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December 4, 2025

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The post Ripple News: Will XRP Become Europe’s Neutral Bridge? Italy’s Gold Grab Renews Debate appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

A surprising political decision in Italy has triggered new discussions about Europe’s financial future and why Ripple’s XRP could become more important than ever.

Over the weekend, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni began pushing to bring Italy’s $300 billion gold reserves under full state control. Until now, much of that influence rested with the European Central Bank (ECB). If Italy takes ownership back, it hints at a much bigger plan: preparing for a possible shift away from the euro.

Analyst Paul Barron says that when a country starts securing its own gold, it often means it is building collateral for a separate financial system. If Italy eventually distances itself from the euro, it could start a domino effect across Europe.

Could Europe Break Apart Financially?

If Italy steps away, experts like Barron say other countries,  including the Netherlands and Slovakia, might follow. Dutch officials have already called gold their “security blanket,” suggesting they may be preparing for their own backup plan.

A fragmented Europe would mean each nation running its own ledger and financial system. That would make euro-to-euro payments far more complicated, and traditional systems like SWIFT could start to struggle.

According to the expert, this scenario is exactly where Ripple comes in.

Why Ripple Fits Into This Picture

If Europe divides into multiple financial networks, banks will need a neutral, fast, cross-border bridge asset. Many analysts say XRP is perfectly built for this role.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is already being urged to step up meetings across the EU. He is likely already talking to several European leaders behind the scenes because the timing is critical.

Barron said that XRP can act as a fast, efficient settlement currency between national ledgers — something that could become essential if the euro weakens.

Ripple Expands in Asia at the Same Time

On the same day these European developments surfaced, Ripple announced another major win:
It received new approval from Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) to expand its payment services.

Singapore is one of the most important financial hubs in Asia. This approval strengthens Ripple’s global position and shows how quickly the company is building influence around the world.

Could XRP Become a Reserve Asset?

If gold, government bonds, and global currencies start shifting, a new digital reserve asset may rise. XRP supporters argue that the token is designed exactly for this kind of global settlement role.

With Europe facing uncertainty, Asian markets opening doors, and global gold buying at record levels, XRP’s long-term narrative is gaining strength again.

Outages on Shopify’s e-commerce platform have been resolved, the company said late Monday, bringing to an end a daylong glitch on the annual ‘Cyber Monday’ shopping day.

Some merchants that use Shopify’s service to sell goods online said they experienced issues with checkouts through the company’s point-of-sale system.

Businesses that run on Shopify also had trouble logging into their administrative portals.

In a statement, Shopify said: ‘We had a system degradation that has now been mitigated.’

Throughout the day, business owners posted angry messages directed at the company on X, where Shopify President Harvey Finkelstein had posted ‘HAPPY CYBER MONDAY! Let’s finish strong!’ earlier in the day, with an emoji of a flexed arm.

One business, Costack Spices, based in London, replied: ‘How??? [We] cannot fulfill orders or log on,’ with three red-faced emojis. In a follow-up, the company posted, ‘This is unbelievable.’

Another user wrote, ‘@ShopifySupport I haven’t been able to access it for the last couple hours.’

Shopify replied to most users on X with the same message: ‘We are aware of an issue with Admins impacting selected stores, and are working to resolve it.’

In 2024, merchants using Shopify services recorded $11.5 billion in sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the company said, with more than 76 million customers buying from businesses powered by the platform.

Shopify provides website design tools, online checkout services and digital advertising products to businesses of all sizes. The company says that millions of merchants use its services.

While Shopify’s share of Cyber Monday sales may be limited, smaller businesses that rely on the company to process their transactions may have missed out on crucial sales at the start of the all-important holiday season.

Total Cyber Monday sales are expected to be more than $53 billion, according to Salesforce.

Shopify stock ended the trading day down 5.9%.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

The IREN stock price has nosedived recently and formed a risky pattern that points to further downside. It dropped to $43 this week, down by over 40% from its highest point this year. So, is it safe to buy the IREN dip or does it have more downside to go?

IREN stock price technicals point to more weakness

The 12-hour chart shows that the IREN share price has slumped in the past few weeks, undoing some of the gains it made a few months ago. 

It has dropped from the all-time high of $76.85 in November to $43 today. As a result, it has slumped to the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level. 

Most importantly, the stock has formed a double-top pattern at $74 and a neckline at $48.40. A double-top is one of the most common bearish chart patterns in technical analysis.

It has already retested the neckline, completing a process known as a break-and-retest patttern in technical analysis. The Supertrend has already turned red and the 50-period and 25-period moving averages are about to cross each other. 

At the same time, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and other oscillators have all pointed downwards. Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the IREN stock price continues falling as sellers target the 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement level at $32.50. 

On the flip side, a move above the resistance level at $48 will invalidate the bearish outlook. 

IREN stock chart | Source: TradingView

IREN faces major risks ahead

At face value, IREN’s business is thriving as its Bitcoin mining operation benefits from the rising hashrate. This growth will likely continue, albeit at a slower pace as the mining difficulty rises. 

Investors are not buying IREN because of its mining operations. Rather, the main catalyst is its artificial intelligence business, which has continued doing well and has a lot of promise. 

Like other Bitcoin mining companies, IREN is aiming to become a major provider of infrastructure to companies in the AI space. It is targeting hyperscalers like Microsoft and Meta, as well as other smaller companies.

The business model has been validated by other companies like Nebius and CoreWeave. It was also validated recently when it announced a large deal with Microsoft. In it, the company will receive billions of dollars in high-margin revenue for providing data center solutions.

IREN anticipates strong growth in the industry, with the management expecting its AI cloud revenue to get to $3.4 billion by the end of 2026. This is notable as the company made less than $10 million in revenue in the division in the last quarter.

Most of its $240 million in revenue in the last quarter came from its Bitcoin mining operations.

The main risk, however, is that the company is facing substantial competition from other companies in the Bitcoin mining operations that are embracing the technology. Notable names are TeraWulf and Bitfarms. It is also competing with companies like CoreWeave and Nebius.

The impact of all this is that hyperscalers like Microsoft, Google, and Meta Platforms have choices when it comes to finding partnering companies.

Meanwhile, there is a risk in terms of financing as the industry is prohibitively expensive. For example, the company announced that it would raise $2 billion to boost its infrastructure spending. This raising will be in the form of convertible debt and share offerings. 

Like CoreWeave, there is a risk that the company will report losses before its AI business breaks even. CoreWeave, the biggest name in the sector, reported a net loss of $110 million in the last quarter. It has lost over $823 million in the last four quarters.

The post IREN stock price is in a bear market: is it safe to buy the dip today? appeared first on Invezz