Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally above $50,000 seems to have received a boost from institutional buyers who are looking to hedge their portfolio against increasing inflation, said JPMorgan in a note to its clients on Oct. 7. The bank’s analysts speculated that institutional investors may be preferring Bitcoin over gold as a better hedge against inflation. A recent study titled “Cryptocurrencies and the Sharpe Ratio of Traditional Investment Models” by crypto asset management firms Iconic Funds and Cryptology Asset Group showed that the addition of cryptocurrencies to any portfolio improved returns and risk-reward performance of the portfolio. Bloomberg senior commodity strategist Mike …

Financial services company MoneyGram International has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to enable consumers to send money using Circle’s popular stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), and convert directly to and from fiat. Per a Wednesday announcement, MoneyGram has integrated support allowing crypto wallets connected to the Stellar Network to access its global retail platform. Working alongside Circle, MoneyGram will also enable “near-instant backend settlement,” account funding and local fiat withdrawals using the USDC stable token. United Texas Bank will act as the settlement bank to complete the process within the regulatory framework. “As crypto and digital currencies rise in prominence, …

Bitcoin (BTC) skyrocketed above the $1 trillion market capitalization on Oct. 6, pulling the total crypto market capitalization close to $2.3 trillion. This marks a complete 100% recovery from the June 22 lows when the total crypto market capitalization had plunged to about $1.15 trillion. According to Chainalysis, the Central and Southern Asia and Oceania region saw a massive increase of 706% in crypto transactions between July 2020 and June 2021. The total transaction value was $572.5 billion, accounting for 14% of the global transaction value. The Bank of America Corporation (BoA) subsidiary, BofA Securities, published a report on Oct. …

There has been another twist in the ongoing battle between distributed ledger technology firm Ripple and the United State Securities and Exchange Commission. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that individuals holding the company’s XRP token cannot act in Ripple’s ongoing lawsuit as defendants. The determination comes after a number of XRP token holders aimed to file “friends of the court” briefs, which would allow them to join the case as defendants and support Ripple in its claims that the token does not violate securities laws. Judge Torres asserted that allowing XRP holders to join the suit would …

Bitcoin (BTC) is facing rejection near $50,000, indicating that bears are not ready to give up without a fight. Many analysts expect Bitcoin to soar in the last quarter of the year and stock-to-flow model creator PlanB says the “worst-case scenario” for Bitcoin in October is $63,000 and $98,000 by November. PlanB is not alone in his bullish projection. Using Bitcoin’s relative strength index (RSI) indicator during the four-year cycle, Twitter commentator TechDev suggests that the second leg of the 2021 bull run may just be getting started. The trader expects Bitcoin’s cycle top to be around $200,000. While historical …

The month of September stayed true to its billing as a historically weak period for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC) closed the month with a loss of about 7%. However, October may bring cheer to the bulls because Bitcoin has risen in six of the past eight years, falling only in 2014 and 2018. The bulls started the month on a positive note as bears scurried to close their short positions. Data shows that more than $270 million worth of short positions were liquidated within minutes. The enthusiasm for Bitcoin was shared by several altcoins that alsosurged higher on Oct. 1. Bitcoin …

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are attempting to bounce off their critical support levels as bulls try to thwart attempts by the bears to deepen the correction. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the Code Conference in California recently that governments cannot “destroy crypto,” due to its decentralized nature but can “slow down its advancement.” Data shows that whales have been moving record amounts of Bitcoin in the past two weeks. The total transfer volume of transactions, worth $10 million and higher, has surpassed levels seen when Bitcoin’s price was near $60,000. According to on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators, “smaller” …

Ripple's (XRP) rallied 72% from Aug. 7 to Aug. 14 but since then, every attempt to break out of the descending channel has been quickly suppressed. The past ten days have been no different, with the XRP price correcting by 15%. The platform was first launched in 2012 and Ripple is a distributed open-source protocol and remittance system created by United States-based Ripple Labs. The company provides cross-border payment solutions through domestic partnerships or by offering RippleNet services. At one point, XRP price was trading above $2, but the ongoing multi-year lawsuit between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange …

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) recovered a large part of the losses that happened due to the knee-jerk reaction to China's regulatory crackdown on Sept. 24. This suggests that crypto markets have absorbed the news-based selling, with long-term investors likely using the dip to accumulate. However, a rally may have to wait as market participants watch the outcome of the infrastructure bill this week, which could see the debate start on Sept. 27 and the final vote on Sept. 30. The broad definition of a “broker” may cause some volatility in crypto markets but HODLers are unlikely to be shaken. …

Amid the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and United States’ securities regulators, a former U.S. Treasurer and Ripple board member has voiced support for XRP. Former Treasurer Rosa Rios, who joined Ripple’s board of directors in May 2021, took to Twitter on Sunday to reiterate her confidence in XRP while criticizing other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). Rios argued that jurisdictions like China are now cracking down on Bitcoin, as cryptocurrencies like BTC allegedly provide nothing more than a tool for speculation. Tagging Bitcoin, Ripple and its payment ecosystem, RippleNet, the former U.S. official wrote: “XRP’s primary purpose is facilitating …

The crypto market’s recovery was rocked on Sept. 24 after news that China's government is adopting a new set of measures that includes stronger inter-departmental coordination to “cut off payment channels, dispose of relevant websites and mobile applications” to crack down on illegal cryptocurrency transactions efficiently. Although the news has caused a selloff, long-term investors are unlikely to be perturbed because, apart from announcing additional measures to enforce the existing ban effectively, there is nothing else that has changed. China first announced a ban on cryptocurrencies back in September 2017 and that news had also resulted in a sharp correction …

The crypto markets and United States equity markets are attempting recovery on Sept. 22 as fears of a widespread contagion due to Chinese developer Evergrande defaulting on its debt recede. Bridgewater Associates co-chairman and co-chief investment office Ray Dalio said on Sept. 22 that Evergrande’s debt was “manageable.” Ming Tan, a director at the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s, said that the Chinese government may step in and restructure Evergrande. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index had plunged to 21 levels, indicating extreme fear among investors. However, while speaking on CNBC, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said that the …