A recently uncovered email from 2013 provides intriguing insights into Google”s initial interest in Ripple for enhancing digital payment systems in Africa. The correspondence features Jeffrey Epstein, who was briefed on Google”s investment in OpenCoin, the company that would later become known as Ripple. This investment was part of a broader strategy aimed at tapping into the rapidly expanding digital payments landscape in Africa.
The email highlighted Kenya as a pivotal market for adoption, pointing to the country”s swift growth in mobile phone usage and the entrenched popularity of Safaricom”s M-PESA as a robust foundation for digital financial services. Furthermore, it indicated Google”s intent to integrate Google Wallet payments with email services, alongside investments from Google Ventures in OpenCoin.
Notably, the email characterized OpenCoin as a firm working on blockchain technology akin to Bitcoin. This revelation underscores the proactive approach of major tech companies in exploring partnerships with Ripple long before cryptocurrencies gained significant regulatory scrutiny on the global stage.
According to crypto commentator Jungle Inc, the email positions Ripple and its XRP token as a Google-supported alternative to traditional banking systems. He emphasized that while Bitcoin was perceived as “anarchic play money” back in 2013, influential entities were already recognizing Ripple and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) as viable solutions for international payments. This early acknowledgment of XRP”s functionality laid the groundwork for its subsequent acceptance among major financial institutions.
Despite Google”s initial investment in Ripple, there is no documented evidence that the tech giant implemented Ripple”s payment technology or the XRP Ledger for its global payment solutions. Instead, Google has since focused on developing its own blockchain solution for financial services, branded as the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL), which has been described as an “XRP killer.” However, the two systems operate on fundamentally different principles; GCUL is designed as a private, permissioned blockchain, contrasting sharply with the open and decentralized nature of the XRP Ledger, which does not include a native token.
This historical correspondence not only sheds light on the strategic interests of tech giants like Google in the blockchain space but also illustrates how early partnerships could have influenced the trajectory of digital payment systems in emerging markets.
