Author: Anna Galvez

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Crypto

RippleNet Secures Its Position In The Middle East With Two More Partnerships

Ripple presence in the Middle East is more secure than ever with two new partnerships Ripple has recently signed with two main Kuwaiti banks. In the last months, Ripple dealt with banks from Saudi Arabia and the United Arabian Emirates, movements that showed the increasing interest the Middle East presented for the RippleNet transactions platforms.

More specifically, in 2017, UAE-based RAK Bank (National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah) accepted RippleNet for immediate and safe cross-border payments, especially for transfers to India’s Axis Bank. This partnership triggered another one, as well, and Ripple (XRP) was accepted by the UAE Exchange.

More recently, in April, BankDhofar, a bank based in Oman, accepted the Ripple’s blockchain network, the so-called RippleNet, thus becoming the first financial institution in the country (Oman) to accept the blockchain technology operated by Ripple.

Immediately after that partnership, a period of silence began and everybody thought that the Middle East is done with Ripple and the company will focus on another region.

RippleNet accepted by two main Kuwaiti banks

But the Middle East is like it is addicted to RippleNet and everybody wants it. Recently, Kuwait Finance House (KFH) reported they signed a deal with Ripple and joined RippleNet. KFH is the first Kuwaiti bank to join RippleNet and the first Islamic bank to adopt a cryptocurrency’s blockchain for running transactions.

Now, in another sudden announcement, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has hinted that adopted RippleNet, too, becoming the first Kuwaiti bank to adopt the platform for faster and cheaper cross-border payments.

The Middle East countries depend on RippleNet for conducting transactions because they are willing to evolve in terms of financial services in order to offer their residents faster and, more importantly, cheaper cross-border transactions.

As for the Ripple (XRP), the massive RippleNet’s adoption in the Middle East will also assist the cryptocurrency which will become more stable. As we speak, XRP is traded at $0.67, after decreasing by about 1.10% in the last 24 hours.

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Crypto

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Might Soon Implement Zero Mining Fees And FREE Transactions

CoinGeek and nChain joined into a new initiative dedicated to Bitcoin Cash (BCH) miners and which would permit BCH miners to personally reduce their own mining fees’ minimums, as well as their transactions prices. The two consider adjusting the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) mining software to implement the new settings.

First, CoinGeek and nChain must ditch the 546 Satoshis dust limit and set the software to accept values as small as 1 Satoshi for one transaction on the platform.

The second change in BCH mining software would be to allow the acceptance of several FREE transactions on each block the miner mined. This setting would mean that each miner will now have the right to accept FREE transactions and the platform can run with zero mining fees.

Why zero mining fees and FREE transactions on the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) mining software?

Both CoinGeek and nChain thought that such important changes, like zero mining fees and free transactions, will boost the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) adoption rate within the cryptocurrencies market. As the platform will have lower fees for transactions plus several free transactions, while, at the same time, there will be zero mining fees, more and more BCH holders will be drawn to the platform.

In the meantime, Bitcoin Jesus, Roger Ver, a renowned Bitcoin Cash (BCH) crusader, recently forecasted that Ethereum (ETH) will surpass Bitcoin (BTC) very soon. Even more, Roger Ver would’ve also said that by 2020 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) will surpass both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and will become the leader of the cryptocurrencies market.

At the moment, Roger Ver, a.k.a Bitcoin Jesus, is the advisor for the FinTech startup MoneyToken which will also accept BCH.

At the moment of this writing, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is traded at $1,122, recording a slight decrease of 1.82% in the last 24 hours. However, according to CoinGeek and nChain, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) will keep on gaining strength and value and will soon be a true force in the cryptocurrencies market.

 

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Crypto Finance

Ripple (XRP) Might Be Adopted By American Express For Cross-Border Payments

American Express (AMEX) is a global financial services firm that provides its clients with banking and payment services. Overall, AMEX is valued at about $33 billion in income and an overall staff count of over 50,000 people. In the end, they’re an enormous international company. Now, some rumors suggest that American Express thinks of implementing Ripple (XRP) for cross-border payments.

Intriguingly enough, Ripple company itself has mentioned American Express and not just in a solitary tweet but also in a full news article the company posted it in the news section of Ripple’s site.

American Express clearly understands the problems that SMEs face with traditional banking, from cross-border payments to access to credit. The company’s “Open Forum” is a popular and highly respected platform of resources and support to help small and medium-sized businesses grow.

Ripple

Will indeed American Express (AMEX) adopt Ripple (XRP) for cross-border payments?

The news released by Ripple mentions the problems the companies offering cross-border payments have to conquer in the nowadays financial system and how expansive and slow are the current systems that conduct international transactions.

