Ripple, the firm behind the third largest cryptocurrency XRP, has made a new partnership to bolster cross-border payments between the United States and Mexico. The company has partnered with International Money Express, a money remittance services firm focused on the Latin and Caribbean corridor, Ripple announced on Feb. 5. Also known as Intermex, the new financial partner of Ripple is listed on the Nasdaq stock market with the stock quote IMXI. The new partnership could enable Intermex to implement Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product through RippleNet, the company’s global payment network connecting financial institutions. RippleNet’s ODL relies on the digital …

While many altcoins have been showing significant strength during the recent weeks, some have been lagging. One of these coins is XRP (XRP), which is still hovering around key support and has yet to show any upwards pressure recently. Exactly what is keeping XRP pinned under the descending trendline? Let’s find out through the charts. Crypto market daily performance. Source: Coin360 XRP/BTC faces a 2-year downtrend XRP BTC 12-hour chart. Source: TradingView The XRP/BTC chart shows the digital asset currently attempting to overcome the significant downwards trendline. As of late, many altcoins have been breaking out of their downtrends and …

Controversial altcoin XRP has finally launched on crypto derivatives giant BitMEX — but so far, its price has failed to react. In a tweet on Feb. 3, BitMEX confirmed it had decided to support XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, for perpetual swaps against the United States dollar. XRP squeezes out 7% gains Despite regular efforts from supporters to make major exchanges such as BitMEX pay attention to XRP, data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets suggests the actual interest in the token is minimal. XRP/USD briefly grew by 11% at the time of the announcement, only to abandon upward …

The recovery in cryptocurrency prices has ignited interest among institutional investors. In 2019, dedicated crypto funds returned more than 16% according to Eurekahedge while traditional hedge fund strategies returned 10.4% according to Hedge Fund Research, Inc. Several hedge funds and large trading firms use speed to their advantage by benefitting from pricing inefficiencies. Others profit from the spreads between bids and offers. While such entrants will improve the liquidity and provide depth to the markets, the crypto space will benefit more from investors who are in it for the long-term. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Bitcoin futures open interest …

Ripple’s Xpring will launch a community web page and forum referred to as “developer relations,” or DevRel, for its developer platform. Most of Xpring’s employees work on the engineering and product side of the table, explained a Feb. 1 blog post on the Xpring website. “We think of DevRel as the ears and mouth of Xpring,” the post reads. Xpring for devs Xpring originally functioned as Ripple’s investment branch. In October 2019, Ripple also launched an Xpring developer platform, giving creators a venue for digitizing money. Several months later, in December 2019, Xpring added features to its platform, including SDK, …

XRP price growth remains lackluster as February begins, despite blockchain payment network Ripple releasing 500 million tokens from its escrow. Data from the XRP blockchain noted by monitoring resource Whale Alert on Feb. 1 confirmed a single transaction of 500,000,000 tokens worth $119.5 million left Ripple’s escrow the same day. XRP “rewards” bagholders with 26% returns The move is the latest in a series of planned releases, which Ripple has scheduled to occur on the first of each month for 55 months. Its aim is to provide incentives for market makers, with Ripple nonetheless remaining in control of the newly-released …

Morgan Creek Capital CEO Mark Yusko believes that Bitcoin should be a part of every investment portfolio. The performance analysis of the past five years shows that even portfolios that only held 1% of their total investments in Bitcoin managed to outperform their competitors. Bitcoin offers a ten-to-one downside capture, which makes it one of the most asymmetric assets that Yusko has ever seen. The growing popularity of crypto derivatives indicates institutional players are gradually entering the space. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange group Managing Director and Global Head of Equity Index Alternative Investment Products, Tim McCourt, said: “CME Bitcoin futures …

As regulatory concerns over XRP — the world’s third-biggest crypto asset — have intensified, some celebrities are stepping in to voice more FUD about the coin. Ben Askren, former UFC fighter and known Bitcoin (BTC) bull, has driven more scepticism toward XRP with a short tweet on Jan. 28: “I think XRP is a scam.” Askren loves Bitcoin and Litecoin, not XRP Askren’s latest cryptocurrency verdict builds on a background of previous endorsements of other cryptocurrencies. The famous former Olympic wrestler is not only bullish on Bitcoin, but also supports Charlie Lee-founded Litecoin (LTC), the seventh biggest cryptocurrency by market …

Japanese consulting firm Nomura Research Institute, which is an affiliate of financial services giant Nomura Holdings, has launched a tradable cryptocurrency index in partnership with cryptocurrency investment solution provider Intelligence Unit. The index, which is meant for financial institutions, will track a basket of cryptocurrencies and can be traded in US dollars and yen. Though several financial companies have launched services for institutional investors, the inflow of money into the crypto space has been slow. Bitcoin options trading on Intercontinental Exchange’s digital asset platform Bakkt has been lackluster with nil volume reported for the past few days. Daily cryptocurrency market …

Two executives at Coinbase and Ripple are leading a push for smart regulations and transparency in the crypto-sphere that would arguably drive adoption and take blockchain technology mainstream. Market integrity must improve The Market Integrity Working Group’s co-chairs want regulators to grasp how they can advance the cryptocurrency industry. In an official company statement, Coinbase senior director and associate general counsel Rachel Nelson, in conjunction with Ripple’s head of global institutional markets Breanne Madigan, wrote: “To improve market integrity and provide consumers the confidence they deserve, Congress may need to enact legislation to support the orderly and secure functioning of …

Investors are rushing into various safe haven assets as the coronavirus death toll in China rises and the virus spreads in various Asian countries, the US, parts of Europe and Australia. Usually, the initial reaction to any crisis is to dump all asset classes but gradually, the investors start to differentiate between asset classes as they analyze the effect the crisis can have on them. After the initial sell-off in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies due to the coronavirus scare, the crypto markets have stabilized and are rising once again. The total market capitalization of the crypto universe has risen from …

Blockchain payment network Ripple launching an initial public offering (IPO) could, in fact, devalue the cryptocurrency in which it holds a majority stake. According to several market participants interviewed by Cointelegraph over the weekend, Ripple going public has potential implications for the fate of altcoin XRP. Ripple IPO: boom or bust for XRP? The company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, last week hinted an IPO may occur within the next year. In the face of flagging XRP prices, the impetus behind a major fundraising event is clear for commentators, but whether it would reverse the token’s fortunes is not at all clear. …