SWIFT CIO takes dig at Ripple for "surviving lawsuit"
Ripple and SWIFT came face-to-face again when Tom Zschach, the latter's chief of innovation, dismissed claims that Ripple is resilient. The argument was that legal survival is not what banks are looking for.
- Who sets the rules? According to Zschach, SWIFT's structure involves thousands of banks sharing control and setting the rules together.
Although Ripple maintains that XRP Ledger is decentralized, concerns remain about the company’s ability to influence the network. This is why banks continue to view SWIFT as neutral infrastructure and Ripple as rails tied to a competitor.
- Compliance is crucial. Staying on the right side of regulators is only part of compliance, says top SWIFT executive.
First, it is the creation of common rules for the entire sector. Public blockchains, he argued, are incomplete without enforceability and privacy, which makes them unsuitable for core financial infrastructure.
- Blockchain is useful, Ripple isn’t. Despite the rant, Zschach was careful to end on a positive note, saying that banks are ready to take the best parts of blockchain. Not the crypto companies, though.
Speed of settlement, transparency of transactions and programmability of processes are all features that can be reused without adopting entire networks. In such framing, this selective approach allows institutions to benefit from blockchain while avoiding structures they cannot control.
Bitcoin (BTC) free fall after breakdown: Can $104,000 hold?
The major cryptocurrency is in the middle of one of its hardest reversal attempts of 2025 after failing to hold the $120,000 level and dropping below $109,000.
- Support becomes fragile. Bitcoin has already lost the 50-day EMA, a moving average curve that previously acted as reliable support.
Now that that level's gone, the focus has shifted to the 200-day EMA near $104,000 — the only significant cushion on the chart. Should this zone also give way, the structure becomes much less stable, leaving cryptocurrency exposed to deeper declines with no immediate support.
- No new hope for Bitcoin bulls? Talk about pivot to the upside is amateur, to say the least, technical indicators warn.
Weak RSI with no bullish divergence, and trading volumes still show active selling rather than exhaustion — that's the lowdown. Analysts say that in this situation, even small waves of pressure can quickly turn into big drops, creating what's basically a free fall scenario. If the market doesn't clear out the weak positions, it might go down slowly, which frustrates the bulls waiting for a quick rebound.
With thin support, bearish technicals and unrelenting volume, this is one of the toughest reversal phases for Bitcoin in recent months. Until the market reaches a clear bottom, any attempts at recovery are probably going to be risky and too much of a gamble.
XRP rockets 100% in payment volume, biggest daily spike of 2025
XRP had its strongest network-driven move this year on Sept. 1, with more than 2,150,000,000 tokens changing hands — that's 100% more than the average daily flows seen through August.
- XRP network wave builds. The spike came as XRP briefly tested the $2.70 zone before bouncing back above $2.80.
For months, daily activity rarely went over 1,000,000,000, but this sudden surge shows that settlement demand or large transfers have returned in size. The rebound also stopped XRP price from dropping any deeper on the chart, keeping it above the key levels when it looked like pressure was going to push the cryptocurrency lower.
- Payments or exchange flows? No one knows where this spike came from, but it's had the same effect: XRP utility is back on display.
The debate is still going on about whether institutional movements tied to exchanges or real settlement usage is the main factor. No matter what, the price is gearing up to hit $2.95 and $3.10 next. Break through, and the next target is $3.30. But if XRP can't hold $2.70, it might slide toward $2.50.
This is the biggest jump for XRP driven by its use in 2025, and it could mean a shift where on-chain use, not speculation, drives the token's trajectory.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team