January Update

The new year has arrived and with it, a new set of accompanying challenges. The government shut down in the U.S., Britain's situation with Brexit, and whispers of an economic downturn have the international world on standby while the blockchain continues to progress.

The Rapids Network has surmounted its own set of challenges this month, providing more development, integrations, and partnerships, solidifying the foundation from which Rapids will launch its payment systems throughout social media networks for business and personal applications.

For this month’s list of updates, we would like to start off by mentioning those who join our team and comprise the backbone of the Rapids project, putting forth hard work and dedication every day in order to realize the goals of the Rapids Network. As onboarding continues, Rapids is excited and proud to announce two new additions to our team:

• Wendy O — An experienced influencer in the world of crypto, Wendy is a crypto meetup host, charting buff, and YouTube mentor, providing both services in marketing and consulting, as well as much needed guidance in the blockchain space. Wendy has stepped forward as an advisor to the Rapids team, affording her expertise toward the development of the Rapids Network. Wendy has her own website where you can learn more about the services she provides and information about blockchain events throughout the U.S.
• Blake Rizzo — Blake is a seasoned attorney in the United States with over 20 years of experience. In 2017, Blake found the fascinating but convoluted world of cryptocurrency and changed the direction of his practice. As a co-founder of Tour de Crypto, along with our very own Jason Berlin, Blake has flourished in the digital asset space, opening his own law firm and assisting many other cryptocurrency projects and foundations with all their legal counseling needs. Blake has now extended his legal services to the Rapids Network, taking on the role of attorney and charity advisor.

For the more developmental updates and current integrations, Rapids has accomplished the following this month:

• XOV partnership — XOV is building an international decentralized financial system, complete with an asset management platform, equipped with a banking and payment network as well as a stable coin, all in accordance with international regulations
• p2pb2b.io — RPD is now listed on a top 30 cryptocurrency exchange with BTC pairing
• nodehub.io — you can now deploy your RPD masternodes and pay with crypto on nodehub.io
• ZCore — RPD was added to ZCore’s one-click masternode hosting, allowing you to set up and run your RPD masternode easily
• Coin Market Apps — RPD is now integrated into the Coin Market Apps smartphone app with real-time news, charts, reviews, and other information related to cryptocurrencies
• Rapids Esports team — the Rapids Esports team is propagating as top worldwide gamers compete to win RPD and represent the Rapids Network. To join in the RPD Esports festivities, reach out to our join our Twitch & gaming community! If you are a streamer and would like to help grow the Rapids channel, as well as your own channel, please reach out to our founder @johndecafee on Twitter.
• PlayStation integration— RPD payments can now be sent to your friends through PlayStation with ease
• WhatsApp integration — with just your phone number or your email address, you can now send and receive RPD via WhatsApp on your smartphone
• Rapids Instagram — Rapids established an Instagram presence, meaning yet another social platform for building the Rapids Network and the sending and sharing of RPD
• Verisafe (formally Cpollo) granted their stamp of approval, displaying the authenticity and transparency of the Rapids Network
• RPD Ambassador program — represent your nation and spread the word of Rapids while earning bonuses based on performance. If you are interested or know someone who is, visit our Ambassador webpage and fill out the form to be considered as a Rapids Ambassador!

Rapids stepped up its game this month and brought several significant steps forward. In terms of social sending, the PlayStation and WhatsApp integrations have proved Rapids is keeping consistent with its vision of quick and straightforward social sending across common platforms. These two integrations are possible through the ongoing partnership between the Rapids Network and the one-stop, cross-chain solution provided by the SWFT blockchain.

Another partnership that stands out this month is the collaboration between RPD and XOV. More information can be read about this partnership in our XOV partnership announcement, but basically, XOV, together with RPD and the SWFT blockchain are teaming up to tackle social media payments and digital asset payment services. Indeed, this trio of crypto innovation caught outside attention and was reported by an article Forbes magazine.

These are exciting times for cryptocurrency and the blockchain technology that is taking the IoT world by storm. Rapids has many goals yet left to fulfill, and the following months will be bountiful with more cooperations, integrations, development, and improvements upon our systems of social payment. All of this month’s progress has shown that Rapids will be a top contender amongst social cryptocurrency applications, as it continues to merge the worlds of online social networks with blockchain technology, and offer the end user simple, secure, and rapid payments.