UK’s FCA grants regulatory approval to Ripple

  • 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.

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Sky token slides over 5% as altcoin weakness deepens

  • Sky token price dropped over 5% as altcoins struggled.
  • The token could fall further amid broader market weakness.
  • Anchorage Digital has reportedly transferred over 69 million SKY tokens.

Sky (SKY), the governance asset of the decentralized Sky Protocol (formerly MakerDAO), has dropped by over 5% in the past 24 hours as major cryptocurrencies face downward pressure.

After renewed uptrends in early 2026, Bitcoin has retreated to support at $90,000, Ethereum to $3,000 and XRP to around $2.15.

Increased trading volume as the token faces significant downward pressure suggests there could be further downside movement.

SKY price falls amid large token transfer

SKY’s price declining nearly 6% to trade near $0.056 is a drop that aligns with a broader altcoin market weakness observed on Friday.

Sky Price Chart
Sky price chart by TradingView

The token’s struggles come as profit-taking adds to risk-off sentiment.

For Sky, sellers have been on top since prices fell from highs of $0.096 in July 2025.

Bears even tested the support levels around $0.041 in November.

Recent gains saw buyers top $0.068, but things have looked tough on the upside across the cryptocurrency market, and SKY is following a similar trajectory.

On Jan. 9, the price decline happened as onchain data showed that Anchorage Digital, a prominent institutional crypto custodian and federally chartered bank, had moved over 69 million SKY tokens.

This significant on-chain transfer is likely a repositioning for custody services, institutional allocation, or other strategic purposes.

However, such large transfers often trigger heightened selling activity.

What next for SKY price?

Technical indicators on the daily chart point to continued downside risk for SKY in the near term.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering in the mid-40s, suggesting weakening momentum and leaving room for a further slide toward oversold conditions.

At the same time, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains bearish, with the MACD line below the signal line and a negative histogram.

Despite the recent decline of roughly 9% over the past week, some investors remain constructive on the token’s longer-term outlook.

Supportive factors cited include ongoing token buybacks funded by protocol revenue and signs of growing real-world usage.

Data also shows that annualised SKY repurchases have risen sharply alongside a jump in revenue, placing the project among the top-ranked protocols by buyback activity.

While Hyperliquid leads the group, Sky ranks second, ahead of names such as Pump.fun, TRON and Solana.

The positive fundamentals may provide a boost that could see bulls counter macro-driven headwinds.

If bulls take control, bullish price targets include $0.080 and $0.10. Conversely, bears might eye $0.050 and $0.037 lows.

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Polygon (POL) jumps 15% as open money stack plans and Coinme deal boost sentiment

  • 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.

Polygon Price Chart
Polygon price chart by TradingView

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.

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Truebit protocol hack exposes DeFi security risks as TRU token collapses

  • The TRU token collapsed from $0.1659 to near zero, wiping out market value.
  • Liquidity on decentralised exchanges dried up following the exploit.
  • The attacker wallet was linked to a Sparkle protocol attack 12 days earlier.

A serious security breach at Truebit Protocol has triggered one of the sharpest collapses seen in decentralised finance this year.

The blockchain project, which focuses on verified computing, lost around $26.5 million after an attacker exploited a weakness in its smart contract system.

The incident sent the protocol’s native TRU token crashing to near zero and left liquidity across decentralised exchanges severely strained.

On-chain movements following the exploit show how quickly funds were siphoned away, highlighting ongoing risks around smart contract design and monitoring across the DeFi sector.

How the exploit unfolded

The breach was first flagged by blockchain security firm PeckShield, which detected a series of suspicious transactions on the Ethereum network.

Analysis showed that the attacker drained nearly 8,500 ETH from Truebit Protocol.

At the time of the exploit, the stolen cryptocurrency was valued at about $26.5 million.

On-chain data indicates that the funds were quickly split and transferred to two separate wallet addresses, identified as 0x2735…cE850a and 0xD12f…031a60.

Dividing funds in this way is a commonly used technique to complicate tracking and reduce the chances of recovery.

PeckShield’s preliminary findings suggest the exploit targeted a flaw within the protocol’s contract structure, although a detailed technical breakdown has not yet been published.

Token collapse and liquidity shock

The market impact was immediate. Truebit’s native TRU token suffered a near-total collapse, falling from a daily high of $0.1659 to a low of $0.000000018.

The move effectively erased the token’s market capitalisation within hours.

Liquidity across decentralised exchanges also dried up rapidly.

With pools depleted and confidence shaken, many token holders were unable to exit positions.

The episode underlined how tightly token valuations are linked to protocol security, particularly for smaller DeFi projects where confidence can evaporate quickly once an exploit is confirmed.

Protocol response and containment steps

After the breach, Truebit Protocol issued an official update acknowledging the incident.

The team confirmed that a specific smart contract had been compromised and warned users not to interact with it until further notice.

The protocol stated that it is working alongside law enforcement authorities and taking steps to limit further damage.

Users were also advised to rely only on official communication channels for updates as investigations continue.

No timeline has yet been shared for remediation or potential recovery efforts.

Link to earlier DeFi attack

PeckShield further reported that the wallet involved in the Truebit exploit had been connected to a separate attack on the Sparkle protocol roughly 12 days earlier.

In that case, the attacker acquired tokens and later routed funds through Tornado Cash, a privacy service often used to obscure transaction trails.

The repeated use of similar techniques points to an experienced exploiter actively scanning for vulnerabilities.

The connection has raised broader concerns across the DeFi ecosystem, where a series of linked attacks can amplify risk perception beyond the affected projects.

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CRV eyes $0.5 amid whale accumulation: Check forecast

Key takeaways

  • CRV is up by less than 1% despite the ongoing market correction.
  • The coin could rally towards the $0.5 psychological level as bulls continue to accumulate.

Curve DAO tops $0.40

Curve DAO (CRV) is trading above $0.40 after adding more than 8% to its value in the last 24 hours. It is facing resistance at $0.433 after recording excellent gains in the near term. 

The bullish performance comes amid whale accumulation. According to Santiment’s Supply Distribution data, whales holding between 10 million and 100 million CRV tokens (blue line) have accumulated a total of 33 million CRV tokens from early January to Thursday. 

However, wallets holding between 100,000 and 1 million ADA tokens (red line) and 1 million and 10 million CRV tokens (yellow line) have shed 29 million tokens.

In addition to that, Santiment’s Daily Active Addresses index, which tracks network activity over time, also suggests a bullish bias. An increase in the metric suggests growing blockchain usage.

CRV’s Daily Active Addresses rose from 945 on December 26 to 1388 on Thursday, the highest level since October 14. The surge indicates that demand for Curve DAO’s blockchain usage is increasing, which could benefit CRV’s price. 

CRV could extend gains above $0.5

The CRV/USD 4H chart is bearish and efficient despite the coin’s recent bullish action. CRV retested the weekly resistance level at $0.433 and has now declined to trade at $0.414. 

At press time, CRV is attempting to break above the weekly resistance level. If that happens, CRV could extend the rally toward the November 10 high of $0.548, which coincides with the 200-day EMA.

CRV/USD 4H Chart

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the 4-hour chart reads 51, above the neutral level of 50, indicating bullish momentum is gaining traction. 

Finally, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator shows a bullish crossover, adding further bullish confluence to the coin.

If the market correction persists, CRV could decline towards the new year low of $0.357.

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