wimbledon, and Muhammad Ali Enterprises.
Numerous public figures, including Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Keanu Reeves, and Alexandra Grant, also collaborated with the firm.
Ripple has joined many industry companies in the dynamic collaborative hub. The list includes Altered State Machine, a pioneering AI-protocol provider, Non-Fungible Labs, an innovative creative studio, Sylo, a decentralized communications protocol, and Centrapay, a leading digital asset payments SDK.
SEC’s First Comment After Loss
After three years of back-and-forth disputes, the legal battle between the SEC and Ripple came to an end on July 13. The verdict declared that Ripple’s sales of XRP were not considered an investment contract, making the cryptocurrency non-security.
However, it was noted that selling XRP to third-party institutions through direct agreements or Over-the-Counter (OTC) transactions still falls under the category of security.
The landmark ruling brought a partial victory to Ripple and created a buzz of excitement within the crypto community. Despite this win for Ripple, the U.S. SEC expressed dissatisfaction with the court’s decision on individual investors.
In the first official statement released since the court ruling, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler conveyed his disappointment at the court’s stance. However, the loss is there no matter what he does now.
Gensler emphasized that the SEC remains committed to taking legal actions against crypto firms if they are perceived to pose a risk to investors. However, he refrained from commenting on the Crypto Regulatory Bill, a proposal that aims to clarify the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency projects.
The court ruling in favor of Ripple is a turning point in crypto history. This partial victory is expected to drive more adoptions to the Ripple token (XRP).
Speaking to CNBC last week, the firm’s Chief Legal Officer, Stu Alderoty said that Ripple would be negotiating with financial companies this quarter. The executive expressed optimism that the ruling would encourage the U.S. banks to re-embrace On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product and XRP token for cross-border transactions.
