The global payments industry is bullish on the potential of cryptocurrencies and blockchain to enable faster and cheaper transactions, according to a new survey co-hosted by Ripple. Blockchain-based digital payment network Ripple and the Faster Payments Council (FPC) payment organization on March 2 issued a report devoted to the opportunities of crypto-enabled payments. Titled “Transforming the Way Money Moves,” the report provides insights on global crypto payment trends based on a survey sent to over 950 FPC subscribers, such as analysts and CEOs across 45 countries. The survey included a total of 281 respondents addressing 25 questions on topics of …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) admitted on record that the sale of LBRY tokens in the secondary market doesn’t constitute a security. The settlement came during an appeal hearing in the LBRY vs. SEC case on Jan. 30. LBRY Hearing: The Stakes for ALL Crypto https://t.co/YPbrBkw0Od — CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) January 30, 2023 In what many called a victory for the entire crypto industry against SEC’s overreach regulation by enforcement, Attorney John Deaton settled a major debate during the appeal hearing. SEC was awarded summary judgment in its favor during the Nov. 07 hearing. The judgment categorized each …

Monica Long has been named the new president of Ripple, moving up from the general manager position. Long joined the company in 2013 as director of communications and expanded her role last year from general manager of RippleX, the blockchain development side of the business, to general manager of the company as a whole, adding RippleNet, the company’s financial network, to her purview. The presidency of Ripple has been a somewhat nebulous position until now, with the title being ascribed to both co-founders Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen at various times. Long’s promotion comes at a good moment for the …

Key figures from the wider cryptocurrency space painted a picture of increased dialogue and collaboration at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology remained but a small part of the projects and initiatives discussed and workshopped at the annual WEF conference high in the Swiss Alps. However, an increased number of sessions focused on the sector suggests that the wider world is looking for synergies between traditional finance and decentralized finance. This theme emerged from a number of interviews conducted by Cointelegraph during January’s conference in Davos. Senior executives from XRP issuer Ripple and USD …

Online fraudsters are impersonating major cryptocurrency firms like Ripple and Binance by creating fake websites and email imposters pretending to provide staking services for XRP. One such website, ripple.com-staking.tech, includes a blog post titled “XRP staking set to debut January 2023 for retail users,” inviting users to “stake” their XRP with unrealistic returns on investment (ROI), ranging from 12% to 27%. The fake scheme attempts to rush XRP investors’ decision by stating that only the first 10,000 accounts will receive a higher ROI. The fake website provides a well-crafted clone of Ripple’s website, ripple.com, by copying the original layout, and …

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects the firm’s long-running dispute with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will be finalized within “single-digit months” and remains confident in securing a favorable outcome. Speaking to CNBC on Jan. 18 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Garlinghouse said the verdict could come as soon as June this year now that both parties have “fully filled and fully briefed” their arguments before the U.S. District Court: “We expect a decision from a judge certainly in 2023. You don’t really have control over when a judge makes their decisions. But I’m optimistic that sometime in …

The Flare (FLR) token airdrop started on Mon., Jan. 9, nearly two years after a snapshot of Ripple (XRP) holders took place on Dec. 12, 2020. The FLR airdrop was distributed at a ratio of 1.0073 FLR per 1 XRP and the initial distribution saw 15% of the total supply released to the community. A total of 28.5 billion FLR were distributed based on this methodology and according to Flare’s tokenomics, 58.3% of the total genesis FLR supply will be distributed over 36 months. What is Flare? Flare is a Layer-1 blockchain with an oracle system aiming to boost interoperability …

The cryptocurrency industry will see increased consolidation in 2023 as healthier companies acquire more crypto and blockchain companies, according to a senior executive at Ripple. Sendi Young, Ripple’s managing director for Europe, took to Twitter on Jan. 9 to share a set of industry predictions for 2023, expressing confidence about crypto in the near future. According to Young’s forecast, the coming year will bring many acquisitions in the blockchain and crypto industry, which will help such companies and startups fill the gaps in their capabilities. The acquisitions will further strengthen the industry in the aftermath of casualties like the FTX …

Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, shared in a Jan. 3 Twitter thread he's “cautiously optimistic” about the United States gaining "breakthrough" regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency industry in 2023. To mark the first day of the 118th Congress, Garlinghouse shared his hopes of 2023 being the year the U.S. gained regulatory clarity for crypto and added support for regulation is “bipartisan & bicameral.” Today is the first day of the 118th Congress. While prior efforts at regulatory clarity for crypto in the US have stalled, I am cautiously optimistic that 2023 is the year we will (finally!) see a breakthrough. A …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested to seal the infamous Hinman Speech documents, claiming that they are not relevant to the court’s summary judgment decision. The Motion to Seal Summary Judgment Document was filed by the SEC on Dec. 22, requesting the sealing of various information and documents, most notably the Hinman Speech documents. The Hinman Speech documents refer to the speech given by former SEC Corporation Finance Division Director William Hinman at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018, where he reportedly stated that Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, …

The bear market and the wave of bankruptcies in the crypto industry drained $116 billion from the pockets of founders and investors in the past nine months, according to recent estimates by Forbes. The loss represents the combined personal equity of 17 people in the space, with over 15 losing more than half of their fortunes since March. As a result, 10 names were removed from the crypto billionaires list. One of the major losses was attributed to Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao. In March, his 70% stake in the crypto exchange was valued at $65 billion, but it is …

Wrapped XRP (wXRP) is a crypto asset pegged to XRP (XRP) and can be used on blockchains other than Ripple’s native XRP Ledger. Ripple is a blockchain-based global payments system providing crypto solutions for businesses, and XRP is the native currency of the Ripple network. Identical in value, its wrapped version, wXRP, can be used in financial payments and settlements on other blockchains. This article will discuss why we need wXRP, how to buy wXRP, use cases of wXRP, and the purpose and safety of wXRP tokens. What are wrapped cryptocurrencies? Wrapped cryptocurrencies are tokens that are used as cryptocurrencies …