Crypto News: Cryptocurrencies gain momentum as institutions continue to invest in the technology and the exchanges

Investor pumps $57.5 million into exchange for Ripple purchases
Greg Kidd, an early investor in Coinbase and Twitter, has just sunk close to $58 million into online exchange Uphold in order for it to integrate with Ripple, sell Ripple tokens and boost its cash reserves in case of hacks.

Kidd was both a former regulator and Ripple’s chief risk officer and believes Uphold has the ability to be the sector leader in currency exchanges.

Crédit Agricole tests Ripple blockchain for cross-border transfers
French bank Crédit Agricole is the latest financial institution to test out Ripple’s blockchain technology to expedite swifter payments. The bank said it was trialling the scheme in order to settle transactions in real time, reduce transfer costs and keep a permanent, time-stamped record.

The test, which will last six months and will cover salary transfers in Swiss francs for some cross-border customers between regional bank Crédit Agricole des Savoie and Swiss bank Crédit Agricole Next Bank.

South Korean National Pension Fund Invests In Crypto
South Korea’s National Pension Fund, the third largest state pension fund in the world, has invested 2.6 billion won ($2.44 million) in cryptocurrencies – or at least the operators of cryptocurrency exchanges.

It invested in two venture capital funds which between them have stakes in Upbit, Coinplug, Korbit and Bithumb. The move was confirmed by Lee Chan-Yeol, an official with the pension fund.

South Korea has been in the cryptocurrency spotlight in recent weeks amid fears of increased regulation, and ban on anonymous trading comes into effect this week.