Ripple’s XRP token entered the market today, trading at $1.21 (£0.87), after the token struggled to make any substantial gains on Monday.

The cryptocurrency’s market capitalisation reached nearly $65.7billion on Friday January 19, before sliding over the weekend to about $46billion this morning.

But a strong Tuesday performance has seen Ripple rocket some $7billion to more than $53billion at 6.40pm. 

Rivals bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have also suffered a rocky start to the week, both plunging by more than 10 percent in the last 24 hours as of 10.12am.

Here is all the latest Ripple news and price updates from CoinDesk, CoinMarketCap and leading crypto experts. All times GMT.

The CoinMarketCap price tracker below shows the XRP’s value in real time. 

Wednesday January 24, 2018

01:30am: Bitcoin's sharp decline in January is not out of the ordinary and has been credited to a sharp rise of South East Asian residents selling off the cryptocurrency to raise money for the lunar year, an economics lecturer has claimed.

Gavin Brown, from Manchester Metropolitan University, declared that South Korea and China, two areas where bitcoin is incredibly popular, could be a reason for the sharp decline in market value for bitcoin in January.

Mr Brown added that bitcoin owners in the region could be selling off their prized coins to make a fortune to spend on celebrations to mark the event.

Bitcoin is no stranger to seeing a sharp decline in the month of January - last year the currency rose by only 0.51 per cent while 2016 and 2015 saw decreases of 12.7 per cent and 27.3 per cent respectively.

10.50pm: Ripple’s market cap is hovering around the $54billion mark as the cryptocurrency looks to finish the day strongly. 

9.23pm: Dogecoin creator warns crypto 'dumb money' craze is a bubble

Ripple, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are becoming filled with “dumb money” as people blindly jump on the crypto bandwagon, according to Dogecoin creator Jackson Palmer. 

Speaking to Bloomberg, he said: “I think it’s not something we didn’t expect.

“I think whenever you see a huge exponential rise in the price of something overnight with very little technical development or announcements coming out, it can be a sign of a bubble. 

“You can expect a correction in any market that happens so I think that’s what we’ve been seeing a lot lately.”

8pm: Ethereum flirting with $1,000 mark

The second biggest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), is hovering just below $1,000, though it could break back through the barrier today if its growth continues. 

Ethereum’s market cap sits at about $96.6billion - far less than its all time high of $136billion

7.31pm: Swiss church now accepts crypto donations 

ICF Zurich, an evangelical church from the largest city in Switzerland, has started accepting donations in a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Ripple, bitcoin, Ethereum, Stellar and Bitcoin Cash. 

The church’s spokesman Nicolas Legler, told Swiss news agency Idea: “Cryptocurrencies will be implemented, be it Bitcoin or other currencies controlled by the State. 

“We are convinced that this technology will soon belong to our daily lives.

“Twenty years ago, no one would have believed that internet would determine our lives so much.”

6.50pm: Economist demands cryptocurrency regulation 

Economist Joseph Stiglitz warned bitcoin “must” be regulated to stop money laundering and questioned why people want hold the digital currency.

Speaking to Bloomberg, he said: “We have a good medium of exchange, called the dollar, we can trade in that. 

“Why do people want a bitcoin? For secrecy. 

“Why need it? We have a perfectly good currency. We are moving towards an electronic payments mechanism. 

“I would like us to move more towards an electronic payments mechanism but you don’t need a bitcoin for that.”

Read more: CRACKDOWN ON CRYPTO IS COMING

5.10pm: Cryptocurrencies SUDDENLY surge

All the top-100 cryptos have spiked in the past 30 minutes, sending the total global market cap soaring to $548billion. 

Ripple is leading the charge, taking its growth up to 17.4 percent over the past 24 hours - more than any of its top 30 rivals. 

4.53pm: Ripple breaks the $1.40 mark

XRP has surged to its daily high of $1.43, as its impressive afternoon on the markets continues. 

As a result, Ripple’s market cap has shot up to $55.2billion. 

3.47pm: Ripple outperforming rivals

XRP has grown by more than 10 percent in the past 24 hours, helping it close the gap on competitors Ethereum and bitcoin, which fell 1.69 and 0.83 percent respectively in the same time period.

Ripple is the only cryptocurrency in the world’s top five to have grown today, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

It is now trading at about $1.33 - up $0.17 of yesterday’s low of $1.16.

3.30pm: Joe Tambini takes over live reporting from Sebastian Kettley.

12.43pm: NVIDIA plans to curb crypto mining by limiting GPU sales

PC gaming enthusiasts have been hit hard in the past months as the rising price of cryptocurrencies has driven demand for GPU cards, doubling their retail prices.

GPU manufacturing giant NVIDIA is now planing to crackdown on retailers selling GPU cards to miners.

The company said in a statement: “For NVIDIA, gamers come first. All activities related to our GeForce product line are targeted at our main audience.

“To ensure that GeForce gamers continue to have a good GeForce graphics card availability in the current situation, we recommend that our trading partners make the appropriate arrangements to meet gamers’ needs.”

10.16am: Ripple price drops as Ripple investors scared away

Joe DiPasquale, CEO of BitBull Capital, argued that last week’s dive in the cryptocurrency markets made investors weary of crypto volatility.

He said: "With the massive dip we saw last week, it's likely that investors who were shaken by the volatility - but smart enough not to sell at the bottom - are simply taking their profits while they can, or pulling out while they're breaking even."

Charles Thorngren, CEO of Noble Alternative Investments, agreed that increased Government regulation around the world is driving uncertainty in the markets.

He said: "With the stock market continuing to rise and the government shutdown happening, there is more uncertainty in terms of investment. 

