2023-11-07 10:40

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Deputy Inspector General of Police Abhishek Dhullar has been probing a massive ₹2,500-crore (INR100 crore = approx. USD12 million) counterfeit cryptocurrency scam in the northern Indian province of Himachal Pradesh. The fraudulent scheme centers around a fictitious digital currency named 'Korvio Coin'. The fraudsters targeted individuals who had received compensation from infrastructure projects, enticing them to invest their funds into the scheme. High-performing agents were rewarded with costly foreign trips, amounting to ₹3.5 crore for approximately 2,000 trips. The scam impacted around one lakh investors, including a significant number of government employees. The fraudsters manipulated 'Korvio Coin' prices using fake websites to deceive the investors. In connection with this case, 18 people have been apprehended so far. Among those arrested are individuals who created chains of investors and profited over ₹2 crore from the scheme. Some police personnel involved in the scam have opted for voluntary retirement after making substantial gains. The investigation has now turned its focus towards those who reaped substantial profits from the scam. However, the mastermind behind the operation, identified as Subash, remains at large. The Himachal Pradesh Police is coordinating with central and financial agencies as well as other state police forces to take action under the BUDS Act, 2019, which carries a penalty of ten years imprisonment. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/cryptocurrency-scam-worth-2500-crore-uncovered-in-indian-province-93CH-3224618

2023-11-07 10:36

On Monday, Ripple, the prominent blockchain company, transferred 60 million XRP tokens, equivalent to $42.83 million, to a wallet of unknown origin during a period of heightened XRP market activity and volatility. This information was reported by Whale Alert, a blockchain tracker and analytics system. The transfer followed an 8.2% surge in the value of XRP, pushing it to its highest level since July at $0.7324 per token. The price was later corrected by 11%, bringing it down to $0.65 per token. As of now, XRP is trading at $0.69 per token after nearly three weeks of steep growth, leading to increased speculation about its potential price ceiling. The analysis from Bithomp, a blockchain explorer and analytics platform, reveals that the recipient wallet was activated by Ripple in 2021 and is linked to the company itself. The transferred tokens have not been moved since their deposit into this wallet, which already holds a significant balance of 114.47 million XRP ($79.33 million). This series of events underlines Ripple's substantial influence over the XRP market movement. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ripple-transfers-4283-million-in-xrp-amid-market-volatility-93CH-3224611

2023-11-07 09:28

Gold futures on the COMEX division saw a 0.53 percent drop, settling the most active December contract at $1,988.60 per ounce, as U.S. Treasury yields continue to climb. This trend was mirrored in silver and platinum futures for December and January delivery respectively, experiencing downturns in their prices. The financial market is closely watching speeches from Federal Reserve officials, including a Thursday speech by Chairman Jerome Powell, seeking insights into potential U.S rate cuts. Despite the anticipation, traders are predicting steady rates at the upcoming December Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, during a speech at Duke University on Tuesday, acknowledged the resilience of the banking sector following earlier bank failures. She also highlighted potential risks posed by pronounced liquidity mismatches in nonbank financial institutions amidst tightening financial conditions and decelerating economic activity. The consensus among traders suggests that despite earlier bank failures, the banking sector has now stabilized. This stability is expected to influence the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain current rates at the December meeting. The market's attention remains fixed on the upcoming speeches from Federal Reserve officials for further cues on U.S rate policy. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-futures-decline-amid-rising-us-treasury-yields-and-stable-banking-sector-93CH-3224534

2023-11-07 08:35

In the latest development in the crypto market, Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Analytics has launched the Digital Asset Monitor (DAM) and DeFi Communities on Monday. DAM, an artificial intelligence tool developed within a year using agile frameworks, is designed to predict stablecoin depegging by assessing DeFi risk and volatility from multiple data sources. The newly launched AI tool scrutinizes 25 fiat-backed stablecoins, including PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Coin (PYUSD), Tether, and USD Coin. It provides an indication of a stablecoin's chance of depegging from its fiat within 24 hours. The tool also details a stablecoin issuer's stability, lists asset-holding custodians, and assesses reserve quality. Moody's highlighted the importance of DAM in the context of the growing stablecoin market, which now accounts for about 10% of the crypto market. The need for such a tool is further underscored by the fact that large-cap fiat-backed stablecoins have depegged 609 times this year alone. Depegging is defined as a greater than 3% movement against the fiat currency peg. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/moodys-launches-ai-tool-to-predict-stablecoin-depegging-93CH-3224446