In fact, AMEX is own of these businesses and its representatives already admitted that there is a need for faster and cheaper systems to conduct cross-border payments.

As we speak, American Express makes use of the Ripple’s xCurrent platform for just a few of its transactions but, as Ripple reported, AMEX would like to extend its anti-fraud prevention measures regarding cross-border transactions and would love to do that using the Ripple (XRP) blockchain.

With Ripple blockchain helping to facilitate behind-the-scenes transactions, American Express customers in the US are already seeing faster payments. Ripple (XRP) and American Express have also aligned themselves from a fraud perspective.

Ripple

Will this signify that we might get to see Ripple (XRP) adopted by American Express for its cross-border payments? It might indeed be so, first because AMEX is looking for more secure transactions and secondly because they’re already successfully collaborating with Ripple.

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Crypto News

IMF Leader, Christine Lagarde, Said Cryptocurrencies Will Affect The Way People Pay Bills Or Invest

The official blog of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) changed its perspective on cryptocurrencies from “the dark side of cryptocurrencies”, as published in an article in mid-March, to “the promise cryptocurrency holds”, in a note signed by Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s leader, recently.

According to the French lawyer, Christine Lagarde, currently the leader of the IMF, “with more than 1,600 cryptocurrencies in circulation, it is inevitable that many will not survive the process of creative destruction”, but “just as some of the technologies born out of the computer bubble have changed our lives, the cryptocurrencies that survive could significantly influence the way we save, invest and pay our bills.”

“That’s why the authorities should be open-minded and develop an impartial regulatory framework that reduces risks while allowing the creative process to bear fruit,” Lagarde added.

The IMF changed its point of view regarding cryptocurrencies and Christine Lagarde’s statements prove it

With regard to the benefits provided by cryptocurrencies, Lagarde was remarkably positive, admitting that cryptocurrencies make quick and inexpensive financial transactions possible.”

The IMF director general added that the technology on which cryptocurrencies are based, known as distributed general ledger, could facilitate a more efficient functioning of financial markets through the execution of smart contracts.

Christine Lagarde also highlighted the capacity for encrypted storage of important records in order to protect the property rights, strengthen the market confidence, or promote investments.

The IMF’s leader admitted that smart contracts “could eliminate the need for some intermediaries” but in her opinion “the ‘FinTech’ revolution will not eliminate the need for trusted intermediaries such as brokers and bankers.”

In short, Lagarde believes that cryptocurrencies “will propel the business world to a better balance between centralized entities and decentralized applications”, thus proving that IMF’s views regarding the cryptocurrencies market have changed radically in just a few months.

Categories
Crypto Markets

Coinbase Acquired Keystone Brokerage Firm And Circle P2P Payments Platform Seeks Banking License

The renowned cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, continues to make its way to emerge on the traditional stock market. Already one of the world’s leading Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrency trading platform, Coinbase has acquired the California-based securities brokerage firm Keystone.

While the details of the agreement are not yet known, speculation is growing that it is the first step for the cryptocurrency-related firm to offer products based on digital assets in the form of shares, in the future.

Keystone Capital Corp. is a US FINRA registered broker and is licensed to operate as an investment advisor, as well as to operate an alternative trading system, or ATS.

For Coinbase, which currently markets only the most capitalized cryptocurrencies on the market, the acquisition of Keystone could open up new business opportunities and allow it to offer its services to institutional investors with ease. Also, the acquisition of Keystone also increases the possibility that Coinbase may, in the future, expand on Wall Street.

But first, Coinbase will need regulatory approval to operate under Keystone’s licenses. President and COO Asiff Hirji said Coinbase is confident that he will get approval from the authorities. The company has advanced that in a matter of several months it will be able to integrate Keystone’s operations, once it obtains such approvals.

While Coinbase acquired Keystone, Goldman Sachs’ Circle P2P payments platform pursues a federal banking license

Coinbase movement is not the only one of this kind that has taken place in the last few hours.

Also, the P2P Circle payment platform, supported by Goldman Sachs in one of its final rounds of funding, pursues a federal banking license with the Office of the Currency (OCC) and registration as a brokerage and trading venue with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to Coin Telegraph, Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, has said that the platform first seeks the approval of the SEC and, to that end, has already withdrawn the tokens that do not confirm the US supervisor’s guidelines for the Poloniex cryptocurrency exchange platform, which they acquired for $400 million in late February.

Experts point out that Wall Street is taking small steps to give space to cryptocurrencies, thus the news that Coinbase acquired Keystone and Circle P2P payments platform seeks officials’ recognition shouldn’t come as a surprise.

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