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Ripple says it’s partnering with one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in Europe.

In a new ask-me-anything, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirms Bitstamp will implement Ripple’s XRP-based payment solution xRapid to power international payments.

The exchange joins US-based Bittrex, Mexico-based Bitso and Philippines-based Coins.php in creating a global ecosystem that will fuel xRapid payments from one currency – into XRP – and then back into another currency quickly and efficiently.

Meanwhile, the head of digital assets at VanEck says we may be entering a “parallel universe” where just about any cryptocurrency can be accepted on leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, while Bitcoin ETFs remain stalled by the SEC.

Coinbase shitcoins OK for millions of retail investors. Bitcoin ETF for institutional investors too crazy. What f*ing parallel universe is this? 🤦‍♂️🤯 — Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) December 7, 2018

VanEck has been trying to get a Bitcoin ETF approved by the SEC since August 11, 2017.

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The SEC has set a final deadline of February 27, 2019 to reveal whether it will approve VanEck’s latest Bitcoin ETF proposal which was filed in June.

Earlier this month, the Commission said it “finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider this proposed rule change.”

Finally, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin gave three blockchain startups a major boost, doling out more than $300,000 in cryptocurrency.

Buterin gave each company 1,000 Ether, saying, “You only live once.”

Done!https://t.co/I0ZqR5Ivcq OK, I'm *really* done for the day. /me goes to sleep — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 19, 2018

The three projects receiving the holiday handout are Sigma Prime, Prysmatic Labs and ChainSafe. All three are working on creating the next version of Ethereum, dubbed Ethereum 2.0.

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