XRP Derivatives Contracts to Arrive on Major Japanese Exchange, Bitcoin Records Worst February in 11 Years, Ripple Appeal Dismissal Likely Next, SEC Veteran Says: Crypto News Digest by U.Today

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XRP derivatives contracts to arrive on major Japanese crypto exchange: Details

According to a recent X post by bitFlyer, a major Japanese crypto exchange, its leveraged trading product, called "bitFlyer Crypto CFD, " will soon start supporting two major digital assets, XRP and ETH. CFDs, or Contracts for Differences, are similar to derivatives contracts and allow traders to speculate on the price movements of cryptos without owning the underlying asset. Previously, bitFlyer only provided CFDs for Bitcoin, but in expanding its range of supported assets, it plans to attract more users to the platform. At the moment, bitFlyer Crypto CFD handles the pair BTC-CFD/JPY, but with the start of handling ETH and XRP, the following pairs will be added: ETH-CFD/JPY, XRP-CFD/JPY.

Bitcoin (BTC) records ugliest February in 11 years

Bitcoin continues to sail in a sea of red; yesterday, despite the U.S. stock market opening in the green, BTC's price unexpectedly dropped 1.48% to $85,400. This marks the lowest Bitcoin has traded in three months, since November, meaning that the decline erased all the recent gains, including BTC's new all-time high of $109,588. Adding to the grim sentiment is the flagship crypto's historical data; per CryptoRank, this February is actually the worst for BTC in almost 11 years. Bitcoin has not seen such an ugly February since 2014, when its price recorded a 33.7% correction. As March is inching closer, historical trends suggest an average return of 11.8% for this month. The median, however, differs significantly and is -2.10%.

Dropping Ripple appeal "next up for sure," former SEC exec

John Reed Stark, a former SEC enforcement attorney, has recently taken to X platform to make a bold prediction regarding the Ripple case against the regulatory agency. In Stark's opinion, there are indications that the SEC might drop its lawsuit against the San Francisco-based fintech giant. Such insights originate from recent changes in the SEC's approach to crypto regulation, particularly following the agency's moves to close investigations into Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD), Uniswap and OpenSea. "Dropping of the SEC's Ripple appeal next up for sure," concluded Stark in his X post. Meanwhile, after years of litigation, the SEC has dismissed the Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) case. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, said the exchange expects a full dismissal without any fines or charges.

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