On April 13th, Ripple launched a new product called "Liquidity Hub" to help businesses bridge the gap between fiat and crypto. This solution supports various major cryptocurrencies but notably does not include Ripple's own XRP token, which may be due to the ongoing legal dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ripple intends to use Liquidity Hub to help businesses "supercharge liquidity" by reducing the gap between crypto and fiat.
The exclusion of XRP has raised questions among Ripple's community members, given its crucial role in the company's previous liquidity solutions. XRP was also included in the liquidity pool's pilot stage.
According to Ripple, Liquidity Hub aims to address the issues and gaps in bridging fiat and crypto currencies. It operates independently of Ripple's widely-used cross-border payments solution, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL).
“We wanted to make it as frictionless as possible for businesses looking to supercharge liquidity, power crypto payments and operations, or support end-customers interested in buying, selling or holding crypto.”
– Ripple said in the announcement.
Ripple has stated that Liquidity Hub utilizes smart order routing to acquire a variety of cryptocurrencies at the most optimized prices. The pool obtains cryptocurrencies from several liquidity sources, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, market makers, and over-the-counter (OTC) desks. Additionally, the pool employs a streamlined application programming interface (API) that enables businesses to begin working on their crypto strategies without needing to engage in "intensive integrations," according to Ripple.