Ripple claims that the lack of clear regulation on digital assets could start a massive exodus on tech firms and tech talent far away from the United States. In the Ripple news today we take a closer look at how this could play out in the future.The head of global institutional markets at Ripple Breanne Madigan says that the first clear use case for XRP and other cryptocurrencies is in the payments industry. She explained:

 “At Ripple, we see payments as the first obvious use case for digital assets. A key innovation in leveraging a blockchain for payments is that you can move value efficiently—and many subsequent use cases for blockchain technology, including trade finance, smart contracts and lending—all stem directly from the payments innovation. This is why we are focused on this baseline use case first. With digital assets, for the first time, there’s a way to settle transactions across currencies instantaneously—this helps optimize risk management frameworks, and reduces significant friction pain points including time, trapped capital, and excessive fees. As additional use cases beyond payments develop, more capital will enter the space.”

From here, Ripple claims that the company has a primary focus on XRP and is using the digital asset as a bridge between fiat currencies. Madigan explained that the company’s on-demand Liquidity platform is designed to give the banks and financial institutions a fully compliant way to send money across the world starting with only one fiat currency and settling in another using XRP to facilitate transactions:

 “Ripple’s vision is to collaborate between traditional financial institutions and technology innovators for the explicit use case of cross border payments. Specifically, by leveraging the digital asset XRP as a bridge currency, Ripple facilitates instant fiat-to-fiat payments across borders for partners like MoneyGram.  There is no singular third party or global central bank that keeps track of how cross-border payments move and are settled, so the world has created a complex system of correspondent banking and nostro/vostro accounts that trap an estimated $10 trillion dollars in capital. Using digital assets as a bridge currency can efficiently free up this trapped capital and make the process of sending money cross-border faster, less expensive, and more scalable, by providing liquidity on demand.”

Madigan says that the regulators should offer more clarity on how cryptocurrencies are treated and regulated. Without clear regulation, the US risks losing the leadership position in new and emerging technologies.

The crypto news in China are always showing ups and downs. Earlier this year, Binance announced a fiat on-ramp for crypto trading through the Chinese payment services Alipay and WeChat. The move was part of the exchange's plan for making most of peer-to-peer (P2P) trading for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) against the Chinese yuan. Now, Alipay denounces Bitcoin OTC trading and makes huge waves in the industry.Using payment channels like Alipay and WeChat for crypto trading is what is a main topic of scrutiny in China. Alipay did, in fact, release statements and distanced itself from crypto trading activities - and Binance later clarified that it wasn't working directly with the aforementioned payment services.As Alipay denounces Bitcoin OTC trading, the situation and narrative around it speak to the legal status of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in China. Even with a major trading ban in place, there are still whispers of a potential booming P2P arena. As it stands, authorities in Beijing are seeming to adopt a “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” approach.The cryptocurrency regulation news also show that Chinese businesses and authorities want to stop these things from happening. Moreover, it seems like the country's proposed digital currency might necessitate the emergence of more clear-cut handling of the crypto commerce in China.As we previously reported on our news site, the Alibaba-owned payment channel Alipay has moved and banned transactions involving Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. A spokesperson for the platform then wrote:

“Alipay closely monitors over-the-counter (OTC) transactions to identify irregular behavior and ensure compliance with relevant regulations. If any transactions are identified as being related to bitcoin or other virtual currencies, we immediately stop the relevant payment services.”

This statement came in direct response to reports that Chinese crypto traders were using the platform as a P2P trading marketplace. This even led to Binance announcing that it had enabled support for fiat deposits via Alipay and WeChat.As Alipay denounces Bitcoin OTC trading and denies the use of its platform for that type of trading, several commentators say that this practice is common in China. The summary of the arguments posted by many is that such activities are illegal on paper but still fall in a regulatory gray area.

If you are among the people asking yourself "how Brexit will affect the fate of Bitcoin?" you are not the only one. With the latest Bitcoin news showing that a slight recovery for the most dominant cryptocurrency is underway, there is still a lot of scrutiny regarding BTC as a network and cryptocurrency - especially in a weak economic climate like the current one.Depending on who you ask the question, the answer to how Brexit will affect Bitcoin is different. With the UK leaving the European Union, we can expect a lot of changes to the BTC/GBP market.The answers to these questions obviously depend on whether or not UK crashes out of the EU without a deal on October 31. If it does, it is very likely that the value of the British pound will decline on the currency markets. This may lead a lot of Brits to flock towards Bitcoin (BTC) and keep their GBP in a digital form (BTC) as a safer haven.The truth is, how Brexit might affect Bitcoin is very different. What's certain is the fact that Bitcoin affects as a safe haven in times of inflation and recession. If a deal is approved by the UK parliament at the eleventh hour, the crypto news may be positive for traders.

"A no-deal Brexit would shake confidence in the pound and send investors into a panicky search for safe-haven assets," said Glen Goodman, a cryptocurrency expert and author.

At the time of writing, the UK government has secured a new withdrawal agreement with the EU. However, the chances of a no-deal Brexit are still high.British lawmakers on Saturday voted for a new proposal to withhold support for Prime Minister Borish Johnson and the Brexit deal until formal ratification legislation has passed. This, according to analysts, is a step that will oblige him to ask the EU for a Brexit delay for three months, according to Reuters.In either case, how Brexit may affect Bitcoin is different. What's certain is that the markets reacted to the new agreement positively and GBP rallied against USD recently, reaching the level last seen in May 2019.

"For investors, the problem with no-deal is it makes the future for Britain much more uncertain, and of course markets hate uncertainty," Goodman added.

In another series of the saga between the Telegram Open Network (TON) as the issuer of Gram (GRM) tokens and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), we can see that no one is losing on their opinion. In fact, the crypto news today show that SEC insists that Grams are securities in an official response to the network's counterclaim.Following the counterclaim by Telegram on October 16 where the company argued that its native cryptocurrency is not a security and that the preliminary injunction should be denied, the SEC insists that Grams are securities in a new filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 17.In the document, the regulator not only insists that Telegram violated the US securities laws - they also argue that a preliminary injunction should be granted to prevent Telegram from further violation. It also stressed that the company is likely to violate the law again.The SEC outlined that Telegram's proposal and attempt to deny the injunction will allow them to continue engaging in violative conduct after five months. This will put the burden on the regulator to seek another restraining order (TRO) from the court. As SEC insists, it is an extraordinary non-justified request that would constitute a waste of judicial and public resources and should be denied.According to the TRO filed on October 11, Telegram should represent itself in court in a new hearing scheduled for October 24. Right now, the SEC reiterated that Telegram has violated the securities laws by selling Grams which are "securities" under the Securities Act (to certain investors such as US buyers) without any exemption from registration.SEC insists that Grams are a currency or commodity after the launch of the Telegram Open Network (TON), arguing:

“Defendants’ Opposition to this showing rests entirely on the conclusory allegation that ‘Grams will merely be a currency or commodity’ and therefore not a security ‘once the TON Blockchain launches.’ [...] whatever Grams were in 2018 or what they will be whenever Defendants decide to distribute them, Telegram’s mere assertion that Grams ‘will ... be’ a ‘currency’ does nothing to cure the prior violation of law.”

Previously, we published multiple reports on Telegram's case showing key events and issues around TON as a network and the expected Gram (GRM) tokens.