Leading cross-border transaction settlement platform and solutions provider Earthport has announced the launch of the Earthport Distributed Ledger Hub (DLH), which grants users full connectivity into Ripple, including private Ripple instances, Ripple market makers, and in time, other Distributed Ledgers.
Interestingly, Earthport aims to target banks and existing financial establishments with its DLH. The firm will offer cost-efficient and robust blockchain-based solutions to institutional clients through a single API, for quicker settlement and transfer of payments, transactions, and assets.
“It is our belief that there may be different ledgers that gain traction over time – some will have a regional affiliation, and some may be more aligned by industry sector. Banks will need to have access to a growing universe of different ledgers to serve their own clients, further complicating their technical roadmaps. Earthport, in consultation with its clients, will grow the Hub to encompass different ledgers as needed, all available via a single Earthport API,” stated Earthport CEO Hank Uberoi.
Today, more than 50 global banks and financial institutions are connected into Earthport’s network for efficient clearance of low value payments. The firm will use its extraordinary clientele and user base to integrate the Earthport Distributed Ledger Hub.
Essentially, the Earthport DLH is the company’s response to the growing demand and interest toward the blockchain or the distributed ledger technology from the world’s leading banks. By using and connecting its network to Ripple ecosystem, it enables banks and financial institutions to integrate the blockchain technology in its existing platform without deploying their own, which could be vulnerable to potential breaches and attacks due to low computing power.
“This is achieved via full access to the Ripple ecosystem through a single contract, a single technical integration, and a single service relationship,” explains the Earthport team.
At the current stage of their development, clients and users of the DLH can access all payment methods in over 60 countries with substantially low fees. However, the company emphasizes that its network relies on fiat currency, instead of digital currencies or virtual tokens.
One vital reason the Earthport team avoids the development and deployment of their own digital currency is their targeted clientele. As of now, banks and global financial establishments are skeptical towards Bitcoin as a currency and are focused to enhance their existing financial systems to reduce management costs. By providing a platform in which both the authorities (banks) and users can send cross-border transactions with low costs quickly, Earthport are aiming to facilitate its clientele of banks to encourage the use of the blockchain technology.
“Earthport’s services in the DLH are conducted entirely in Fiat currency with no use of crypto currencies. This development aligns directly with Earthport’s core mission to provide access to as many countries, currencies, accounts and payment types as possible through a single API,” the Earthport team added.
While multi-billion dollar banks and institutions are setting up their own “blockchain labs” and research groups, those establishments at tighter budgets don’t have the luxury to spend millions on the development of their own unique network. Earthport aims to help these organizations use a robust blockchain infrastructure to deploy a Ripple-based digital network, for effective settlement of transactions.
