The Markets | - Part 160

Bitcoin Cash: The Digital Cousin Disrupting Cryptocurrencies

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Just when you thought you had a handle on the new-fangled crypto craze, here comes bitcoin cash. Bitcoin’s lesser-known cousin, the so-called cash version has disrupted the $200 billion market and over the weekend got close to overtaking ethereum as the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The main difference between bitcoin and bitcoin cash is the block size. A block is equivalent to a file storing data on approved transactions, which…

Want to Know What Investors See for the Rand? Follow This Stock

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – If you want to know what investors are thinking about prospects for South Africa’s rand as the ruling African National Congress’ leadership battle unfolds, look no further than Cie Financiere Richemont SA’s Johannesburg share price. The company has the highest correlation to movements in the rand among stocks in the FTSE/JSE Africa Top 40 Index of South Africa’s biggest listed companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The correlation this month rose…

Bitcoin Is No Bubble, Says Investor With $213 Million Stake

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tim Draper was walking through a pavilion at a tech conference in Lisbon on Tuesday when he was cornered by an entrepreneur touting a new digital currency. No sooner had the venture capitalist heard the pitch than he was approached by another guy hawking his own initial coin offering. Another followed, then another. It’s no mystery why cryptocurrency peddlers flocked to Draper. As founder of the Silicon Valley VC firm…

MTN Extends Gains After Nigeria Funds-Transfer Case Is Dropped

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. extended gains after Nigerian lawmakers ruled that allegations of illegal repatriation of almost $14 billion were unfounded and the wireless company hadn’t violated the law. There were no “proofs of collusion to contravene the foreign exchange laws,” a Senate investigative committee said in its report released on Wednesday in the capital, Abuja. “There was evidence of massive capital outflow but that alone is not conclusive that a…

Bitcoin’s Exorbitant Energy Costs May Prove to Be Biggest Risk

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – It may not matter whether bitcoin’s a bubble. The staggering energy costs associated with “mining” the digital currency could prove to be its downfall. Even as bitcoin flirts with $8,000, the price required for mining to be marginally profitable stands at a jaw-dropping $300,000 to $1.5 million by 2022 based on current growth trends and energy use, according to Christopher Chapman, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., with implied consumption matching…

Bitcoin’s Spike Toward $8,000 Fades as Free-Money Trades Unwind

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Turns out not everyone is happy with the detente in bitcoin’s civil war. While the cryptocurrency soared to a record $7,882 within minutes of news that it would avoid another split on Wednesday, the gains quickly evaporated. Bitcoin is now trading about 3 percent below where it was before a faction of the community scrapped plans for a so-called hard fork. Some speculators are disappointed they won’t get the additional coins that…

KCB of Kenya Nine-Month Profit Growth Slows as Loan Income Falls

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – KCB Group Ltd., Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, posted slower growth in profit in the first nine months of the year as income from loans dropped. Profit grew to 15.1 billion shillings ($145.7 million) from a restated 14.4 billion shillings a year earlier, as earnings from loans decreased 1 percent to 35.7 billion shillings, the Nairobi-based bank said in an emailed statement. Non-interest income climbed by almost a fifth to…

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