Ripple rises 5% to five-week high as demand rebounds on cryptocurrencies

Ripple rallied 5%, or $0.04 on Thursday to March 14 highs on track for the second weekly profit in a row as short traders close positions to collect profits rapidly while demand recovers on cryptocurrencies in the second quarter. 

As of 06:25 GMT, ripple rose 5.06% to $0.7500 from the opening of $0.71400, with a session-high at $0.75317, and a low at $0.7350, with ripple's market value now amounting to $74 billion. 

International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde has changed her tone on cryptocurrencies to a more optimistic one, pointing to potential benefits to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. 

A Month ago, Lagarde warned from the dark side of cryptocurrencies, with her position now that cryptocurrencies should be neither condemned nor obsessed over. 

New publications reported that exchange Coinbase acquired Earn.com, which provided a blockchain-based email service, with CEO Balaji Srinivasan acting now as Chief Technological Officer.

Coincase is reported to have invested $120 million into Earn.com, indicating the faith the bitcoin exchange has in expanding into the new service. 

Ripple recently received a big boost after the Ripple company announced a $25 million investment from ripples into a blockchain projects fund managed by Blockchain Capital. 

The founder of Blockchain Capital, Bart Stephens, announced recently the new investment cooperation  "as pioneers in the blockchain sector, we've always been on the front lines in trenches with companies like ripple". 

Stephens' company manages Blockchain Capital Parallel IV LP, a fund worth $150 million focused on blockchain technologies.

Stephens pointed to the many applications of the technologies in many potential sectors, whether through the use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ripple, or direct blockchain applications in healthcare and banking. 

Ripple is also planning  a partnership with banking group Santander to make international ripple payments and transfers feasible to consumers around the world. 

Ripple was first launched on March 7, 2015, to start trading at $0.015, with the virtual currency losing nearly two thirds of its value by early 2016 to $0.0059, before rising 5% during 2016 to $0.0063, and then skyrocketing 28,000% to $1.748 by the end of 2017, before marking unprecedented highs in January at $3.30, then losing 85% of value rapidly in the last few months.