Ripple’s XRP emerged as one of the rare gainers during a subdued 24 hours in the cryptocurrency market that saw Bitcoin (BTC) and other top digital assets lose their value.

Data from CryptoSlate reveals that XRP surged by approximately 5%, reaching $0.53018 as of press time. This uptick follows Ripple’s significant victories during the reporting period as it secured licensing in Singapore and Judge Analisa Torres rejected the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) plea for an interlocutory appeal.

Ripple’s Singapore licensing

Earlier today, Ripple said its subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd, secured a “full” Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide digital payment token services in the country. The crypto payment country received an in-principle approval from the regulator in June.

The MPI license enables businesses to operate free from daily and monthly transaction limits. To qualify, the business must possess a Singaporean-registered company or branch, maintain a permanent business address for record-keeping, have a minimum capital of $250,000, and appoint at least one director with Singaporean citizenship or residency.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse described Singapore as a “progressive jurisdiction” that has ” developed into one of the leading fintech and digital asset hubs striking a balance between innovation, consumer protection, and responsible growth.”

Besides that, Judge Torres’s decision provides a closing chapter to the legal tussle between the company and the SEC for this year, with both parties scheduled for trial by April 23, 2024.

Selling pressure on the horizon

Despite this recent surge, XRP still confronts substantial selling pressure due to Ripple recently releasing one billion tokens from its escrow system.

While the crypto payment firm immediately relocked 800 million XRP, the company still holds 200 million tokens that could add more than $100 million in selling pressure to the market, potentially altering the current upward momentum of the asset.

The post Ripple’s XRP price jumps 5% fuelled by Singapore licensing acquisition amidst crypto market downturn appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Read More

The first deputy governor at Banque de France calls central bank digital currency “the catalyst for improving cross-border payments.“

Representatives of Banque de France, the French central bank, have embraced the global perspective on the central bank digital currency (CBDC) discussion, touting it as the foundation of a new international monetary system.

On Oct.3, Denis Beau, the first deputy governor at Banque de France, called the CBDC “the catalyst for improving cross-border payments by enabling the build-up of a new international monetary system.” The official emphasizes the necessity of considering cross-border issue around CBDCs from the outset and not as an afterthought.

Related: Head of Portugal central bank deems crypto unsustainable, calls for global regulation

Beau sees several paths for developing a CBDC. The first is the development of common standards and interoperability between wholesale CBDCs and legacy systems. The second — promoted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) — is the development of regional or global CBDC platforms. Wholesale CBDCs could be standardized to be exchanged directly on these platforms and perform payment versus payment and delivery versus payment transactions.

Beau cited the example of Project Mariana, which explored the possibilities of an automated market maker (AMM). The project, involving the Banque de France, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Swiss National Bank, successfully concluded in late September.

The official talked not only about the CBDCs but also about the tokenization of finance. He expressed his belief that the public sector must support the private sector more to enable the full potential of blockchain while limiting the risks. In his opinion, tokenized “central bank money availability” and tokenized assets are allies rather than competitors.

Read More

Bitcoin is witnessing a 16-year high in 30-year U.S. government bond yields, and money printing is all but guaranteed, says the ex-BitMEX CEO.

Bitcoin (BTC) flipping full bull could come courtesy of the United States government, a new prediction says.

In an X thread on Oct. 4, Arthur Hayes, former CEO of crypto exchange BitMEX, eyed ballooning yields as precursor to a new Bitcoin and crypto bull market.

Hayes: Bitcoin bulls should eye U.S. "no way out" moment

U.S. treasury yields are “screaming higher,” and with that, Hayes believes that a macroeconomic flashpoint is only a matter of time.

The reason comes in the form of a so-called “bear steepener” — a phenomenon that describes long-term interest rates rising more quickly than short-term ones.

“Why do I love these markets right now when yields are screaming higher? Bank models have no concept of a bear steepener occurring,” he argued.

Given the current steep rise in the 2s30s curve — the difference between the 30-year and 2-year yields — combined with rising long and short-term interest rates, the pressure across the economy is rising.

“Due to the leverage and non-linear risks embedded in banks' portfolios, they will be selling bonds or paying fixed on IRS as rates rise. More selling, begets more selling, which is no bueno for bond prices,” Hayes continued.

The result should be clear — a return to mass liquidity injections, counteracting the quantitative tightening seen since late 2021 which has pressured crypto markets.

For Hayes, this cannot come without major casualties along the way. He concluded:

“The faster this bear steepener rises, the faster someone goes belly up, the faster everyone recognises there is no way out other than money printing to save govt bond markets, the faster we get back to the crypto bull market :). The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

Separate data from TradingView shows the 30-year U.S. government bonds yield hitting 5% this week — a first since August 2007, before the Global Financial Crisis.

Continuing the discussion, Philip Swift, creator of statistics resource LookIntoBitcoin and co-founder of trading suite Decentrader, voiced his support for Hayes’ prognosis.

An accompanying chart showed Bitcoin’s relationship with treasury yields.

“That would be THE major catalyst for the Bitcoin bull market,” he commented about a theoretical return to money supply expansion.

U.S. debt sees its own "Uptober"

Alongside, the U.S. continues to add to its record-high national debt at an astonishing pace.

Related: Bitcoin analysts still predict a BTC price crash to $20K

Two weeks after the debt tally passed $33 trillion for the first time, the government increased its total by $275 billion in just one day.

This did not go unnoticed among financial commentators.

Total US debt just rose $275 billion in one day—the same amount as last month's total borrowing.

Yet —
• Unskilled military-aged foreign men are invading
• Violent criminals caught & released
• Open-air drug use
• American culture in shambles

The US doesn't work for you. pic.twitter.com/03YUxyiQtB

— Joe Consorti ⚡ (@JoeConsorti) October 3, 2023

“In a single day, the US added more than half of Bitcoin’s entire market cap in debt,” Samson Mow, CEO of Bitcoin adoption firm Jan3, responded.

“That’s something like 10 million BTC . And yet there are still people that are unsure if $27k is a good price to buy.”

BTC/USD traded at around $27,500 at the time of writing.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Read More