Binance, the second-largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume, has enabled instant purchases of four major digital currencies with the Russian ruble. The development allows Binance users to link their Visa banking card and purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB) and XRP with the ruble, according to a Feb. 5 announcement. The exchange claims that users can complete a purchase in less than a minute and do not have to make deposits prior to a purchase. In the near future, Binance is planning to launch Mastercard support, as well as other currencies. One of the top-ten markets on …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

Earlier this week, the Chamber of Digital Commerce went ahead and filed an amicus brief for the ongoing court hearing taking place between Telegram — one of the world’s most widely used encrypted messenger services — and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In its most basic sense, an amicus brief is a legal document that provides non-litigants with the right to submit their views and opinions in relation to an ongoing case for the court’s consideration. The brief was authored on behalf of the Chamber by Lilya Tessler, a partner and the New York head of Sidley Austin …

Ripple’s XRP sales continued to drop in the second half of 2019, with sales of the token reaching a historic low in Q4. According to a Jan. 22 blog post by Ripple — the firm behind the third largest crypto asset by market cap — total XRP sales in Q4 2019 accounted for $13.08 million, down more than 80% from the $66.24 million reported in Q3 2019. Ripple got rid of programmatic sales The massive decline in XRP sales in 2019 does not appear to be unexpected though. Specifically, quarterly XRP sales were consecutively dropping in 2019 as Ripple initiated …

BitPay, a leading provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, announced on Jan. 21 the launch of XRP payments and cross-border transfers. BitPay has also added support for XRP — the cryptocurrency used by Ripple’s payment network — to the BitPay Wallet app. Although rumors were circulating on Jan. 20 across Twitter and Reddit that BitPay had added support for XRP, the company officially confirmed its work with Ripple’s developer platform Xpring to complete the integration. According to BitPay’s CMO, Bill Zielke, BitPay merchants around the world are now able to accept XRP without any additional integrations required. Zielke said: …

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are commodities, while the status of XRP is still unclear, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said. CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert has reiterated the regulator’s stance on both Bitcoin and Ether in an interview with online news outlet Cheddar on Jan. 13. Tarbert said: “So right now, Bitcoin and Ether are the two that we think fall under our jurisdiction.” In the United States, the CFTC is responsible for regulating commodities, while securities fall under the Securities Exchange Commission. At the same time, the chairman has apparently for the first time expressed …

The CEO of blockchain payment network Ripple says the company does not want to “dump” its associated XRP cryptocurrency despite selling huge amounts of it. In an interview with CNN on Jan. 5, Brad Garlinghouse added fresh contention to the debate about Ripple’s relationship to XRP, which has gained 10% in the past 24 hours. Garlinghouse: Ripple “can’t control XRP price” “In the XRP community, Ripple is the largest owner, and the point I have made is we’re the most interested party in the success of the XRP ecosystem,” he told the network. On the topic of how Ripple manages …

Evan Schwartz, senior software developer at major crypto firm Ripple announced that he is leaving the cryptocurrency company after six and a half years. On Jan 2, the software engineer took to Twitter to announce that after working 2,328 days at the blockchain giant, today will be his last. Schwartz tweeted: “After 2328 days, or just under 6.5 years, today is my last day at @Ripple. Thank you to everyone who helped make it such an exciting ride; I'll be cheering the team on from the outside. Keep on building the #InternetOfValue!” Schwartz co-invented the Interledger protocol, which is an …

Ripple, the blockchain payment network notionally tied to altcoin XRP, has begun 2020 by releasing funds from its escrow worth $192 million. Data scanned from the XRP blockchain by monitoring resource Whale Alert caught the latest consignment of XRP tokens, which forms one installment of a pre-planned release schedule Ripple began in 2017. Ripple continues 55-month escrow schedule In a blog post at the time, officials explained that they would lock up 55 billion XRP, releasing funds each month over 55 months. The reason, they said, was to incentivize investors to keep interest and usage of XRP consistent. “We use …