XRP suffered a devastating crash today, with the price dropping below $0.5.
During the evening hours in the US yesterday, the prices of various crypto assets, including XRP (XRP), took a big hit.
WSJ claims Tether is under US investigation
This comes after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a major media outlet, reported that stablecoin giant Tether was under investigation for money laundering-related charges.
The report claimed that US federal prosecutors are investigating whether criminals are using USDT for illegal activities such as terrorist financing.
Stablecoins are special cryptocurrencies whose price is pegged to another asset, such as the US dollar (USD). Several stablecoins exist, but Tether’s USDT is the most commonly used stablecoin. It is currently the largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of $120.11 billion.
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XRP plummets below $0.5
Given the popularity of USDT in the market, negative press regarding this asset is expected to have a devastating impact on other cryptocurrencies.
Like other crypto assets, XRP was not immune to this report. XRP was on the verge of surging above the $0.53 level, but it took a big hit and the price dropped below $0.50.
The last time XRP traded below $0.50 was in early August, when the entire market was collapsing. Something similar happened yesterday, shortly after the WSJ claimed that the US government was investigating Tether for possible violations of anti-money laundering rules.
Specifically, at 6:25pm ET yesterday, XRP fell to a two-month low of $0.4936. However, XRP recorded a significant recovery and an hour later the price was above $0.50.
XRP recovers after Tether denies WSJ report
This comes after Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino denied the WSJ report. Ardoino said in a tweet yesterday that there is no indication that Tether is under investigation by the United States. He accused the media of repeating old rumors that have no relevance to the present.
As we told WSJ, there is no indication that Tether is under investigation. WSJ is regurgitating old noise. Full stop.
— Paolo Ardoino 🤖🍐 (@paoloardoino) October 25, 2024
The company also released a statement denying the WSJ report. The stablecoin giant criticized media companies for making false claims as if they were true without providing any evidence to support the claims.
As expected, Tether’s denial of the WSJ report buoyed the market as several crypto assets, including XRP, recovered most of their losses. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5141 per coin. Nevertheless, the asset is still down 2.14% in the past 24 hours.
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