The company’s expansion in Brazil comes after it made big moves in Australia, the US, and Canada.

Ripple announced earlier today that it has significantly enhanced its presence in Brazil by incorporating some of its key features in the local market, including cross-border payments and digital asset custody.

The company’s President highlighted the importance of the Latin American market and praised Brazil for its rapidly developing financial ecosystem.

Ripple Doubles Down in Brazil

The statement published on March 17 reads that Ripple has now become the “only solution in the region capable of serving institutions across the full spectrum of financial needs – from cross-border payments and digital asset custody to prime brokerage and treasury management.”

The firm has also applied for a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license with the country’s central bank. The move comes after Brazil introduced its cryptocurrency regulatory framework and aims to reinforce Ripple’s “compliance-first approach” that has guided its global operations for over a decade.

After outlining the significance of the Latin American market, Ripple President Monica Long added that “Brazil has built one of the most advanced and forward-thinking financial ecosystems in the world.”

“We’ve spent more than a decade building the trust, licensing, and technology required to operate in regulated markets. Now, with our expanded platform, we can meet institutions across the region with everything they need to compete in the modern financial system,” Long concluded.

Brazilian Institutions Tapping Ripple Payments

The announcement explained that Ripple Custody will bring “bank-grade security, real-time compliance controls, and flexible deployment options to regulated institutions in the region.” Some of those include CRX and Justoken.

In the meantime, Ripple Payments, the end-to-end solution for moving money across borders with over $100 billion in processed volume globally, works with Banco Genial, Braza Bank, Nomad, Azify, ATTRUS, and Frente Corretora.

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The company also said that its enterprise-grade stablecoin, RLUSD, has gained “significant traction” in the LATAM region, as institutions look for “trusted, regulated, digital dollar infrastructure.” RLUSD’s market cap has grown past $1.5 billion in less than 18 months after its launch.

The stablecoin has been adopted in Brazil by some of the most prominent exchanges and fintechs, including Mercado Bitcoin, Foxbit, Ripio, Braza Bank, Banco Genial, and others.

Ripple’s big move in Brazil follows similar developments in other regions. It began with a major announcement about an Australian financial license application, followed by a partnership focused on the North American markets.

Bitcoin is pressing into a major test. The rebound from the $60,000 area has now extended into the mid-$70,000s, which means the price is no longer just recovering. It is challenging the first real ceiling of this bounce, and that makes the current zone especially important for the next directional move.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

The daily chart has improved meaningfully, but the broader trend has not fully flipped yet. BTC is now pushing back into the $75,000 to $80,000 region, which marked the previous breakdown area and has now turned into a heavy supply zone. The price is also approaching the higher trendline of the descending channel again, while still trading beneath both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, located at $80,000 and $93,000 levels, respectively.

That combination makes the current level a key decision area. If buyers can reclaim this region with a clean daily break, the recovery would start to look much more structural. If not, this could still end up being another lower-high rejection inside the broader corrective trend. For now, the chart is stronger than it was a few weeks ago, but not yet fully repaired.

BTC/USDT 4-Hour Chart

On the 4-hour chart, the structure remains constructive. Bitcoin has continued printing higher lows and highs inside its rising recovery channel, and the latest move has carried the price right into the upper resistance band around $73,000 to $76,000. That shows buyers are still in control in the short term.

Momentum is also firm, with the RSI holding in the upper half of its range and recently pushing higher again. Still, the market is now at a confluence zone where horizontal resistance and the upper trend boundary meet. So this is where continuation needs confirmation. A breakout could open the door to a stronger leg higher, while rejection here would likely drag BTC back toward the middle of the channel.

Sentiment Analysis

From a sentiment perspective, funding rates remain negative even as the price keeps climbing. That is a notable divergence. It shows that derivatives traders are still not leaning aggressively long, and short exposure remains relatively elevated despite the recovery.

That kind of backdrop is often supportive rather than bearish in the near term. When the price rises while funding stays subdued or negative, it suggests the move is not being driven by overcrowded bullish leverage. In other words, sentiment is still cautious, and that leaves room for upside if BTC can break resistance, since the market has not yet reached an overheated condition, and a short liquidation cascade could be the fuel the price needs to jump aggressively.

Crypto e-commerce store Bitrefill has revealed it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack on March 1, with the methods used closely resembling those of Lazarus Group, North Korea’s notorious hacking organization.

In a post to X on Tuesday, Bitrefill said the hackers used malware, on-chain tracing, and reused IP and email infrastructure to compromise an employee’s laptop, enabling them to drain funds from the company’s hot wallets while also accessing 18,500 purchase records, potentially revealing “limited customer information.”

Bitrefill said BlueNoroff Group, another North Korean hacking organization with close ties to the Lazarus Group, may have also been involved or been the sole attacker.

Bitrefill, which enables customers to spend crypto on real-world products and gift cards, said there was no evidence that the hackers extracted its database, suggesting the motive was financial.

“There is no evidence that they extracted our entire database, only that the attackers ran a limited number of queries consistent with probing to understand what there was to steal, including cryptocurrency and Bitrefill gift card inventory.”

While Bitrefill didn’t disclose how much funds were stolen, the company said it “will absorb” those losses from its operational capital.

“Almost everything is back to normal: payments, stock, accounts,” Bitrefill said, adding: “Sales volumes are also back to normal, and we are eternally thankful to our customers for your continued confidence in us.”