"Investors are looking to shy away from crypto, as it comes with less certainty, and invest in options they are more confident in perusing due to familiarity." 

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

2.44am: South Korean regulators move to stop cryptocurrency secrecy

South Korea has demanded that the veil of secrecy surrounding bitcoin transactions be removed as the government has planned to only allow accounts with a users' real-name to be used in cryptocurrency transactions, it has emerged.

The plan would make sure local banks only allow accounts headed by the users’ real name when they are making cryptocurrency transactions.

Real names will have to be used starting from January 30.

Monday January 22, 2018

10.20pm: ‘US Government closure causing uncertainty in crypto market’

Cryptocurrencies like Ripple, bitcoin and Ethereum are suffering partly because of the US Government shutdown, according to Charles Thorngren, CEO of Noble Alternative Investments.

He told Forbes: “With the stock market continuing to rise and the government shutdown happening, there is more uncertainty in terms of investment.

"Investors are looking to shy away from crypto, as it comes with less certainty, and invest in options they are more confident in perusing due to familiarity." 

The US Senate today voted to end the shutdown, after an agreement on a temporary funding bill was finally reached. 

9.37pm: XRP slips back below $1.20

Ripple is currently trading at $1.19, just two US cents more than its low for today.

8.58pm: Ripple building an ‘internet of value’, co-founder says 

Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen has said that Ripple is “building an internet of value” by helping send money across borders faster and cheaper. 

Speaking to Benzinga, he said: “We’re talking about trillions of dollars that are stuck in the world. Fixing the cross-border payments is analogous to building an internet of value. 

“That’s why we’re so excited about that category.”

8.22pm: Nervous investors causing Ripple decline, expert warns

XRP’s rocky performance on today’s markets could have been triggered by nervous investors, according to Joe DiPasquale, CEO of BitBull Capital.

Speaking to Forbes, he said: “With the massive dip we saw last week, it's likely that investors who were shaken by the volatility - but smart enough not to sell at the bottom - are simply taking their profits while they can, or pulling out while they're breaking even."

Ripple has picked up from today’s low of $1.17, though it is still crashing faster than most of its closest rivals.

7.26pm: Ripple up in the past hour

Ripple has bucked an overall trend on the cryptocurrency market by growing in the past 60 minutes. 

XRP increased its value by 0.20 percent, though it is still down by more than 11 percent over the past 24 hours. 

6.15pm: Ripple and Ethereum could be the ‘right answer’

American businessman Glen Hutchins has said that alternative coins like Ripple and Ethereum could succeed where bitcoin has faltered. 

Asked by Fox Business News how to know which digital currency will be the “right answer” to the market, he said: “It’s difficult.

“The price is a distraction – rather you should focus on the means of exchange. It’s a very small nascent property that has potential to be transformative.”

“Bitcoin could be the wrong solution – and other tokens like Ethereum or Ripple could end up being the right answer.

“Can you take that technology and use it as a solution for an important customer problem? That’s the question investors need to monitor.”

5.16pm: Cryptocurrencies face two major threats, expert says

Cryptos like Ripple, bitcoin and Ethereum face two main threats to their success, according to KEDGE professor Eric Pichet.

Mr Pitchet believes these are a compromise of the blockchain system, resulting in the circulation of fake coins, and a widespread ban on crypto trading by governments across the world. 

Speaking to Forbes, he said: “Under these conditions, what type of needles would burst the bubble? 

“The first would be the heist of the century: an intrusion in the blockchain system that created a deluge of fake bitcoins. 

“The second would be the adoption of a common position by all national governments and central banks to prohibit this means of payment in the name of fighting fraud, for example.”

4.49pm: Bitcoin falls below $11,000

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency has dipped below the $11,000 mark, making it about $9,000 less valuable that its all time high.

Its market cap now sits at $177.8billion, though this is still tens of billions more than its nearest competitors Ethereum and Ripple, who are worth $96.5billion and $48billion respectively.

4.20pm: Ripple among major cryptocurrencies down today

Nearly all of the top-100 digital currencies have crashed today, according to CoinMarketCap. 

The total global market capitalisation now sits at more than $515.5billion - down from an all time high of about $829.4billion in the first week of this month. 

The cryptocurrency market has remained extremely volatile since the turn of the year, amid growing concerns that a number of governments plan to ban or restrict the trading of digital currencies. 

4pm: Mass adoption key for crypto survival, expert reveals

Ripple, bitcoin and other major cryptos will recover from recents price dips, but only if they receive widespread adoption, according to financial expert David Garrity.

Mr Garrity said the cryptocurrency will need to strengthen its "fundamental underpinning" to shed its speculative nature.   

Speaking to Bloomberg, he said: “Are we starting to see these killer applications start to develop that lead to greater mass adoption relative to the blockchain protocols that are underlying and supporting these cryptocurrencies? 

"To have a price move that is not really being matched by what’s going on in the real economy in terms of driving activity and goods and services says that something is more of a speculative nature than something that actually has fundamental underpinnings.

"Clearly you need to have a confirmation, if the prices are moving up, you need to see what is going on in the real world."

Read more: EXPERT REVEALS WHAT CRYPTOCURRENCIES NEED TO SURVIVE

3.46pm: Bitcoin WILL reach over $100,000, expert predicts

CEO of Shopin Eran Eyal said he has “no doubt” bitcoin will reach a value of beyond $100,000 in the future. 

He told CNBC: “I think it’s important not to just look at it at this moment in time but also to look at it historically at what has happened around the world.

“I mean, look in the United States, bitcoin exchanges were shut down three times. What we are seeing here is really government’s taking a knee and taking a moment to understand the ramifications for their specific culture.”

Read more: BITCOIN PRICE LIVE

Initial reporting by Joe Tambini