2023-11-07 08:27

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rose in early European trade Tuesday, rebounding from recent lows, while the Australian dollar slumped after the RBA hinted at the end of its cycle of rate hikes.. At 03:25 ET (08:25 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, climbed 0.2% to 105.285, above the near two-month low of 104.84 seen on Monday. Dollar climbs on hawkish Fed speak The dollar index slumped 1.3% last week, its steepest decline since mid-July, after the Federal Reserve offered up dovish signals on the likelihood for more interest rate hikes this year. However, this tone has changed after Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari hinted at the need for more interest rate increases to control inflation. “The economy has proved to be really resilient even though we’ve raised interest rates a lot over the past couple of years. That’s good news," Kashkari said in an interview on Monday. But he added: "We haven’t completely solved the inflation problem. We still have more work ahead of us to get it done." The Fed kept its overnight short-term interest rate target unchanged at between 5.25% and 5.5% last week. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is due to speak on Wednesday and Thursday, and traders will be looking to see if he backs up this more hawkish stance. Euro falls after weak German industrial output EUR/USD fell 0.1% to 1.0701, after German industrial production fell more than expected in September, slumping 1.4% compared with the previous month. This adds to the mounting signs that the eurozone’s largest economy is in difficulty, and is likely to end the year in a technical recession. The European Central Bank must remain vigilant on inflation and be prepared to raise interest rates again if needed, its policymaker Robert Holzmann said on Monday, after the central bank halted its tightening cycle in late October. However, Holzmann, the governor of Austria’s central bank, is on the hawkish end of the spectrum as far as ECB policymakers are concerned, and the majority of his colleagues may not hold these views given the region’s slowing growth. GBP/USD dropped 0.2% to 1.2321, having hit a seven-week high of 1.2428 on Monday. British grocery inflation has fallen below 10% for the first time since July 2022, according to data from market researcher Kantar, providing some relief for consumers as they enter the key Christmas shopping period. Aussie dollar slumps after RBA meeting AUD/USD fell 0.9% to 0.6429 after the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates to their highest level in 12 years as widely expected, but altered its language regarding the outlook, watering down its forward guidance. Traders perceived this change as dovish and started betting that the central bank was done with its rate hike cycle, putting the Aussie dollar on course to clock its biggest one-day percentage decline in a month. Chinese exports disappointed in October USD/CNY rose 0.2% to 7.2847, as data showed that China’s exports shrank more than expected in October, while the country’s trade surplus narrowed to its weakest level in 17 months. While imports unexpectedly rose, weakness in exports signaled worsening demand in the country’s biggest export destinations in the West. USD/JPY rose 0.3% to 150.45, once again weakening past the key 150 level on the back of the dollar strength. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/dollar-rebounds-on-hawkish-fed-speak-aussie-dollar-slumps-3224431

2023-11-07 08:17

XRP, the cryptocurrency linked to Ripple, has experienced a significant surge in value and trading volumes, momentarily outperforming major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin (BNB). The value of XRP rose over 11%, with its trading volumes doubling from $1 billion to $2 billion. This surge briefly positioned XRP as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The main driver behind this rise was spot trading activity, as opposed to futures trading. This is evidenced by the liquidation of $4.4 million worth of XRP futures contracts during this period. However, it's worth noting that Ripple's recent advancements have also played a role in influencing this market movement. Ripple has recently received approvals in Georgia and Dubai which may have contributed to XRP's performance. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) approved XRP under its virtual assets regime. This approval permits firms operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre to offer services based on XRP. In addition to its success in Dubai, Ripple is collaborating with the National Bank of Georgia on a project involving Digital Lari (GEL). This project is being carried out via Ripple’s platform for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC), which supports minting, distribution, and offline transactions for both wholesale and retail CBDCs. It's worth mentioning that this platform is already being utilized by the governments of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Despite efforts to separate from XRP, Ripple's critical role in its payment systems and the XRP Ledger remains evident. These recent developments demonstrate how Ripple's progress can have a direct impact on the performance of XRP in the cryptocurrency market. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/xrp-outperforms-major-cryptos-following-ripples-recent-advancements-93CH-3224429