Ripple (XRP) has broken the wider cryptocurrency downturn today, adding over 7% following the weekend’s wild market moves, after a surprise announcement from U.S. exchange and wallet provider Coinbase.
Coinbase has revealed it will today add ripple, a common name for the XRP tradable token, to its platform for its Coinbase Pro users as the company begins to ramp up its support for different cryptocurrencies.
The news moved the needle on a number of other major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and stellar, according to price data from CoinMarketCap.
Ripple’s XPR been heavily sold off over the last six months, following the wider cryptocurrency market lower.Getty
The ripple (XRP) price is now trading at a little over $0.32, according to the latest prices from CoinDesk’s tracker.
“XRP trading will initially be accessible for Coinbase Pro users in the U.S. (excluding New York), U.K., supported European Union member nations, Canada, Singapore, and Australia,” a Coinbase blog post read. “Additional jurisdictions may be added at a later date.”
San Francisco-based Coinbase already supports bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash and has indicated it is considering adding many more in coming months.
The latest development could be seen as a big win for Ripple’s XRP, which has historically been seen as standing apart from many other major cryptocurrencies.
Ripple (XRP) support on Coinbase’s professional trading platform comes as cryptocurrency investors and traders nervously await institutional support for crypto—something that’s long been seen as propping up the bitcoin price.
The sudden ripple (XRP) price rise follows a tumultuous weekend for the bitcoin and cryptocurrency market which saw bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies rocket higher on Saturday before falling sharply on Sunday.
The volatility was attributed to ethereum’s upcoming hard fork, scheduled for this coming Wednesday.
The ripple (XRP) price has swung wildly over the last few days.Coindesk
“This latest crypto sell-off is a stark reminder that crypto-assets remain a volatile, developing asset-class, and investors should act accordingly. Bulls will be watching to see if [bitcoin] prices can hold at $3,800, as this would be a nice place to build support,” said Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at brokerage eToro.
“Curiously, this slide was led by ethereum, which dropped about 5 minutes ahead of the rest of the market. As such, ethereum has now become a bell weather asset for the market. Last week’s miniature bull run was led by ethereum, and this latest slide means the asset cements its place as a key signal for investors watching the market.”
The ripple (XRP) price has struggled over the last six months after a surge of excitement following announcements that some big banks would use Ripple technology for international payments.
XRP is down more than 80% from its peak as most major cryptocurrencies readjust following 2017’s massive bull run. The ripple price surged to more than $3 in January last year, up from just $0.006 at the start of 2017.
XRP, of which 60% is owned by Ripple, is currently the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, trailing ethereum and bitcoin.
The ripple (XRP) price rise pushed the wider market higher.CoinMarketCap
Ripple last year boasted it had signed up a number of banks around the world to use its technology, designed to make international payments quicker and cheaper, and throwing down the gauntlet to bank-owned incumbent Swift.
Ripple now claims to have some 200 banks and payment providers on its RippleNet network, including Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered.
XRP, developed by Ripple in 2012 for use on the Ripple payment protocol, was though given a boost last week after U.S. bank J.P. Morgan revealed it was developing its own private cryptocurrency to rival Ripple’s XRP.