Take a closer look at the weekend's top three news stories with U.Today.

Coinbase drops major XRP update: Details

On Friday, April 4, Coinbase Institutional X account announced that Coinbase Derivatives has filed with the CFTC to self-certify XRP futures. As stated in the announcement, XRP futures contracts are expected to go live on April 21, 2025. By making this move, Coinbase aims to provide "a regulated, capital-efficient way to gain exposure to one of the most liquid digital assets." According to the filing, Coinbase Institutional will launch XRP futures as a monthly, cash-settled, margined product with the symbol XRL. Each contract reflects XRP's price, is settled in USD and represents 10,000 XRP. This initiative follows the introduction of similar XRP futures by Bitnomial in March, making Coinbase's offering the second of its kind on the market.

Bitcoin (BTC) is better buy right now: Billionaire Mark Cuban

In a recent exchange on X platform, billionaire Mark Cuban expressed a cautious endorsement of Bitcoin as a good investment while the stock market is experiencing a crash. In his X post from Saturday, April 5, Cuban wrote that in a time of stock market decline, companies may start buying back their own stock at lower prices. One of the commentators responded to this suggestion with "Bullish." Cuban, in turn, replied that while these buybacks will likely take place, Bitcoin is currently the best asset to invest in: "You will eventually be right. But btc is probably a better buy right now." This comment could be a hint that companies should be following Strategy's suit of accumulating Bitcoin with spare cash; this tactic is already being adopted by Metaplanet in Japan.

Ripple CEO teases approaching major Ripple event in June

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has recently taken to X platform to invite the XRP community to join him at the upcoming XRPL Apex 2025 event in Singapore. "Looking forward to seeing many of you at @xrplapex in Singapore this June 10-12!", wrote Garlinghouse in his X post. Scheduled to take place on June 10-12, this annual blockchain conference attracts a large number of XRP enthusiasts and features prominent speakers from the industry. Along with Brad Garlinghouse himself, the list of keynote speakers includes Ripple CTO David Schwartz, Ripple President Monica Long and XRPL Commons President David Bchiri. The conference promises to be a major gathering for those interested in the future of XRP.