Ripple price (XRP/USD) rallies after latest RippleNet expansion

The Ripple price (XRP/USD) has rallied toward the $0.37 mark following news of new additions to the RippleNet payment network.

The third-largest cryptocurrency on the market saw some positive action yesterday, especially during the early afternoon part of the session, when its price challenged the $0.37 mark. However, the coin faced strong resistance at those levels and was forced to pull back after it reached an intraday high of $0.370. Ripple spent the final hours of the session swinging between gains and losses, until it finally settled for a close of $0.365. This was only marginally higher than the coin’s opening price of $0.364.

Today, Ripple has been back on the offensive, rising steadily since the start of the session. At the time of writing, the coin was hovering around the $0.37 mark, according to data from digital currency tracker Coinmarketcap.

XRP’s performance has likely been bolstered by a recent announcement from the company that developed the token. Yesterday, the San Francisco-based Ripple announced that 13 new financial institutions had signed for the company’s blockchain-powered payment network RippleNet. These companies include Euro Exim Bank, SendFriend, JNFX, FTCS, Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Transpaygo, BFC Bahrain, ConnectPay, GMT, WorldCom Finance, Olympia Trust Company, Pontual/USEND and Rendimento. Of these, JNFX, SendFriend, Transpaygo, FTCS and Euro Exim Bank plan to utilise the XRP token.

With the new additions, the number of RippleNet customers now surpasses 200.

“In 2018, nearly 100 financial institutions joined RippleNet, and we’re now signing two—sometimes three—new customers per week. We also saw a 350 percent increase last year in customers sending live payments, and we’re beginning to see more customers flip the switch and leverage XRP for on-demand liquidity,” Ripple’s chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement.

In today’s trading, the Ripple price stood at $0.369, as of 12:46 GMT. The digital coin has gained 1.2% in the past 24 hours.

For further information on how to buy and trade Ripple, see our comprehensive Ripple guide.