The price of Ripple's XRP cryptocurrency fell below $2 today, though it has since since back above that mark, and is now well up on Thursday’s low of $1.62. 

XRP’s latest surge came after money transfer giant MoneyGram announced plans to use Ripple’s service for faster international payments. 

Rivals bitcoin and Ethereum are enjoying a boom period, with bitcoin up more than three percent today and Ether soaring by more than 10 percent. 

The CoinMarketCap currency tracker below shows the latest XRP price in real time. 

Here is the latest news and price updates on Ripple mania.

6.48pm: Ripple creeps back above $2

Ripple’s XRP digital currency has recovered slightly and risen above $2 after a dip in value earlier today.

A single token is currently worth $2.01, according to the latest figures by CoinMarketCap.

Investors across the globe have nearly $78billion invested in the cryptocurrency. 

Meanwhile, rival bitcoin continues to rise, with a single coin currently worth $14,495.90. 

4.45pm: Cryptocurrency exchanges to be legalised in Russia 

The Russian Ministry of Finance will legalise the trading of digital currencies on approved exchanges, CoinTelegraph reports. 

Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said: “This is about the fact that buying and selling [of cryptocurrencies] will be somehow standardised. 

“The general idea is that it will be necessary to buy and sell on official exchanges, as it will be declared, it will be legalised.”

4.23pm: Crypto exchange booms despite ‘doom monger’ predictions 

Binance, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has reported a sharp increase in demand, despite other financial experts criticising the digital currency market. 

The Hong Kong-based company added 240,000 users in just one hour on Wednesday which surpassed all growth records.

The news comes after billionaire Warren Buffet slammed cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ripple, claiming they will “almost certainly come to a bad ending.”

Responding to the comments, Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng said: “Warren Buffett is a guy I truly respect from an investment point of view. But I do not think he understands cryptocurrencies at all. 

“It is what it is. I still respect him in other parts of his expertise. But I think on cryptocurrencies he’s making a big mistake.”

3.50pm: Ripple falls below $2

Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency has fallen below $2 for the first time since yesterday evening. 

The digital currency’s market cap has also plunged down to just over $77billion (£56billion).

Meanwhile, rivals bitcoin and Ethereum are appreciating steadily. 

2.53pm: Charts show Ripple price slipping

Latest price graphs from CoinMarketCap show that Ripple’s value is starting to slip, after a period of growth. 

XRP is currently trading at $2.03 - a low for today - as the cryptocurrency continues to struggle to recover from a sudden crash that struck earlier this week. 

1.58pm: Ripple market cap dips under $80billion

Ripple’s market capitalisation has fallen beneath £80billion for the first time today, according to CoinMarketCap.

XRP is currently trading at $2.05, with a market cap of about $79.6billion. 

12.45pm: MoneyGram stocks skyrocket after Ripple deal

Shares of MoneyGram International Inc jumped 10.5 percent earlier this week, according to Reuters, after the money-transfer company said it partnered with Ripple.

MoneyGram is due to test Ripple's cryptocurrency XRP as a cheaper and faster way to move money overseas. 

In the wake of the deal’s announcement, Ripple’s price briefly shot up to $2.25. 

10.46am: Investors told to ditch bitcoin for Stellar

A financial trader has urged cryptocurrency speculators to ditch bitcoin and invest in Stellar - a new digital currency introduced by a Ripple creator that he says is “faster and cheaper” than BTC.

Speaking to CNBC, money manager Mr Kelly said: “Stellar is one that is very similar to Ripple. It is created by one of the creators of Ripple.

“Effectively, the company split and they went out and created Stellar. They are already working with IBM, they are beginning to deal with them to do cross-border payments. 

“So IBM has a payment system similar to kind of what Moneygram wants to do.

“It’s faster and cheaper than Bitcoin and what I mean by that is you can move stuff around faster and it’ll cost you less than Bitcoin at this point in time.” 

Read more: FORGET BITCOIN AND RIPPLE, TRADER SAYS

10.02am: Ripple opens above $2

Ripple opened at $2.04 today, marking the first time it has opened above $2 since January 10.

The cryptocurrency has since risen to $2.08, with investors now hoping that this upturn will continue. 

Ripple’s market cap is now pushing towards $80.5billion (£58.6billion). 

10am: Joe Tambini takes over live reporting from Sebastian Kettley.

