Cryptocurrency exchange CoinField has launched an XRP validator which is already included in Ripple’s Unique Node List (UNL). According to a news release published on Oct. 2, “UNLs are the lists of transaction validators a given participant believes will not conspire to defraud them.” The exchange’s team has also reportedly been working on a new project based on XRP’s ledger (XRPL) for half a year. CoinField promises to release the details of it on Oct. 15. The platform’s CEO Bob Ras added: “This new ecosystem is the most sophisticated project ever built on top of XRPL, and it is the …

Samsung Pay, the mobile payments service of South Korean tech giant Samsung, has partnered with payments platform Finablr, Ripple’s RippleNet member, to offer cross-border payments feature Money Transfer to its app’s users. Finablr announced the partnership on Oct. 3, claiming that the new feature “offers users seamless and secure cross-border payments to 47 countries through a variety of payout methods, all within Samsung’s native mobile wallet.” Furthermore, United States-based Samsung Pay’s clients reportedly can use their debit or credit cards to send money via the service. Tokenized credentials Per the release, all the fees and exchange rates are included upfront, …

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he is not comfortable with private companies creating their own cryptocurrencies. Therefore, he ruled out plans of Apple releasing its own currency token. Though Facebook has announced plans to launch the Libra stablecoin, it is facing a lot of regulatory hurdles. Due to this, a few early backers of the project are reportedly planning to drop out, prominent among them being PayPal. The United States House Financial Services Committee has announced plans to question Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about Libra and the company’s advertising policies. After this, the committee wants Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg …

Friday, Oct. 4 — The top-20 crypto markets are solidly in the green, with just a few reporting mild losses, according to data from Coin360. Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading sideways after its slump from $8,400 to $8,100. Market visualization. Source: Coin360 The price of BTC has remained in a narrow corridor between $8,009 and $8,314 today, the price points which mark the low and the high of the leading crypto on the day. At press time, BTC is trading at around $8,131, up a modest 0.31% and trying to keep in the green. Bitcoin 24-hour price chart. Source: Coin360 …

Pantera Capital has led a $5 million strategic seed round of decentralized derivatives protocol Vega. According to an announcement published on Oct. 3, the round included participants such as Ripple’s investment arm Xpring, Hashed, NGC Ventures, gumi Cryptos Capital, Rockaway Blockchain, KR1, Eden Block, Focus Labs, Greenfield One, Monday Capital, RSK Ecosystem Fund, and a group of unnamed private investors. Against “profiteering, monitoring and control” Vega is currently focused on designing and implementing its core protocol for secure and non-custodial decentralized margin trading. The software aims to disintermediate derivatives trading — eliminating the “rent-seeking middlemen endemic to traditional capital markets” …

Manuel Andersch, senior FX analyst at the Bayerische Landesbank has published a report, which suggests that the “forthcoming halving effect has hardly been priced into the current Bitcoin (BTC) price.” Using a stock-to-flow ratio metric, the report projects a target price of $90,000 for Bitcoin in 2020. Though there were great expectations for the launch of Bakkt, it turned out to be a dud. A new report by Binance research suggests that the disappointing trading volume on Bakkt might have triggered the recent fall in Bitcoin. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group has said that they do not have any plans …

Major cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay has entered a partnership with Ripple’s investment arm Xpring to support payments with XRP. The development was announced in an Oct. 2 press release, revealing that now businesses can accept the third-largest digital currency XRP for payments via BitPay’s cross-border payments platform. As part of the cooperation, BitPay is also integrating its BitPay Wallet with Xpring’s developer platform. In a separate announcement, Xpring added that global companies are now able to accept XRP through BitPay without the need for integration and enhancements. Earlier today, Cointelegraph reported that web monetization platform Coil began supporting XRP payments …

Web monetization platform Coil now supports XRP payments in real time thanks to a partnership with payment gateway and XRP Ledger wallet provider GateHub. A news release published on Oct. 1 revealed that Coil users can now use GateHub to receive funds in XRP and convert them into euros, United States dollars, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Real-time micropayments for content creators Coil is a platform that provides an alternative method for creators to monetize their content online. As subscribing fans consume content, the platform uses an open API called Web Monetization to stream micropayments to creators instantaneously. The API …

Various cryptocurrency operators have joined hands to launch a rating system that will define how close a digital asset resembles a security. On a scale of one to five, one will be awarded to cryptocurrencies that are least characteristic of a security, whereas five will have the most similarities to a security. This rating system will provide clarity to asset managers who have stayed away due to the uncertain legal status of the cryptocurrencies. When sentiment turns bearish, many negative voices can be heard. Mark Cuban has reiterated his negative stance on Bitcoin (BTC) and has said that he would …

Ripple continues its run of acquisitions, announcing an expansion into Iceland with its acqui-hire of crypto trading firm Algrim in a blog post on Sept. 30. Ripple strengthens European presence The acquisition adds six engineers to Ripple’s ranks. This new team will play an integral role in its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) program. Per the announcement, Iceland will now serve as one of the company’s engineering hubs, joining London as another European base. Amir Sarhangi, Ripple’s vice president of products, said: “This team hits the ground running as opposed to building out a team that has to gain this knowledge.” Algrim …

The discourse surrounding the securities laws and the treatment of digital assets continues to draw debate among market participants, regulators and legal practitioners. One of the most high-profile targets in this ongoing debate is XRP, a digital asset issued by Ripple Labs Inc. Despite voluminous public examination, regulators have not reached a consensus on the appropriate treatment for this widely traded digital asset. Amid vociferous debate and clamoring from market participants for clear, concise and practical guidance from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the commission’s approach to the digital asset space to date has been notably sparse …

Saturday, Sept. 28 — All of the top-20 cryptocurrencies by market cap have entered the green zone, recovering from recent losses, with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering above the $8,000 mark, according to Coin360. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 Over the past day, Bitcoin has been trading in a narrow corridor between $7,889 and $8,244, which mark the coin’s lowest and highest price points over the past 24 hours. At press time, BTC is trading at around $8,093, up around 1.6% on the day. On its weekly charts, BTC is down by 20.4%, while its monthly losses amount to 18.16%. Yesterday, …