TRON and Ripple have secured a number of new partnerships over the past 30 days. Just two days ago TRON announced a new partnership with Chinese company Baofeng, and now Ripple has followed suit by convincing MoneyGram to use the XRP token. In addition, Telegram plans to launch its own cryptocurrency and appears poised to carry out a large ICO.
After Ripple recently revealed it was working with three of the largest money transfer companies—without naming them—interest surged. Yesterday, Ripple officially announced a partnership with MoneyGram. The agreement calls for using the XRP token to route payment flows more quickly and at lower cost. This collaboration will allow Ripple to demonstrate whether the promises in its whitepaper are practical and effective in industry use.
I’m pleased to be able to share @MoneyGram has partnered with @Ripple to use $XRP in their payment flows.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) January 11, 2018
Following the announcement (the tweet was posted on January 11, 2018, at 15:16), the Ripple price jumped nearly 50% around 3 p.m., giving the token a short-term boost. The immediate outlook for the following days looked positive. MoneyGram shares also rose roughly 13% after the news became public.
Whether this upward trend will continue remains to be seen in the coming days.
Telegram Plans Its Own Cryptocurrency
Messaging service Telegram plans to launch its own cryptocurrency called “Gram.” According to the whitepaper, the project will use a third-generation blockchain, the “TON Blockchain,” which is designed to be significantly faster than Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Telegram currently has more than 180 million users and was founded in 2006. The messenger has so far avoided advertising, honoring its users’ preference for an ad-free experience. The potential for rapid adoption is substantial: Telegram’s existing user base could begin using its payment service immediately upon implementation.
Telegram aims to raise up to $500 million in the first half of the year. A total of 200 million Gram tokens are planned, of which the Durov brothers reportedly intend to retain 52%, leaving 48% available for sale on the market.
Is TRON Poised for Another Rally?
TRON produced a strong rally prior to headlines coming out of South Korea, and recent developments could enable the project to regain that momentum. The TRON price was around $0.03 at the beginning of December 2017 and climbed briefly to $0.25.
Shortly after reaching its peak, TRON underwent a larger correction, losing over 50% of its value. The price fell to approximately $0.11, but indicators suggest there is room for a renewed upward move in the near term.
TRON recently announced a partnership with Baofeng, which exposes TRON to nearly 200 million users in China. In addition, the launch of the game Crypto-Dogs is scheduled for January 22, 2018. The game will run on the TRON blockchain, and in-game dogs can be purchased with TRON tokens.
When CryptoKitties launched on the Ethereum blockchain, it had a positive effect on Ethereum’s price. A similar outcome could be possible for TRON if Crypto-Dogs gains traction. The main headwind for TRON remains the ongoing discussion about potential copying of sections of TRON’s whitepaper from other projects, which has generated controversy.
The next few days will show how the broader crypto market reacts to these developments.
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