Ripple

Despite the mad rush among investors to buy up bitcoin, XRP and other prominent cryptocurrencies, these digital coins have largely failed to operate as instruments for payment. MoneyGram's deal with Ripple might change that, or it might be the first nail in the crypto coffin.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau featured in three of our most read articles of last year, while two others were about the disruptor Ripple. Other highlights included our annual Women in Banking package, the aftermath of the Equifax data breach and news of Amazon's possible banking plans.

The blockchain startup continues to pack its board with mainstream finance experts.

The digital-currency startup, which markets software to banks, appears keen to signal that it wants to play by the rules.

Brian Behlendorf, leader of the Linux Foundation's effort to establish standards for blockchain, likens the invention of cryptocurrencies to the moon launch and says banks, open-source developers and others are working to make the underlying technology commercially viable.

The bank consortium is going directly after the business of its former partner Ripple in the middle of their legal battle over an option for digital currency worth $1 billion.

The Federal Reserve Board governor sketched out a future in which U.S. banks remain at the center of commercial transactions.

Appliances, wearables, vehicles and other machines may deliver information directly to a blockchain that would validate personal and device identity.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, exhorted developers to think about unintended consequences, saying he felt guilty over the digital divide and the proliferation of fake news.

Hackers accessed driver’s license data on nearly 11 million people, the company says; the rally in bank shares may sputter out if third-quarter earnings reports disappoint.

SBI Ripple Asia has formed a partnership with Dayli Intelligence to build a presence across Asia.

GlobalID stands out from scores of similar companies and projects by attempting to wed self-sovereignty with regulatory compliance. If its technology works, it could alleviate a major cost for banks.

The exchange is adding Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, Monero, Zcash and dozens of other cryptocurrencies in exchange for U.S. dollars.

Stellar, which started as a splinter group from Ripple, has formed a for-profit company called Lightyear.io to help financial institutions integrate its software.

Ripple's distributed ledger platform has fed an appetite for cheaper and more efficient cross-border payments, but it may not measure up to the needs of a larger market. Ripple wants to scale its payment system to something resembling a large card network.

The move is noteworthy because Delatinne had led customer engagement for Swift’s global payments innovation initiative, with which Ripple’s cross-border payment system competes.

Larsen will hand the reins and the CEO title at Ripple over to Brad Garlinghouse, who is currently the company’s president and chief operating officer.