Ripple CTO tries to offer answers for lack of adoption

Community expectations have long been that banks would adopt XRP, but the reality has been disappointing.

Amid a difficult year for the payments-focused cryptocurrency, Ripple's CTO David Schwartz has recently taken to Twitter to discuss with community members why banks have been reluctant to adopt XRP as a bridge.

During an exchange with a member of the Ripple community last week, Schwartz explained that there are a set of obstacles Ripple is facing that has led to banks' reluctance to use XRP to settle cross-border transactions.

Schwartz wrote that he sees issues such as, "Regulatory uncertainty, last mile problems, fear of reprisals from existing partners," as preventing widespread adoption.

Schwartz also stated that another reason for the banks' reluctance to adopt XRP on a large scale is that the product is very new and it will take more time to gain the appropriate momentum.

The comments come amid a rough patch for the currency and its holders.

XRP is down 18.6% on the year, and down over 90% from all-time highs.

Paypal did not include XRP in its list of cryptocurrencies it would offer, and the company is facing an intellectual property lawsuit in Australia over its "PayID" branded payment standard.

Ripple investors are not the only ones feeling the pain, however: earlier this month Cointelegraph also reported that in 2012 Schwartz sold 40,000 Ether at $1 each.