Ripple, the popular enterprise blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions provider as well as the creators of the XRP token, have announced a new service that is aimed at finance companies, which will give them the ability to offer cryptocurrency trading to their customers. Ripple Liquidity Hub, as it is dubbed, will allow customers to seamlessly access crypto assets from a variety of global venues, including market makers, exchanges, over-the-counter (OTC) desks and, in the future, decentralised venues too. The ‘liquidity hub’ is due to launch sometime in 2022.

“The product will support turn-key integration and smart order routing to source digital assets at optimised prices giving customers the ability to easily buy, sell, and hold crypto assets,” Ripple explained.

Initially, the platform will support cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, and XRP which is the native asset of the Ripple blockchain. There are plans to expand to more tokenised assets too in due time. “In the future Ripple plans to add additional features such as support for staking and yield generating functionalities,” the company noted in a statement.

The announcement notes that Ripple has been using the Liquidity Hub internally for close to two years now “for internal liquidity management as part of its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product, powering millions of transactions, worth billions of dollars.” Ripple ODL is a service that allows banks, market players, and other financial institutions to carry out cross-border payments using XRP.

Ripple’s first partner to use the product is a digital currency exchange and crypto-to-cash network Coinme. “Initially, Coinme will utilize the underlying technology platform of Liquidity Hub, with plans to unlock additional functionality as it becomes available,” Ripple detailed.

Ripple’s Liquidity Hub launch announcement comes at a time when Ripple continues to grapple through a legal tussle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The securities regulator sued Ripple Labs, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen for allegedly raising more than $1.3 billion (roughly Rs. 9,675 crore) through XRP, which the commission considers an unregistered security offering.