Ripple may not be the most beloved company in the crypto-verse, but its perseverance and desire to grow despite setbacks is something to be recognized. RippleX, Ripple’s branch focused on boosting the development of technologies around the XRP Ledger, has recently announced its first wave of XRPL grants, and it is embracing the NFT mania.
According to an official announcement, RippleX distributed $2 million in total value among 25 chosen applicants from 10 different countries.
NFTs Are The New Battlefront For Ripple’s XRP Army
The main focus of the applications was the development of open-source projects dealing with NFTs on the XRP Ledger or XRPL.
XRPL encompasses everything we currently consider the XRP ecosystem and is an evolution of the former Ripple Consensus Ledger (RCL). Ripple’s former products, xRapid, xCurrent, and xVia, were, in turn, merged into what is now known as the RippleNet, quickly gathering over 200 customers by 2019.
Although Ripple’s focus point has for long been to offer a fast and cheap payment network, it seems that developers are looking for ways to squeeze the potential out of this blockchain and adapt it to the new times. NFTs are an odd use case for the XRP ecosystem, despite their popularity.
RippleX mentions that it received over a hundred proposals but the most interesting ones focused on the following topics:
- The development of NFTs for multiple industries (retail, art, music, sports, digital advertising, and carbon capture).
- Learning tools and platforms to build on and interact with the XRPL
- Data visualization tools
- Payment and security solutions
In the case of implementing compatibility with NFTs, XRPL could considerably increase its user base and could even start serving certain enterprise customers in strategic areas such as identity digitization, advertising models, supply chain, etc.
The Chosen Ones
These were the chosen projects. Each one received a different amount of money:
Aquarelle: This project seeks to build a metaverse on the XRP Ledger. The project aims to create an open-source NFT library, a web-based NFT marketplace, and a WebGL 3D virtual gallery to showcase and interact with NFTs.
Aquarelle is based in Australia but hopes to interact with content creators primarily from India.
Anchain.AI – CISO Integration for the XRPL: This project focuses on using NFTs in cybersecurity to develop artificial intelligence used by governments for compliance solutions. AnChain is based in the United States.
Bithompt: An XRPL explorer and toolkit that will be updated to have compatibility with NFTs. Bithomp is located in Sweeden.
CarbonLand Trust ESG NFTs = CO2 Bonds + Forest Conservation: A project that seeks to create NFTs that represent rights on future carbon credits. It is based in the United States.
Clever.Gallery: An NFT gallery and marketplace with NFT explorer functionality. It is based in the USA.
CryptoIso20022 Interop: A startup that seeks to automate the transformation of fiat to crypto payments. It is located in Switzerland.
Cryptum / Blockforce: This project seeks to develop an API/SDK platform for integrating the XRP Ledger with apps. It is located in Brazil.
DART: A digital art platform compatible with NFT on the Ripple Net. It also uses the XRP token as a means of payment in transactions. It is located in Sweeden.
Galaxy: An advertising platform built on the XRPL. It is located in the UK.
Go4Zerps: A Golang SDK to create applications on the XRP Ledger. It is located in the UK.
Ledger City: A 3d visualization platform compatible with tokens on the XRP Ledger. Located in the USA.
Ledger: An initiative that seeks to create an XRP Ledger analysis tool for research, compliance, and risk management. Located in the Netherlands.
NFT Terrace: A platform that seeks to offer football clubs the ability to create NFTs on XRPL. Located in the UK.
Audiotarky: A Music streaming platform compatible with XRP. It will use the NFTs to distribute revenues. Located in the UK.
Peerkat: An NFT platform built on the XRP Ledger. Located in the UK.
Scratch2Hooks: An initiative of the University of Luxembourg to develop smart contracts for the XRP Ledger. Located in Luxembourg.
Trustline: A startup that uses the Flare Network to transfer products between different blockchains. Located in the USA.
Wallery.me: An NFT marketplace. Located in Switzerland.
Xchange Retail Payments: A DEX / XRP Ledger Gateway. Located in the UK.
xPay: A startup that facilitates XRP transactions through iMessage. Located in the USA.
Node-RED: A Visual programming tool focused on XRPL solutions. Located in the UK
XRPL Rosetta: An XRPL explorer. Located in Chile.
XRP Wallet Tools: a WebApp with support for the creation of NFTs in XRPL. Located in the Philippines.
ZerpCraft: A plugin that will allow the creation of NFTs to represent virtual Real Estate in Minecraft. Located in the USA
