Cryptocurrency investors have faced tons of difficulties in 2018. The price of Bitcoin is down roughly 85% from it’s all-time high while most other altcoins are down over 90%. From a price perspective, 2018 has been a devastating bloodbath with no mercy.

However, if you take a moment to look back on accomplishments in the cryptocurrency industry, you would have a pleasant surprise. The industry really has accomplished a lot and the San Francisco based fintech giant, Ripple covered just that in a recent blog post.

Breakthroughs in Blockchain

According to Ripple, one of the most noticeable things that happened this year, is the ever increasing clarity from regulatory authorities for blockchain and digital assets.

Jurisdictions from around the world saw regulators take action by releasing regulatory frameworks that foster innovation rather than hinder it. Blockchain technology is being recognized its potential by global governments and policy makers.

Also, not only are regulators warming up to blockchain, but Fortune 500 companies and institutional investors are accepting cryptocurrencies as an asset class and realize the potential of the technology.

2018: A Big Year for Ripple

Although the price of Ripple’s XRP token has fallen over 90% from it’s all-time high, Ripple has had a memorable year.

Ripple’s global payments network, RippleNet now contains a network of over 100 financial institutions and spans 40 countries across 6 continents.

Breakthrough Payment Services

Besides traditional financial institutions implementing Ripple’s technology, breakthrough payment services such as Santander’s OnePay FX and CoinOne Transfer’s Cross have mobile apps that leverage RippleNet for remittance services.

Not only do companies benefit from Ripples technology, but their customers do as well. For instance, Ripple’s customer BeeTech eliminated SWIFT fees for all their remittance activities and could thus drop fees for their own customers from $20 to $2 per transaction.

Academic Advancements

Apart from Ripple’s user growth and blockchain implementations, the company launched multiple academic initiatives. In May 2018, Ripple introduced Xpring, which has kick-started multiple startups of blockchain.

Also, one big move of Ripple was establishing the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) this year. It has been very effective at supporting increased research and innovation for blockchain, cryptocurrency and FinTech.

Conclusion

2018 has been an outstanding year for both Ripple and the blockchain industry. Going into 2019 with crypto prices as low as they are, it will be interesting to see what the year brings in terms of both price action and further development.