MasterCard launches support for cryptocurrency startups

Bitcoin traded higher on Wednesday, rising by 3.95 percent to $39,808.10 at 4:21 p.m. Riyadh time. Ether, the world’s second most-traded cryptocurrency, was down 0.29 percent to $2,291.10, according to data from CoinDesk.

XRP, a cryptocurrency that Ripple uses in its payments network, rose 15.48 percent on Wednesday, trading at $0.74, its highest level since June 21. This represents a daily gain of 13 percent, after the company said it is targeting the $1.8 billion Filipino Remittance Corridor. Ripple announced that Japanese money transfer provider SBI Remit and Philippine mobile payment service Coins.ph have teamed up to move remittance payments from Japan to the Philippines, CoinDesk reported.

Earlier this week, US Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen outlining several concerns about the risks posed by cryptocurrencies. Warren asked Yellen to act urgently and adopt appropriate policies to address her concerns.

She claimed that the longer the US waits to introduce the appropriate regulatory regime for these assets, the more likely they will become so entangled in the financial system, potentially creating serious consequences if this market comes under pressure.

The senator from Massachusetts said: “I have become increasingly concerned about the dangers cryptocurrencies pose to investors, consumers, and the environment in the absence of sufficient regulation in the US,” according to Bitcoin News.

MasterCard on Tuesday announced a new global program dedicated to supporting fast-growing digital assets, blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. Seven startups have signed up for the Start Path program. With Mastercard, the startups will expand and accelerate innovation around digital asset technology and make it safer and easier for people and organizations to buy, spend and hold cryptocurrency and digital assets, Bitcoin News reported.