Different camps, different features:
One core difference in the demand for Ethereum and Ripple is that the Ethereum network is capable of powering a wider range of applications such as Toyota’s autonomous electric cars while Ripple is limited in that it serves infrastructure providers within the financial industry to settle and process transactions.
As a result, Ripple secured a large market Japan due to its existing partnerships with some of the country’s largest banks that are participating in the Japan Bank Consortium while the majority of Ethereum’s user base and investors are based in the West and in South Korea.
However, the partnership between Toyota and Ethereum could play an important role in establishing a major market for Ethereum in Asia.
As Koji Higashi, the co-founder of IndieSquare and Japan-based analyst stated in the past, the Japanese altcoin market considers roots, origins and ties with Japan as important validation points to justify the value of altcoins. For that reason, Japan-originated NEM and Japanese banks-supported Ripple are the two most popular altcoins in Japan.
If Ethereum can take advantage of its partnership with Toyota, it will be able to secure a massive user base and investors in Japan in the upcoming months.
In regard to NEM’s strong brand image due to its ties with Japan, Higashi wrote:
“NEM’s private Blockchain solution developed by Zaif with NEM’s core developers is called MIJIN and it has established itself as a strong brand in the crypto space in Japan