Appold Market Watch - Week ending 7 February 2025
Market Update & Industry News - Week ending 7 February 2025
🔷 The XRP Ledger (Ripple blockchain) temporarily halted for 64 minutes on Tuesday due to an alleged network issue, preventing approximately 88,000 transactions from processing. Ripple’s CTO addressed the incident, stating that the cause was being investigated. The network resumed normal operations after developers implemented a fix.
Appold view: Disruptions of this scale can erode institutional confidence, particularly in decentralised networks where accountability can differ from traditional centralised systems. This underscores the critical need for institutions to conduct thorough due diligence before adopting any blockchain technology. Assessing key factors such as operational resilience, IT risk controls, service levels, and governance structures is paramount.
🔷 Global digital asset exchanges Kraken Digital Asset Exchange and Coinbase gained regulatory approval in the EU and UK, respectively. Kraken obtained an E-Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Central Bank of Ireland, allowing it to expand services within the European Union. Separately, Coinbase secured Cryptoasset registration with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as part of its ongoing regulatory compliance efforts.
Appold view: Regulatory clarity remains a key factor for the institutional adoption of digital assets with these approvals helping to enhance the sector. Coinbase’s issues with regulations set by the UK FCA must be behind them now after their £3.5m fine last year. This recent registration allows Coinbase to expand its services in the UK.
🔷 Real estate platform, Reelly.ai, announced a strategic collaboration with Tether to enable USDT payments in the UAE for real estate transactions at 30,000 local and international agents. Additionally, both companies will develop an interactive series to educate agents on Reelly Tech’s platform.
Appold view: This certainly reflects a broader trend towards borderless payments, heightened by the strong interest and growth in real estate asset tokenisation.
🔷 US Bitcoin ATM provider LibertyX partnered with retail giant Costco Wholesale to install Bitcoin ATMs in locations nationwide, allowing customers to buy digital assets directly with cash. The expansion aligns with the growing demand in the US for accessible digital asset transactions.
Appold view: Expanding retail access to Bitcoin is an interesting move, although regulatory scrutiny on Bitcoin ATMs remains a key consideration, particularly around KYC/AML compliance.
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