Ripple (XRP) News Today: February 2nd

Here are the latest and most interesting developments around the Ripple ecosystem.

Ripple is making headlines by expanding its global presence. The company also appeared in the recently released Epstein files, which caused a lot of controversy.

Meanwhile, the recent market crash has hit XRP hard, with its price falling to multi-month lows.

Growing in Europe

Earlier this year, Ripple received the first approval for an Electronic Money Institution license from the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg. Recently, it announced that it has received full approval from the regulator. Speaking on the matter was Cassie Craddock (Managing Director, UK & Europe at Ripple):

“Receiving our full EMI license in the EU is a milestone that solidifies Ripple’s presence at the heart of European finance. Europe has always been important to us, and this approval allows us to further our mission of providing a robust, compliant blockchain infrastructure to customers across the EU. We are now better positioned than ever to help European businesses thrive in finance.”

Prior to that, Ripple Markets UK Ltd (the company’s subsidiary in the United Kingdom) received registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), confirming its compliance with British anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

The Epstein connection

A few days ago, the US Department of Justice released a new wave of millions of pages, videos, and photos tied to the dead criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Interestingly, Ripple was also mentioned in the process.

One of the leaked emails is from Austin Hill (founder of Blockstream) and addressed to Epstein and Joichi Ito (former director of the MIT Media Lab). In that message, Hill asks men to call him to discuss Ripple and Stellar, saying both projects are “bad for the ecosystem we’re building.”

X user Dr. Russel McGregor advised Ripple’s team to demand that the SEC, DOJ, and Congress release all related records any influence Epstein has linked to early crypto policy.

You may also like:

David Schwartz (one of the original designers of the XRP Ledger) gave his two cents on the matter, saying he wouldn’t be surprised if “this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

XRP Price Outlook

Ripple’s cross-border token recently fell to a 14-month low of around $1.50, coinciding with bearish conditions for the broader market. Currently, it is trading at around $1.64 (per CoinGecko data), representing a 14% drop from last week.

Despite the harsh reality, many analysts remain optimistic about XRP, expecting a short-term resurgence. X user EGRAG CRYPTO suggested that a pullback could soon be followed by a “money grab.” Route A involves a relief jump, a second sweep, and finally an expansion, while Route B could result in a astronomical price increase (which seems unlikely at the moment).

Meanwhile, a large anonymous investor in Hyperliquid opened a multi-million dollar position at a 20x ratio in XRP. Some believe that whales have insider knowledge and trade certain commodities because they are certain of their success. Even if this is just speculation, such actions may spark more interest from smaller players who can inject new money into the ecosystem, thus positively impacting the price of XRP.