Bitcoin | - Part 14

Crypto-Mania Grips Hong Kong as City Looks Beyond Banking

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – In the mid-1990s, Johnson Leung embarked on a career in shipping. In the early 2000s, he moved to finance. And now, he runs a Hong Kong startup that aims to improve how container ships are booked using blockchain technology. Many in Hong Kong hope the city can make a similar leap. The shipping and banking hub, which has struggled for years to nurture a domestic technology industry, is embracing the blockchain…

Why `Contracts for Difference’ Are Under Scrutiny

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Contracts for difference, or CFDs, have hastened the demise of an Irish bank, triggered Ponzi schemes in Chile and featured in a $100 million U.S. insider-trading racket. More recently, they’ve spooked European regulators because of the risks they pose to retail investors. There are proposals to cap potential investor losses and to ban advertising of CFDs, which are pitched to investors via television commercials and sponsorships of soccer clubs from Real Madrid to…

Swiss Regulator Shuts Down `Fake Cryptocurrency’ Firm E-Coin

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Financial Market Supervisory Authority closed unauthorized providers of “fake cryptocurrency” E-Coin after the company accepted millions of francs in public deposits without holding a banking license, Finma says in statement. Finma started bankruptcy proceedings against legal entities involved Quid Pro Quo has been issuing E-Coins and ran an online trading platform together with Digital Trading AG and Marcelco Group AG The three entities accepted funds amounting to at least…

Bitcoin’s Biggest Challenge? Too Many Americans Think It’s Illegal to Own

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – About 11% of respondents in a recent survey said owning bitcoin was breaking the law and close to half weren’t sure if it’s legal or not. Although 78.6% of Americans have heard of bitcoin, close to 11% think the cryptocurrency is illegal and 48% aren’t sure of its legality, according to new data from a LendEDU survey of 1,000 people. Bitcoin is, in fact, completely legal to own. But…

Global Central Banks Can’t Ignore the Bitcoin Boom, BIS Says

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s central banks can’t ignore the growth in cryptocurrencies and may at some point have to consider whether it makes sense for them to issue their own digital currencies, according to the Bank for International Settlements. “Whether or not a central bank should provide a digital alternative to cash is most pressing in countries, such as Sweden, where cash usage is rapidly declining,” the BIS said in its quarterly review….

Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: Bitcoin Doubts and Buffett Criticisms

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon doesn’t like bitcoin, which he says is “a fraud” and a bubble that “won’t end well”: Do we have traders who trade it? If we had a trader who traded Bitcoin I’d fire them in a second. For two reasons: It’s against our rules, and they’re stupid. And both are dangerous. I’m going to be really clear in this one. Forget the blockchain,…

Bitcoin’s Power Needs Are Unbelievable and Uneconomic: Macro Man

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Are you a cranky skeptic of crypto-currencies and tired of adherents promising that Bitcoin can do everything from protecting your privacy to curing the common cold? Are you dubious that it’s as scalable as its prophets claim? Perhaps in this case, the Luddites are correct. A look at the resources required to power the blockchain suggests that crypto-currencies — at least in the guise of Bitcoin — can only…

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