Investing.com – Cryptocurrency prices traded higher on Monday. XRP gained 3% following reports that Ripple was “seriously planning to enter the Middle East market.”

Bitcoin (Bitcoin) gained 1.6% to $6,465.9 by 11:31 PM ET (03:31 GMT) on the Bitifinex exchange.

Ethereum jumped 4.6% to $209.04 , and Litecoin rose 4.7% to $53.606. XRP traded 3.6 % higher to $0.4650.4.

Speaking at the recent Global Islamic Economic Summit 2018, the global head of infrastructure innovation for Ripple, Dilip Rao said the crypto exchange is considering setting up an office in the Middle East. The exchange currently has offices in London, India, San Francisco, New York, Luxembourg, Sydney, and Singapore.

“Our focus initially is on cross-border payments because we think that’s where there is the most friction. In this part of the world, there is a huge requirement for cross-border transactions. This will support the economy both within the region and the rest of the world,” said Rao, who then highlighted the importance of the Middle East as a new market for the company.

He added that Ripple has so far signed about 200 institutions from different countries with many of them being from the Middle East. The list of clients reportedly includes the Saudi Arabia’s Al-Rajhi Bank, as well as Kuwait Finance House.

In other news, UK-based financial company deVere Group has launched an actively managed crypto fund.

The offering, called deVere Digital Asset Funds, was launched in partnership with Dubai-based hedge fund manager Dalma Capital Management and provides investors with diversified exposure to digital coins with reduced volatility.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere, said that virtual coins are “part of mainstream finance.”

“Their momentum continues to gain traction as both retail and institutional investors increasingly value the need and demand for digital, global currencies in today’s ever-more digitalised and globalised world,” he said in a press release.

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