Bitcoin price news squashed by Ripple in BTC XRP rally

Today the cryptocoin Ripple caught the news draft and blew Bitcoin right out of the water. Bitcoin prices are still well and away higher than Ripple, of course, but catching up to Ethereum – and surpassing Ethereum – the rise of Ripple stole the show, the whole afternoon. As such, prices rose to just under half of the all-time-high for the coin.

Bitcoin prices rose and fell between $14,000 and $15,000 USD today, a range that should be shocking. However, given the action the pair BTC USD saw over the past few weeks, this range isn’t at all mind-blowing. It’s Ripple that’s the true banger of all the charts this afternoon.

An announcement by Ripple back on December 14th began a rally that continued through today, catalyzed by several elements. “The Japan Bank Consortium — a coalition of 61 banks in Japan, organized by SBI Ripple Asia — has announced the launch of a new Ripple pilot with Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, two of South Korea’s largest banks with a collective market capitalization of more than $30 billion,” said Team Ripple PR.

“The Japan Bank Consortium’s pilot with Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank brings us closer to sending money in an important corridor,” said Emi Yoshikawa, director of partnerships at Ripple. “The use of RippleNet to send cross-border payments reinforces that financial institutions are ready to provide a modern payments experience and enable to the Internet of Value.”

Articles in major money-centric news organizations like the Financial Times made certain today was the day for a moon journey. According to FT, Ripple’s current market value makes it one of the largest banks in the world – amongst the 30 biggest banks worldwide – if it were a bank, that is to say.

At the time at which this article is set to be published, the Ripple rally may well be over – for now. As always, no SlashGear article should be taken as any sort of financial advice. Neither the author nor the publication is responsible for any actions you, the reader, take before, during, or after you’ve visited this text – happy hunting!

Article by: Chris Burns (head editor for SlashGear)