Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• The approval allows limited crypto-related activities but not full financial services authorisation.
• Registration confirms compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules.
• The approval supports Ripple’s expansion in regulated international markets.

Ripple has taken a formal step into the regulated UK crypto market after securing approval from the country’s financial watchdog.

The development places Ripple among a limited group of digital asset firms that have met the UK’s compliance standards, at a time when regulators are tightening supervision of the sector.

The move reflects how crypto companies are increasingly navigating jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction rules to maintain access to key financial centres.

For the UK, it also underscores efforts to bring crypto activity within an established regulatory perimeter rather than leaving it to operate on the margins.

FCA registration status

Ripple’s UK subsidiary, Ripple Markets UK Ltd., has been registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under the country’s money laundering regulations.

The update appeared on the FCA’s official register on Friday, confirming that the entity has satisfied the regulator’s requirements related to financial crime controls.

Registration under these rules signals that Ripple complies with UK standards on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.

Firms listed on the register are required to monitor transactions, carry out customer due diligence, and report suspicious activity.

For crypto businesses, this registration is a legal requirement to operate certain services in the UK.

Scope of the approval

While the registration allows Ripple to carry out specific crypto-related activities, it does not amount to full financial services authorisation.

The FCA’s approval is limited in scope and does not permit activities such as offering regulated investment products or providing broader banking services.

This distinction is central to the UK’s regulatory framework for digital assets.

Crypto firms can gain entry to the market by meeting baseline compliance requirements, but further permissions are needed as business models expand into more heavily regulated areas.

Ripple’s status reflects compliance with financial crime rules rather than a comprehensive licence.

UK regulatory direction

Ripple’s approval comes as the UK seeks to position itself as a global hub for digital assets while strengthening oversight.

Policymakers have been working to integrate crypto firms into existing regulatory structures, focusing first on areas such as money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

The FCA has adopted a selective approach to crypto registrations, with many applicants failing to meet its standards in previous years.

Against this background, inclusion on the register indicates that Ripple has cleared a relatively high compliance bar.

The process also highlights the regulator’s emphasis on governance and controls rather than rapid market expansion.

The post UK’s FCA grants regulatory approval to Ripple appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Polygon price pumped to highs of $0.15 amid a 15% spike.
• The POL token rose on Thursday as Bitcoin tried to bounce off its latest lows around $90,000.
• Open Money Stack and the potential Coinme acquisition buoyed buyers.

Polygon (ex-MATIC) saw a sharp 15% price surge in the past 24 hours, with the token inching to its highest level in a month amid broader cryptocurrency weakness.

The POL token traded around $0.14 at the time of writing, with trading volume up 137% to $228 million.

While Bitcoin seemed to struggle with downside pressure on Friday, the Polygon price spiked.

Data showed a double-digit rally, allowing the bulls to hit intraday highs of $0.15, gains that have added to renewed momentum following the ex-MATIC token’s rise from lows of $0.09 on January 1, 2026.

Polygon price today: Why is POL soaring?

As noted, the Polygon token’s price jumped to near $0.15 as the community reacted enthusiastically to key project-related developments.

Pivotal among these are plans to make the network the future of on-chain money.

News of what lies ahead in 2026 appears to have boosted bullish sentiment for the Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution.

The vision is outlined by Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal and Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron.

Specifically, the project has announced Open Money Stack, a modular framework designed to bridge fiat and on-chain settlement.

Instead of creating a closed ecosystem, the Open Money Stack is built to be interoperable, allowing businesses to adopt only the components they require while remaining connected to other networks.

Polygon presents this approach as a move toward making blockchain-based payments as seamless as those in traditional financial systems.

According to Nailwal, “all money will move on-chain over time,” and Open Money Stack positions Polygon as a foundational infrastructure for the next era of programmable finance.

Another news that buoyed bulls was the report that Polygon is close to sealing a $100-$125 million acquisition of Coinme, a prominent Bitcoin ATM operator.

Coinme is one of the largest crypto ATM platforms and has a presence across 49 US states.

The acquisition represents a strategic move for Polygon and is key to the quest to bridge traditional fiat infrastructure and blockchain technology.

Investors are showing confidence amid these developments.

Overall, these moves signal the L2’s ambitious evolution.

Polygon price forecast

Bulls are hovering at a month high after breaking above the key resistance at $0.13.

Market conditions suggest caution is warranted. However, Polygon’s trajectory could extend upwards if bullish momentum persists.

The token’s recent breakout from lower levels showed bullish strength.

Buyers feared for the worst when POL dropped below $0.10, but amid a notable bounce, the next critical threshold lies at $0.20.

If bulls successfully reclaim this level, it could pave the way for a more substantial rally.

Immediate supply wall pressure above the $0.20 area will be $0.27 and $0.30, with the near term allowing for a retest of $0.50 range.

On the downside, year-to-date lows of $0.09 remain a key target.

The extended RSI on the chart above suggests potential pullback amid profit-taking.

The post Polygon (POL) jumps 15% as open money stack plans and Coinme deal boost sentiment appeared first on CoinJournal.

• XRP’s rally paused as spot ETF inflows slowed and early profit-taking emerged.
• Technical resistance triggered selling, but long-term holders stayed largely inactive.
• Price outlook hinges on holding key support while ETF demand stabilises.

XRP entered 2026 with powerful momentum after ending last year on a strong institutional narrative.

The token quickly outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in early January, drawing renewed attention from traders, funds, and mainstream media.