Friday January 12

8.50pm: Ripple owners panic as popular crypto exchange goes dark

Kraken, one of the biggest and most popular crypto exchanges, has been down for several hours now.

The crypto exchange initially went dark round 9pm Eastern Time on Wednesday for scheduled maintenance.

Kraken said in an online statement: "We are still working to resolve the issues that we have identified and our team is working around the clock to ensure a smooth upgrade.

"This means it may still take several hours before we can relaunch the site."

5.30pm: Ripple users demand PayPal implements crypto system

Several PayPal users have approached the money transfer gains about the possibility if implementing Ripple’s money transfer system into its services.

But for the time being, a PayPal customer support representative said there are no plans to adopt Ripple, in resposne to questions on Twitter.

Paypal said online: “Thanks so much for reaching out to us. At this time we do not have any news about partnering with Ripple. 

“Should this change you will definitely see a notification here on our social media.”

Later adding: “At this time, we have no news about partnering with Ripple. If this changes, it will be announced through our different platforms.”

5pm: Sebastian Kettley takes over live reporting from Alice Foster

4.46pm: KFC Canada add the Bitcoin Bucket to the menu

KFC customers in Canada can now use bitcoin to buy the Bitcoin Bucket of “finger lickin’ good chicken”. 

KFC Canada tweeted: “Sure, we don’t know exactly what Bitcoins are, or how they work, but that shouldn’t come between you and some finger lickin’ good chicken.”

2.46pm: Ripple will continue to grow if deals continue

BitBull Capital boss Joe DiPasquale predicts that XRP will continue to perform well on the market if partnerships like the MoneyGram deal continue.

"MoneyGram is the latest example of Ripple's masterful cadence of announcements of deals with large companies," he told Forbes.

"Every time Ripple announces a partnership, we see an increase in value." 

He added: "If Ripple's strong partnerships continue, I expect its value to continue to increase.”

1.30pm: MoneyGram coming together with Ripple hailed as 'amazing' 

Cory Johnson, from Bloomberg News, said: "Moneygram and Ripple are absolutely in competition with each other. 

"To see these two businesses come together and see Moneygram look at a way to move money faster is an amazing thing. 

"It will give them a huge leg up over competitors like Western Union. But it also massively erodes their business model. 

"It's interesting to see these guys I think probably smartly recognise they have got to get ahead of this train or they are going to be on the tracks." 

Noon: MoneyGram to use XRP for international payments 

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse tweeted: “I’m pleased to be able to share @MoneyGram has partnered with @Ripple to use $XRP in their payment flows.”

The Ripple website said: “To allow their customers to send and complete cross-border payments quicker and cheaper, MoneyGram — one of the world’s largest money transfer companies — will use XRP in their payment flows.” 

11am: Ripple is not the next bitcoin, says MIT

Mike Orcutt, associate editor at MIT Technology Review, has said that the Ripple price rise was based on a misplaced assumption. 

He said: “The exuberance was fueled, at least in part, by a belief that anyone buying up XRP was getting in on the next Bitcoin. 

“But for some it could end up as a very expensive lesson that what they bought into is a different animal altogether.” 

BITCOIN UPDATES: BITCOIN PRICE LIVE

10.30am: South Korean ban fears could be ‘overblown’ 

The prices of bitcoin and Ripple have been falling due to fears that South Korea is preparing to ban cryptocurruncy trading.

But Finance Professor Geoffrey Smith, W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, has suggested that Korean government’s intention may be to only ban anonymous cryptocurrency. 

“The Korean government is requiring Bitcoin traders to do so under their real name, not anonymously,”says Finance Professor Geoffrey Smith, W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, told Forbes.

“If the purpose of this is to protect their citizens from deception, fraud, or theft, then it is good.” 

10am: ‘Buffet is wrong about cryptocurrency cataclysm’, says expert

Zhao Changpeng, CEO of Binance, has dismissed Warren Buffet’s comments that the cryptocurrency craze will “definitely” end badly for the likes of bitcoin and Ripple. 

Mr Changpeng told Bloomberg: “Warren Buffet is a guy I truly respect from an investment point of view I think he knows stock investment, equities investment very well.

“But I do not think he knows cryptocurrency at all. 

“So it is what it is, I still respect many other parts of his expertise but I think on cryptocurrency he is making a mistake.”