Bitcoin Is `Very Definition’ of a Bubble, Credit Suisse CEO Says

Bitcoin Is `Very Definition’ of a Bubble, Credit Suisse CEO Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The speculation around bitcoin is the “very definition of a bubble,” Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said as the currency exceeded $7,000 for the first time. Bankers are steering clear of bitcoin out of concern that criminals could use its anonymity to hide their activities, he said Thursday at a news conference in Zurich.  “Most banks in the current state of regulation have little or no appetite to get…

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Shining Star of Initial Coin Offerings Crashing Back to Earth

Shining Star of Initial Coin Offerings Crashing Back to Earth

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bancor, one of the most successful initial coin offerings in the short history of digital tokens, is proving to be a dud for investors. After raising $153 million in a matter of hours in June, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup — whose market maker-like application aims to facilitate trading in other digital coins — has seen the price of its token decline 56 percent, one of the worst performances among…

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Bitcoin Passes More Milestones as Market Cap Tops $100 Billion

Bitcoin Passes More Milestones as Market Cap Tops $100 Billion

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The most widely used digital currency will now cost you about $6,125 apiece after blowing past the $5,000 and $6,000 price levels for the first time earlier this month. Bitcoin’s total value is just over $100 billion, meaning it makes up more than half of the overall cryptocurrency market.   Cryptocurrency prices have been unfazed by recent regulatory crackdowns across the world and scepticism from Wall Street stalwarts including Warren Buffett and…

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Fintech Firm FIS Is Ready If Bitcoin Trading Takes Off, CEO Says

Fintech Firm FIS Is Ready If Bitcoin Trading Takes Off, CEO Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The head of one of the largest U.S. financial technology firms said his company is ready to trade and settle cryptocurrencies as soon as banks demand it. Fidelity National Information Services Inc., which provides technology to thousands of U.S. lenders, has also been experimenting with blockchain, the distributed-ledger technology that processes cryptocurrency transactions, Chief Executive Officer Gary Norcross said Thursday in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York office. FIS, as the…

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Bankers Go on a Day Trip to Blockchain’s Magical World

Bankers Go on a Day Trip to Blockchain’s Magical World

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Blockchain experiments are everywhere in finance these days. Actual blockchain applications that are big enough to have any lasting impact on banking, not so much. Those offenders who talk a lot without doing anything of substance have even been given a name in crypto world. “Too many people are using [blockchain] as a buzzword and are not focused on solving a real problem,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote recently. “We like…

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Hedge Fund That Loves Bitcoin Unfazed by Surge Toward $6,000

Hedge Fund That Loves Bitcoin Unfazed by Surge Toward $6,000

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin-focused hedge fund BitSpread Limited isn’t interested in the price of the cryptocurrency, even as it soared close to the $6,000 mark this week. Instead, the firm is looking at something else: the price disparity between the exchanges that sell bitcoin.  “We’re not interested in the price of bitcoin — high or low,” said Cedric Jeanson, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co. trader who started Bit Spread, which manages more than $25…

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My Reluctant Education in Bitcoin: Fully Charged

My Reluctant Education in Bitcoin: Fully Charged

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – While markets as a whole have been pretty boring this year, cryptocurrencies have been anything but. I, along with a vast majority of the population, have avoided thinking about this super-complex world for as long as possible. But I’ve finally forced myself to make the dive. And it looks like a lot of people have as well. Even my boxing coach recently asked me if he should buy bitcoin or ethereum….

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