Surviving lawsuits is not resilience: CIO of SWIFT on Ripple and institutional trust
12:15 ▪ 5 min read
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The prolonged legal dispute of Ripple with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently came to an end, closing a chapter that had attracted much attention in the crypto and financial sectors. While many interpreted the outcome as a testament to the company’s resilience, Tom Zschach, Chief Innovation Officer of SWIFT, saw it differently. He argued that surviving lawsuits does not demonstrate resilience, emphasizing instead that true adoption in finance is based on trust, compliance, and shared governance.
In summary
Surviving lawsuits does not demonstrate true resilience, says SWIFT’s CIO.
Resilience comes from neutral and shared governance, not from courtroom victories.
Supporters call XRP “battle-hardened” after years of regulatory scrutiny.
Technology as the foundation, trust as the key to adoption
The debate began when Zschach published a reflection on how banks approach new technologies. He explained that every major change in finance starts with the technology that lays the groundwork, but adoption only occurs when trust, legal applicability, and compliance are established.
He referred to past examples—such as internet-based payments in the 2000s and blockchain innovations like stablecoins and ICOs—where financial institutions stood on the sidelines not because they did not understand the technology, but because the trust framework was not yet established.
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