The explosive surge in the value of Ripple's digital currency XRP is being transmitted to the stock market, with Seagate and Western Union both experiencing a sharp hike in valuations on the back of Ripple-led associations.
Western Union was the first to experience the Ripple effect, as rumours positing a future business relationship in the money transfer business prompted a 7.5% spike in its share price.
Ripple fever then hit Seagate, following a plug from ValueStreet Research which suggested that the chip maker may be sitting on $7.8 billion worth of XRP thanks to an unconfirmed 4.8% stake in Ripple. Seagate shares soared by 16% on the news, before recording a 6.4% gain as the stock changed hands.
XRP currently has a market capitalisation over $80 billion following a massive appreciation in price over the past year.
Much of the interest in the coin appears to be based on assumptions that XRP may ultimately come to function as a reserve currency for banks who use Ripple's technology to conduct real-time funds transfers.
Whether this will come to pass is debatable and was the subject of a heated Twitter spat between New York Times journalist Nathaniel Popper and Ripple chief Brad Garlinghouse.
This prompted a furious response from Garlinghouse, who claimed that Popper had been offered two interviews with banks that planned to use the currency: