The issuance company of the virtual asset Ripple, Ripple Labs, has applied for a banking license with the U.S. federal authority, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), causing a surge of nearly 4%.
According to global virtual asset market tracking site CoinMarketCap as of 8 a.m. on the 3rd, Bitcoin is trading at $109,190, up 3.34% from the previous day. Ethereum, the second largest by market capitalization, is trading at $2,594, up 8.07%.
Ripple is trading at $2.24, up 3.45% following news of its entry into the banking sector. On this day, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, noted in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that "Ripple has applied for domestic banking approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)."
If the banking license is issued, the reserves of the stablecoin "RLUSD" issued by Ripple will be directly held and managed by the U.S. Central Bank. Meanwhile, Circle, a competitor that had surged since its listing last month, has dropped nearly 8% following news from Ripple.