As a protocol, Ripple needs to gain a large amount of market share and a suitably sized ecosystem in order to be consider a major contender in the payment processing arena. One way to do that is through an expansion of the number of gateways and exchanges that have implemented Ripple.
That appears to be happening as more of these entities seem to be popping up. Since Ripple is an open protocol we can’t just easily check a central repository to find out exactly how many gateways there currently are.
There is no list of Ripple gateways for a simple reason. This answer on StackExchange sums up the reason there won’t be an ‘official list.’
There is no official list of Ripple Gateways because there is no such thing as an “official” gateway. Anyone can operate one without registering anywhere (other than as required by local laws in their jurisdiction). That hinders the creation of any kind of comprehensive list.
There’s no centralized governing body that will determine if a Ripple Gateway is legit or not. Some people have spent time compiling lists of Ripple Gateways but they don’t appear complete. Ripple Gateways can come and go, in the same way an SMTP server or a domain name might come and go. When dealing with protocols, there are no requirements to use the protocol other than the desire to be able to process Ripple.
Even though there’s no official list of Ripple Gateways, there is an unofficial list you can check. We also cannot rely on the Revenue of Ripple Labs to gauge the health of Ripple, because the organization does not use any traditional monetizations schemes, relying instead on the value of XRP for their sustenance. Still, there are a number of signs that adoption of RTXP is happening.
The Number Of Gateways Should Indicate Relative Health Of The Protocol
To use the analogy of SMTP servers again, the proliferation of functional Ripple Gateways is needed to ensure there is a healthy ecosystem for Ripple to function in. Obviously email became hugely successfully and extremely useful due to the fact that so many SMTP servers sprang to life in order to serve the protocoal. Before long, everyone with an online connection came to expect that email would be an integral part of their user experience. This happened even though there has never been a centralized SMTP organization that approves or disapproves of SMTP servers. Each day many SMTP servers come and go and the protocol ensures the proper delivery (or notification of non-delivery) so that the entire system continues to function effectively.
The Ripple community hopes that one day RTXP will also follow the same adoption curve. If RTXP were to become a standard part of most people’s internet experience, the implications are literally astounding.
It takes Gateways and Exchanges to make Ripple (and XRP) more widely accepted. Each service that begins using the protocol makes it a bit easier for more people to experience the lower costs and ease of use associated with RTXP.
Each provider can set their own fees for using their Gateway or Exchange. This will likely result in price competition, although at first there will probably be a wide variance between fees. Anyone who uses a Ripple Gateway or Exchanges need to check the service provider’s site for fees.
How Fast Is Ripple Growing?
Right now it’s difficult to say exactly how fast Ripple use is growing because the information about adoption is in several places. However, one sign that there’s a lot of interest in RTXP came on May 7th, 2014 with the announcement that German Internet bank Fidor would use the protocol.
Fidor is a highly trafficked internet bank, so the announcement brought excitement to Ripple enthusiasts.
It should. Ripple was adopted by Fidor because of the potential cost reduction, which is the same reason it would be adopted by anyone else. Fidor prides itself on innovation, but other banks who are more conservative will follow suit, especially if they see the switch have a positive impact on Fidor’s bottom line.
If we come back one last time to our SMTP analogy, we can imagine how a period of exponential growth is possible for Ripple RTXP. As more people begin to use the protocol and find it superior to the ‘old ways’ of doing business, they will DEMAND that the protocol is available from more providers.
There’s no question that after the announcement from Fidor more people will begin watching Ripple closely. Talented organizations should definitely take a look at implementing Ripple in order to better serve their clients and potential markets.
Make sure to check out Ripple if you haven’t already. This protocol really could be a game changer.
