In a busy week for news, let's take a look back at the top stories from the worlds of forex, fintech and crypto in our best of the week segment.
XRP Price Reaches the Highest Level in 3 Years
This was a big week for XRP. The trading week kicked off with a 20% increase in just 24 hours for XRP. The price rose after Ripple acquired a 40% stake in Tranglo, one of Asia’s largest cross-border payment firms.
On Monday, XRP hit its highest price since May 2018 making XRP the 7th largest cryptocurrency in the world.
Read more on Monday's XRP Price Rise here.
XRP Soars 38% After Key Legal Wins
Fast forward to the end of the week, and we saw XRP surge 38% in 24 hours following some key legal rulings.
The price jump, more than 110% over the last week so far, follow Ripple’s important wins by its legal team after a federal judge ruled that Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and former CEO Chris Larsen do not have to provide their personal financial records to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The United States District Court Judge Sarah Netburn, of the Southern District of New York, also ruled that the SEC’s requests for the records were not “relevant or proportional to the needs of the case.”
The legal rulings inspired a wave of investor confidence fueling a price surge in XRP which as of Sunday, makes it the 4th largest cryptocurrency behind only BTC, ETH and BNB.
Read more on the XRP Legal Rulings and Price Surge here.
Market Dominance of Bitcoin Drops Below 56%
As Finance Magnates reported on Monday, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is facing a sharp decline in its market dominance as other digital currencies are posting strong gains.
According to the data published by Coinmarketcap, Bitcoin’s market dominance stands at around 55.9%, which is its lowest level since May 2019. The overall market cap of digital currencies has reached $1.95 trillion, its highest level on record.
Read more on Bitcoin's declining market dominance here.
Bitcoin User Moves $300 Million Worth of BTC
Bitcoin whales are moving their crypto assets in large amounts again. This time a single anonymous user moved nearly $300 million worth of BTC yesterday.
According to the latest data published by Blockchain tracking and Analytics firm, Whale Alert, some user transferred 5,193 BTC to an unknown wallet on 6 April. The transaction was executed at 21:23 UTC on Tuesday.
Just last week, Finance Magnates reported on large BTC addresses that moved 21,334 Bitcoin in three separate transactions, totalling $1.2 billion, in just two hours on 1 April.
Read more on the latest big Bitcoin whale move here.
Exclusive: ABK Holding to Acquire FX and CFDs Broker CrescoFX
In a Finance Magnates exclusive, we revealed that ABK Holding JSC, which operates multiple brands in the trading industry, is moving to acquire London-based boutique broker, Cresco Capital Markets (UK) Ltd, known by its tradename CrescoFX.
ARK Co-Founders, Murat Kutay Yildirim, and Gokalp Icer have already conditionally agreed upon the terms of the acquisition deal, which is now pending the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s approval.
Read more on the ABK Holding Acquisition of CrescoFX here.
JPMorgan Gives $130,000 Bitcoin Price Target
As Finance Magnates reported on Monday, JPMorgan, said in a note that the $130,000 theoretical Bitcoin price target should be considered a long-term target.
According to the research note, the recent decline in Bitcoin’s volatility is attracting institutional investors. The bank highlighted that the price of BTC at $130,000 would match the total private sector investment in gold.
Read more on the JPMorgan Price Target Note here.
IC Markets’ March 2021 Trading Volume Surpassed $1 Trillion
IC Markets, the Sydney-based forex and CFDs trading services provider, announced on Wednesday that the trading volume for March 2021 on the platform came in at $1.04 trillion.
The astronomical growth in the monthly trading volume last month hit a record for IC Markets, which is higher than March 2020 when the Covid-spurred volatility initially pushed traders towards the markets.
The Aussie broker witnessed a demand surge across all asset classes, including forex, stocks, commodities, digital currencies and futures.
Read more on the IC Markets Record Trading Volume here.
TipRanks Secures $77 Million in a Prytek-Led Funding Round
TipRanks, the Israeli company offering financial analytics services, announced on Thursday that it has secured a $77 million investment. The funding round was led by technology company, Prytek and saw participation from several unnamed venture capitals.
The funding came when the company is witnessing massive demand for its analytics products among the growing retail trader base. The company revealed that it has more than 4 million monthly users after witnessing a 300 percent jump for its subscription-based services last year.
Read more on the TipRanks Investment here.
Exclusive: Trade Capital Acquires Spanish Online Broker ActivoTrade
In yet another Finance Magnates exclusive, we revealed that Trade Capital Holdings (TCH), which operates leading brokerage brands such as TRADE.com, has acquired Spanish online broker, ActivoTrade, thus further expanding its brand portfolio.
Regulated by the National Securities Market Commission, locally known as Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CMNV), ActivoTrade is one of the largest Spanish brokerage platforms. It has handled over 100 billion euros in trading volume since its establishment around a decade ago.
Read more on the Trade Capital ActivoTrade Acquisition here.
