Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance listed four Russian ruble trading pairs, according to an announcement on Dec. 2. The first trading pairs featuring the ruble include Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and XRP. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao commented on the development in a tweet sent the same day. Binance’s addition of trading pairs follows the introduction of ruble trading on the platform in late October when Zhao announced that users could then deposit and withdraw fiat funds in rubles. Zhao has previously lauded Russia’s position as an important jurisdiction for the crypto and blockchain industries, recognizing the wealth of …

It’s the clichéd rhetoric of choice for anyone seeking to discredit crypto. An ace in the hole for any argument against its proliferation. The go-to thesis for those who know very little about cryptocurrency but wish to appear otherwise. The idea that cryptocurrencies are solely utilized within illicit activities has become both a tool for mass media to disparage the industry and, for many, a reason to steer well clear. But besides being a tired stereotype, it may also be true. That’s one of the prevailing problems with stereotypes: While many derive from truth, they often represent an oversimplified — …

The futures market provides good insight into the sentiment of larger players. If the futures volume continues to rise in a falling market, this indicates that a decline is likely to extend further. However, if the volume increases with a rise in price, this shows that the market participants are accumulating positions. On Nov. 27, Bitcoin closed in the green and Bitcoin futures on Bakkt hit a new all-time high volume record which was 60% higher than the previous record. This shows that institutional players have increased their activity during the most recent relief rally. This points to possible accumulation …

The theft of 342,000 Ether (ETH) from South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit could have halted the current relief rally taking place in the crypto market. However, Lee Seok-woo, the CEO of Upbit’s operator, Dunamu said that the company will cover for the losses. This erased some of the initial concerns of the market participants and improved sentiment. When sentiment is negative, the markets fall quickly but take a lot longer to rise. This week a bullish bit of news came from Bitcoin ATM firm Bitstop. The company intends to install Bitcoin ATMs at several Simon Malls locations in the United …

Updated 20:00 UTC, Nov. 26: This article has been updated to include comments from Omni Rentals that Cointelegraph received after initial publication. Omni Rentals, a $35 million-funded storage and rental startup backed by major crypto firm Ripple, is reportedly shutting down its operations. As Omni is expecting to close its platform by the end of 2019, about 10 of Omni’s engineers will be hired by major American crypto exchange and wallet service Coinbase, tech-focused publication TechCrunch reports Nov. 25. Omni had not made an official closure announcement at press time, but a representative from Omni did confirm the closure in …

Major money transmission network MoneyGram has announced that blockchain-based payments firm Ripple has completed its original commitment with a final $20 million investment. In a Nov. 25 press release, MoneyGram announced that Ripple Labs Inc. has made a final $20 million equity investment in MoneyGram as part of Ripple's original $50 million equity investment commitment. A total investment of $50 million In June, the two companies entered into a 2-year-strategic partnership to collaborate in cross-border payments and foreign exchange settlements with digital assets. As part of the agreement, MoneyGram would be able to draw up to $50 million dollars from …

The total crypto market capitalization has bounced from the $180 billion mark. We anticipate a strong support in the $168 billion to $183 billion range because the market cap had consolidated in this range in April of this year, before moving higher. So, on the way down, we expect this range to act as a strong support. Although Bitcoin (BTC) has started this leg of the down move, it is interesting to note that it has not given up its crypto market dominance, which remains above 66%. This shows that the altcoins are unlikely to go against Bitcoin’s main trend. …

Fear gripped the markets on the news that Chinese authorities had raided the offices of the leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance. This negated all the positive effects that had accrued following President Xi Jinping’s endorsement of blockchain technology. Though Binance denied reports of any raids, price action within the sector has remained subdued. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Naysayers will use these bearish moments to further spread panic among market participants by issuing outlandish targets on the downside. Peter Schiff believes that Bitcoin could plummet to $1,000 as it has formed a head and shoulders pattern. We, however, could not …

The Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell has said that the Fed is not developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), but it is conducting its own research to evaluate the benefits and limitations of such an initiative. On the other hand, Edith Cheung, partner at blockchain-focused venture capital fund Proof of Capital, believes that China will launch its digital currency within the next six to twelve months. A CBDC by a large economy will be an interesting development. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 The crypto markets have been losing ground in the past few weeks due to the …

At present, the combined capitalization of the 2,022 crypto assets with a known market cap was roughly $222 billion. On Nov. 19, 2017, just weeks before the current all-time highs would be set for the price and capitalization of Bitcoin and the crypto market overall, the 985 tokens with a known market cap represented a capitalization of around $244 billion — a similar zone to where the market is at currently. However, with the capitalization of Bitcoin (BTC) having grown 15% from $134.1 billion to $154.6 billion during the 24 months following November 2017, more than twice as many altcoins …

Cryptocurrency forensics and analysis firm Elliptic has tied about $400 million worth XRP tokens to illegal transactions. In a press release published on Nov. 20, the firm indicated that “the $400m of illicit activity identified by Elliptic represents less than 0.2% of total XRP transactions, demonstrating that the vast majority of activity is legitimate.” Tracing XRP’s relation to illicit activities Elliptic began analyzing XRP over a year ago and has identified that several hundred XRP accounts are related to illegal activity — from thefts to the sale of stolen credit cards, the release further reads. Commenting on the findings, Tom …

Since the Great Recession, the health of the global financial system has only deteriorated. Corrupt leadership, worsening standards of living and several other problems have sparked unrest in a number of countries. The latest country to see unrest is Iran. Recently protestors set several buildings on fire and one among them was a branch of Iran's central bank in Behbahan, a city located in the southwestern region of the country. Such events underline the importance of cryptocurrencies because crypto is the only asset class which cannot be controlled or manipulated by leaders and regulators. Though many suggest that gold can …