Spot XRP ETFs were a major driver of this enthusiasm, as consistent inflows signalled sustained institutional demand.

Low exchange balances reinforced the bullish case by suggesting limited immediate sell-side supply.

This combination helped propel XRP sharply higher in the first days of the year.

However, the rally is now facing its first meaningful stress test.

Price action has turned volatile as ETF flows cool and short-term traders begin to lock in gains.

Although the shift does not mark a trend reversal yet, it does highlight growing fragility beneath the bullish narrative.

XRP ETF momentum slows as early exuberance fades

Spot XRP ETFs recorded their first net outflows since launch on January 7, breaking a long streak of daily inflows.

The pullback was concentrated in one large product, while other issuers still saw modest inflows.

Even so, the headline reversal weighed heavily on sentiment.

ETF flows have been central to XRP’s 2026 rally, making any slowdown psychologically significant.

The outflows coincided with broader weakness across crypto ETFs, including Bitcoin and Ether products.

This suggests the move was driven more by risk reduction than by XRP-specific panic.

Cumulative ETF inflows remain firmly positive, keeping the longer-term institutional thesis intact.

Still, the market is now adjusting to the idea that ETF demand may not rise in a straight line.

As flows normalise, prices become more sensitive to technical levels and short-term positioning.

XRP price forecast

XRP’s short-term outlook hinges on how it behaves around critical support zones.

Holding above the $2.00–$2.05 region would signal that the pullback is corrective rather than structural.

A sustained break below that area could open the door to deeper retracements toward the high-$1.80s.

On the upside, bulls need a decisive daily close above the $2.25–$2.35 range to regain control.

Such a move would indicate that selling pressure has been absorbed.

If momentum rebuilds, a recovery toward $2.60 and $2.80 becomes technically plausible.

Medium-term prospects remain tied to ETF flow trends and broader crypto sentiment.

As long as cumulative ETF assets stay elevated and exchange supply remains constrained, downside risk may be limited.

However, the explosive pace seen at the start of 2026 is unlikely to repeat immediately.

Instead, XRP appears poised for consolidation as the market digests gains.

If demand reaccelerates later in the year, this cooling phase could form the base for another advance.

The post XRP’s 2026 price surge faces its first test as ETF flows cool and profit-taking emerges appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Products listed as XAUUSDT and XAGUSDT are designed to track gold and silver prices onchain.
• The contracts operate under FSRA regulation in Abu Dhabi through the ADGM framework.
• Other major exchanges already offer precious metals-linked perpetual contracts, reflecting rising demand.

Binance has widened its derivatives suite by adding perpetual futures linked to gold and silver, marking a push beyond purely digital assets.

The move reflects growing demand among crypto-native traders for exposure to traditional safe-haven markets through familiar onchain infrastructure.

By listing precious metals products that trade around the clock and have no expiry date, the exchange is positioning itself at the intersection of commodities and crypto trading.

The launch comes as gold and silver prices have reached fresh records, drawing renewed attention from investors seeking hedges against volatility across global markets.

Precious metals enter crypto derivatives

The exchange said on Thursday that it had launched perpetual futures contracts tied to gold and silver.

The products allow traders to speculate on price movements without holding the underlying metals and without worrying about contract expiration.

Trading is available continuously, mirroring the structure of crypto perpetuals that already dominate derivatives volumes on major exchanges.

The contracts are listed under the symbols XAUUSDT and XAGUSDT. Both are designed to track the market price of gold and silver, respectively.

Instead of physical settlement, positions are settled in Tether’s USDT stablecoin, giving traders onchain exposure to precious metals pricing while remaining within a crypto-based settlement system.

Settlement and market access

By settling the contracts in USDT, Binance is extending the use of stablecoins beyond crypto-native assets into traditional commodity-linked products.

This structure allows traders to gain price exposure without converting funds into fiat currencies or commodity-backed instruments.

It also removes the need for storage, delivery, or custody arrangements associated with physical gold and silver.

The approach highlights how derivatives are being used to mirror traditional financial markets inside crypto trading platforms.

Binance has indicated that additional contracts linked to traditional assets are planned, suggesting that commodities and other non-crypto markets may feature more prominently in future product rollouts.

Regulatory framework in Abu Dhabi

The gold and silver perpetuals are offered through Next Exchange Limited, a Binance entity operating under the Abu Dhabi Global Market framework.

The contracts fall under the supervision of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, with Binance holding the relevant licences within ADGM.

This regulatory setup is central to Binance’s effort to expand its derivatives catalogue while maintaining compliance in key jurisdictions.

Abu Dhabi has also become relevant for stablecoin usage, with USDT approved for use by regulated companies in the emirate, even as Tether has chosen not to seek authorisation under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.

Competition and safe haven demand

Binance is not alone in offering precious metals-linked perpetual contracts.

Other exchanges active in this segment include Coinbase, MEXC, BTCC, BingX, and Bybit, although Bybit currently limits its offering to gold-linked perpetuals.

The growing number of platforms listing such products points to rising interest in blending commodity exposure with crypto derivatives trading.

The timing of Binance’s launch aligns with a period of heightened demand for safe-haven assets.

Both gold and silver have recently climbed to new all-time highs, driven by investor appetite for assets perceived as stores of value.

By enabling trading in these markets via USDT-settled perpetuals, Binance is tapping into that demand while keeping activity within its existing derivatives ecosystem.

The post Binance launches gold and silver perpetual futures in expansion beyond crypto appeared first on CoinJournal.