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The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Exclusive-Ripple to buy stablecoin platform Rail for $200 million
FILE PHOTO: The logo of blockchain company Ripple is seen at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo (Reuters) -Ripple will buy stablecoin payments platform Rail for $200 million, the company said on Thursday, weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a law that raised expectations cryptocurrency tokens are about to enter the mainstream. Ripple, a crypto company that issues the token XRP as well as its own stablecoin called RLUSD, has invested heavily in stablecoin infrastructure in recent months. The acquisition - which will close in the fourth quarter of this year pending regulatory approvals - will enable Ripple and Rail to "deliver the most comprehensive stablecoin payments solution available in the market," it said. "As regulations become more clear and the space has grown and matured, this opportunity for stablecoin payments is really ripe, and the acquisition of Rail just really solidifies our market leadership in stablecoin payments," said Monica Long, president of Ripple in an interview. Toronto-based Rail, backed by Galaxy Ventures and Accomplice, uses stablecoins to deploy cross-border payments. It says its transactions are cheaper and can clear in just hours, compared to longer settlement times for fiat payments. Rail says on its website that the company is responsible for 10% of all global stablecoin-based payment activity. Trump in July signed a bill into law to create a federal regulatory regime for stablecoins, which analysts said could allow digital assets to become an everyday way to make payments and move money. Stablecoins are designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 U.S. dollar peg, and their use has exploded, notably by crypto traders moving funds between tokens. Ripple said in April that it would also buy multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road in a $1.25 billion deal, one of its largest acquisitions yet, which it said would enhance RLUSD's utility. Ripple launched RLUSD, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, last year, as it sought to disrupt the market dominated by Tether and Circle's USDC. (Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; editing by Barbara Lewis)
The Star
29-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Citi announces research expansion into private industry, mostly tech firms
The Citigroup Inc (Citi) logo is seen at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. Picture taken October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo (Reuters) -Citigroup said on Tuesday it is expanding its research coverage to include private companies, with a focus on rapidly growing tech firms, mirroring a similar strategy by JPMorgan Chase, which has reportedly begun covering non-listed firms. The expansion will focus on about 100 of the most influential private companies, especially in key sectors like artificial intelligence, offering event-driven analysis on product launches, customer acquisitions and new business lines. However, the reports will not include price targets, buy/sell recommendations, or earnings forecasts, the bank said. This comes as several private companies, such as OpenAI, SpaceX and TikTok-parent Bytedance, command valuations that rival or surpass several major S&P 500 firms, blurring the distinction between public and private market influence. JPMorgan Chase has also been offering research coverage for private companies, many of which have high valuations or are delaying listings, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
The Star
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Eni, Dubai-based Khazna team up to build data center campus in Italy
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Italian multinational energy company Eni is displayed at their booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo MILAN (Reuters) -Italian energy group Eni and Dubai-based Khazna have signed a preliminary agreement to jointly develop a 500-megawatt (MW) data centre campus in northern Italy, the two companies said on Friday. The campus, to be located near Milan, is part of a broader partnership between the Italy and the United Arab Emirates aimed at boosting digital infrastructure, with plans to install up to 1 gigawatt of IT capacity across Italy. The facility will be driven by so-called "blue power", meaning electricity from an Eni gas plant equipped with carbon capture technology to reduce CO2 emissions, the Italian energy group said. Investments in Italy's data centres will double to 10 billion euros ($11.7 billion) in the 2025-2026 period compared with the previous two years as technology heavyweights roll out spending plans, researchers at Milan's Polytechnic University estimated in January. ($1 = 0.8556 euros) (Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Alvise Armellini)
The Star
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Trump to return to Washington early from G7 summit for 'important matters'
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for the G7 Leaders' Summit at the Rocky Mountain resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool
Straits Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
G7 leaders aim for unity, facing escalating wars in Ukraine, Middle East
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives before world leaders meet in Kananaskis for the G7 leaders' summit, at Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Amber Bracken/Pool Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz before the G7 Leaders' Summit, in the Rocky Mountains resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool France's President Emmanuel Macron arrives before world leaders meet in Kananaskis for the G7 leaders' summit, at Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Amber Bracken/Pool U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to attend the G7 Leaders' Summit at the Rocky Mountain resort town of Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/Pool A backdrop sign for the G7 Leaders Summit in the Rocky Mountains resort of Kananaskis is seen outside the media center in Banff, Alberta, Canada June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Chris Helgren KANANASKIS, Alberta - Leaders from the Group of Seven nations began annual talks on Monday with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East adding to global economic uncertainty, as host Canada tries to avoid a clash with U.S. President Donald Trump. The G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S., along with the European Union, are convening in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday. With an escalating Israel-Iran conflict, the summit in Canada is seen as a vital moment to try and restore a semblance of unity among democratic powerhouses. Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt a comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of a 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the U.S. delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving. Leaders have prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including one calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict and other statements on migration, artificial intelligence and critical mineral supply chains. None of them have been approved by the United States, however, according to sources briefed on the documents. "I do think there's a consensus for de-escalation. Obviously, what we need to do today is to bring that together and to be clear about how it is to be brought about," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters. The first five months of Trump's second term upended foreign policy on Ukraine, raised anxiety over his closer ties to Russia and resulted in tariffs on U.S. allies. Talks on Monday will centre around the economy, advancing trade deals, and China. Efforts to reach an agreement to lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil even if Trump decided to opt out have been complicated by a temporary surge in oil prices since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 12, two diplomatic sources said. Oil prices fell on Monday on reports Iran was seeking a truce. The escalation between the two regional foes is high on the agenda, with diplomatic sources saying they hope to urge restraint and a return to diplomacy. "We are united. Nobody wants to see Iran get a nuclear weapon and everyone wants discussions and negotiations to restart," France's President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Greenland on Sunday before travelling to Canada. He added that given Israel's dependence on U.S. weapons and munitions, Washington had the capacity to restart negotiations. Trump said on Sunday many calls and meetings were taking place to broker peace. RUSSIAN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Highlighting the unease among some of Washington's allies, Trump spoke on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested the Russian leader could play a mediation role between Israel and Iran. Macron dismissed the idea, arguing that Moscow could not be a negotiator because it had started an illegal war against Ukraine. A European diplomat said Trump's suggestion showed that Russia, despite being kicked out of the group in 2014 after annexing Crimea, was very much on U.S. minds. "In the eyes of the U.S., there's no condemnation for Ukraine; no peace without Russia; and now even credit for its mediation role with Iran. For Europeans, this will be a really tough G7," the diplomat said. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will attend the summit on Tuesday. European officials said they hoped to use the meeting, and next week's NATO summit, to convince Trump to toughen his stance on Putin. "The G7 should have the objective for us to converge again, for Ukraine to get a ceasefire to lead to a robust and lasting peace, and in my view it's a question of seeing whether President Trump is ready to put forward much tougher sanctions on Russia," Macron said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
