Ripple price news LIVE: XRP back in RED days after cryptocurrency sell-off
Ripple’s price has fallen to below $1 as it plunged to a low of $0.90 early on Friday morning.
Its price mirrors the trends seen among other cryptocurrencies at the moment, with Bitcoin and Ethereum also beginning the day in the red.
The markets opened with Ripple standing at $0.93 and took a dramatic plunge to $0.898 at around 1am.
Ripple’s price is currently $0.95 as of 9am on Friday February 23.
Saturday, February 24
4.16pm: Ripple's price is now $0.94
The token is still in the red this afternoon, down 5.14 percent.
However it seems to still have been a steady month for XRP other than its low of $0.59 on February 6.
10.30am: Ripple plunges again - back in the red
Ripple is still in the red this morning at $0.94 - falling by 6.29 percent today according to CoinMarketCap.
XRP’s market cap has also dipped down to $36,701,379,307.
Bitcoin, too, is down today after dipping below the $10,000 mark again to $9,91691.
And Ethereum, the second largest crypto by market cap, is down to $831 - a fall of 3.80 percent in the last 24 hours.
9.25pm: XRP remains steady
XRP hasn't moved in the last two hours, remaining at $0.98 at 9.19pm.
Bitcoin dipped a little over the last 24 hours but the rival digital token is also looking stable at $10,091.
8pm: LGBT charity launches own cryptocurrency
An LGBT digital token is being launched to support the ‘pink economy’ and fight LGBT abuses.
The LGBT Token scheme will use blockchain - the technology behind digital currencies such as bitcoin - to create a digital system that will make the community's economic power more visible, said the Hong Kong-based LGBT Foundation.
Its president Christof Wittig told the Thomson Reuters Foundation: “This is a significant economic force that's still poorly understood by brands.”
The ‘pink economy’ is estimated to be worth for $4.6 trillion a year, according to the LGBT Foundation.
The digital tokens, which are expected to be issued in April, will be used with the existing Ethereum cryptocurrency.
Price update: Ripple is at $0.98, with a total market cap of $38,334 billion.
6pm: Ripple hovers below $1 mark
Ripple has dipped below $1 again and was at $0.98 at 5.09pm, up 5.39 percent on the last 24 hours.
This evening, all the cryptocurrencies are in the green.
5.40pm: Venezuela launches second cryptocurrency in one week
Venezuela is planning to launch a new digital currency backed by gold and other precious metals after its oil-backed Petro cryptocurrency was released on Tuesday.
In an televised announcement today, President Nicolas Maduro said: "Next week I'm going to launch the Petro Gold, backed by gold, which is even more powerful, to strengthen the Petro.”
Earlier this week, President Maduro promised 100 million new Petro tokens with a starting price of $60 each and a total of $6 billion - $735 million was raised in one day.
The US Treasury Department, along with other investors and unions, has issued concerns over the move but other countries have already said they will be willing to accept the cryptocurrency.
Mr Maduro has said the launch of Petro and Patro Gold will combat sanctions and the “economic war” waged by the US government against his country, TeleSUR news reported.
5.30pm Kat Hopps takes over live reporting from Amani Hughes
3.30pm: Bank of China moves to patent blockchain scaling system
Bank of China has filed a patent application for a process which is able to scale blockchain systems.
A document released on February 23, by China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), which was first submitted on September 28 last year and invented by Zhao Shuxiang, Coindesk reports.
Instead of letting a new block store transactions from its previous one, a data compressing system could be used to pack transactions from multiple blocks into what the patent calls a “data block.”
As the patent application describes, once the system receives a request to compress transactions from block 1 to 1,000, it causes a new data block to be formed and temporarily hosted on a different storage system. The system will then run the packed data through a hash function with a hash value.
Further, the compression system will give labels to identify blocks on the blockchain, newly formed data blocks and the compression event. The corresponding relationship among the three labels is also recorded on the blockchain.
1.18pm: Ripple reaches above $1
Ripple has reached above $1.01, and is now 5.89 percent up compared to 24 hours from yesterday.
It is now a $39,607 billion market cap and in the green compared to earlier today.
11.16am: Large housebuilding firm set to accept Bitcoin
One of Northern Ireland's largest homebuilders is to accept the digital currency Bitcoin.
Ballyclare-based Hagan Homes is believed to be the first firm of its kind in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland to take the step.
The worldwide payment system enables peer-to-peer transactions between users without an intermediary.
Managing director Jamesy Hagan said: "Bitcoin is an innovative new payment method and essentially a new kind of money. It is very similar to a cash transaction.
"There has been a significant growth in the use of Bitcoin worldwide and our acceptance of this new channel reflects our willingness to respond to the market."
10am: Fall in cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies across the board, have faced a fall in prices this week and eToro said cited the launch of the inquiry by the Treasury Committee as being a factor.
Iqbal Gandham, UK Managing Director at eToro, one of the largest cryptocurrency retailers in Europe, said: "One reason why cryptocurrency prices have struggled to recover is due to the announcement that the Treasury Committee is launching an inquiry into cryptocurrencies.
"We welcome progress towards introducing appropriate regulation for cryptocurrencies, as the right framework can help ensure consumer safety, promote best practice, and help promote the UK as a global leader in blockchain technology.
“With regard to the recent price swings, cryptocurrencies are still in their very early stages of development and remain volatile. However, we believe in their long term future, so don’t think investors should be overly concerned about these price fluctuations.”
(html comment removed: Start of Brightcove iframe Player )9.15am: Government announced inquiry into cryptocurrencies
Yesterday the government announced an inquiry into cryptocurrencies and the increasing need for regulation.
Nicky Morgan, chair of the committee, said: "People are becoming increasingly aware of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, but they may not be aware that they are currently unregulated in the UK, and that there is no protection for individual investors.
"The Treasury Committee will look at the potential risks that digital currencies could generate for consumers, businesses, and governments, including those relating to volatility, money laundering, and cyber-crime.
"We will also examine the potential benefits of cryptocurrencies and the technology underpinning them, how they can create innovative opportunities, and to what extent they could disrupt the economy and replace traditional means of payment.”
9am: Ripple starts the day in the RED
Ripple's price currently stands at $0.982 as of 9am, wiping 1.74 percent off the price of the cryptocurrency within 24 hours.
It reached a low of $0.898 at around 1am this morning, with a total market cap of $38,404 billion.
The markets opened with the price of Ripple sitting at $0.934, the price then plunged to $0.898 at around 1am this morning before making up some ground and rising throughout the rest of the morning.
Follow @davidlanz for real-time crypto news!