This step will probably help them to get some more partners but the value of Ripple will still go down to drain as long as they keep on releasing coins!
I don't see Ripple value going to down to drain. It is performing better than most cryptocurrencies out there, as it is stable in Rank 3 for a long time...
I think smartcontracts are overhyped for now. Until there are real use application for them (something more than ICOs and cryptokitties and games), they won't do much. For those, we need Oracles (to bring data outside blockchain to smartcontracts), but we a milestone away from that now...
This is pretty interesting information. Is Ripple going to challenge Ethereum?
No, it is not challenging or competing to ethereum. They are different blockchains with different purposes.
Ethereum is intended to be decentralized world computer, where decentralized apps run on top of it. dApps are applications which cannot be turned off, because they run on a decentralized plataform. XRP is not decentralized and cannot do that, neither is its objective.
On the other hand, XRP aims to work with financial corporations proving financial services. Faster transactions for example, and I believe those smartcontracts will intermediate agreements between banks and other financial institutions. Nothing to do with dApps, cryptokitties, games and so on.
