Ripple to launch ‘Liquidity Hub’ for finance firms that want to offer crypto trading

Fintech firm Ripple has announced a new service aimed at finance companies that will allow them to offer cryptocurrency trading to customers.

Ripple unveiled the Liquidity Hub service in a blog post on Tuesday, touting a “crypto-first future” in which every company will need to have a strategy for crypto assets.

The new service will target its enterprise clients, giving them access to digital assets from a range of providers such as exchanges, market makers and over-the-counter trading desks. It is currently in the preview stage and will launch in 2022.

Liquidity Hub will initially support Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and XRP with availability varying by geographical location, according to the announcement.

The company plans to expand its crypto asset offerings and include other tokens, including nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, in the future.

RippleNet general manager Asheesh Birla said that the company has been using this crypto sourcing technology to support its On-Demand Liquidity product for nearly two years. He added, “Our customers would want access to the same trusted one-stop-shop for buying, selling, and holding crypto assets that has powered our own extensive work with financial institutions.”

America’s first licensed Bitcoin ATM company, Coinme, is the first partner for the alpha version of Liquidity Hub.

Related: ‘Overtime, we will see the NFT market broaden,’ says Ripple CTO David Schwartz

Ripple is also delving deeper into decentralized finance, or DeFi, announcing plans to offer crypto staking and investment services. Birla added that it is only logical that clients will want the next generations of services after buying and holding Ether.

On Saturday, Cointelegraph reported that Ripple will be supporting wrapped XRP (wXRP) on the Ethereum network, enabling holders of its native token to interact with DeFi protocols.

The San Francisco-based fintech firm is still embroiled in an ongoing battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In the latest turn in the saga, Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn has ordered the company to find and produce video and audio recordings of its internal meetings for evidence in the case.

The financial regulator is suing Ripple and its executives for allegedly raising more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering.