MoneyGram and Ripple testing bank transfers of the XRP cryptocurrency. Fortune Staff Writer Jeff John Roberts explains why this partnership is so significant.
"Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, it (Ripple) is centrally controlled," explains Roberts. "This is Ripple's moment of truth because people are speculating on XRP." With transaction fees so high for Bitcoin, some investors are seeing Ripple as a good alternative.
"Ripple is at the forefront of blockchain technology and we look forward to piloting xRapid," MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes said Thursday. In the release announcing this partnership, both Ripple and MoneyGram promoted the efficiency and speed of this digital currency.
If you've sold or exchanged any crypto in 2021, the IRS wants to know. Henry Yoshida, Co-founder & CEO, OF Rocket Dollar joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss which crypto activities are taxable and how to best spend your tax refund.
The $2 trillion crypto market will soon be subject to much greater governmental oversight. SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced this week that his agency plans to register and regulate digital currencies. He also revealed that the U.S. will focus on three different areas - crypto platforms, stablecoins, and crypto tokens. Jarrod Loadholt, partner at the law firm Ice Miller, LLP, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Blueprints and paper maps might soon be a thing of the past as more cities potentially turn to digital twin technology to create virtual models of urban environments. Michael Jansen, CEO of the digital twin platform CityZenith, broke down how this technology works, what it's being used for, and how it might be a game-changer for the future of urban planning.
"Our focus at CityZenith is on helping cities to decarbonize," Jansen said. "We joined the World Economic Forum recently to work in their net-zero carbon cities program. So what digital twins can do here with cities is aggregate all this complex data around that issue: transport, building emissions, etc., and scenario-ize how they interrelate and then how to optimize the entire process of decarbonizing, which is itself complex."
General Motors and Honda are teaming up to produce more affordable electric vehicles. The two carmaking giant are looking to hit a price point of less than $30,000, a much lower price when compared to most other electric vehicles priced toward luxury buyers..
Tensions from the Russia-Ukraine war have spilled into space. The head of Russia's space agency has threatened to pull the country out of the International Space Station if sanctions aren't lifted on the country — but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. What would it mean if Russia really did leave the ISS, who would it harm the most, and what would the consequences be both for the other ISS partners, and private space travel? Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate & Senior Space Policy Adviser at The Planetary Society, joins Closing Bell to discuss.
