Ray Dalio on Evergrande, China, Bitcoin and the Fed

Ray Dalio, founder and co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, talks about the China Evergrande Group’s debt crisis, doing business in China, the value of Bitcoin and when the Federal Reserve might start to taper its monthly bond purchases. He spoke to Tom Keene on "Bloomberg Surveillance" from the Greenwich Economic Forum in Connecticut.

What El Salvador's Bitcoin Experiment Looks Like

El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as its national currency, allowing people to use a digital wallet to pay for everyday goods. Here’s what the impoverished nation’s risky experiment looks like.

 

Why China’s Tough Stance on Crypto Mining Is a Boon for Miners Elsewhere...

Cryptocurrency miners in China are turning off their machines after Beijing warned it would tighten its control over the industry. This has created an opportunity for miners elsewhere, as the power behind crypto becomes less dependent on one place.

Could digital currencies put banks out of business? - The Economist

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been billed as a major disruptor to finance. But digital currencies issued by governments might be even more radical—they may even threaten the future of traditional banking

 

What if bitcoin went to zero?

In a thought experiment The Economist uncovers the links between crypto and mainstream finance and sets out the repercussions of what could happen if the price of Bitcoin fell to zero. 

You can read the full analysis of such a disaster scenario HERE.

Read it and be afraid .... VERY AFRAID!

 

The Fed Pushing For CBDC, "Can't Wrap Their Head Around Not Having It"

 From the Uneducated Economist, an interesting view on the Fed's thinking about a CBDC plus a great take on assets, investments, banking, money and the economy generally.

 

The end of Chinese Bitcoin mining

The Chinese government's clampdown has forced most Bitcoin miners offline.

In May, a government committee tasked with promoting financial stability vowed to put a stop to bitcoin mining. Within weeks the authorities in four main mining regions—Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Xinjiang and Yunnan—ordered the closure of local projects.

China had accounted for about 65% of bitcoins earned through mining, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. But analysts think about 90% of its mining has now ceased.  

Read the full story "Deep in rural China, bitcoin miners are packing up" from The Economist. HERE

Crypto: will the bitcoin dream succeed?

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies set out to upend the financial order and replace conventional money. Bitcoin has certainly disrupted the global financial system, but can it ever live up to the hype?

Bitcoin Price Falters on China Crackdown

Bitcoin's price is continuing to take a hit as China's crackdown on the premier cryptocurrency moves forward. Meanwhile, foreign investment in the United States has heated up amid the nation's economic recovery. Plus, Italy has emerged as the new stage in the battle over gig workers' rights as the nation calls for tougher rules ahead of a G20 summit.

Elon Musk’s Power Over Crypto, Explained - WSJ

Elon Musk’s comments on assets like bitcoin and dogecoin have helped send prices sky high – and crashing down – over the past year. WSJ explains Musk’s influence on cryptocurrency investors, and why some experts think the ‘Dogefather’ is taking investors for a ride.

 

Crypto: will the bitcoin dream succeed? - The Economist

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies set out to upend the financial order and replace conventional money. Bitcoin has certainly disrupted the global financial system, but can it ever live up to the hype? 

You can read more in The Economist's latest report on cryptocurrency- https://econ.st/3wnYfRr

 

Kaspersky finds that cryptomining malware was up, financial malware down in Q1 2021

Bitcoin prices rocketed in early 2021, and so did the number of cybercriminals distributing malware to force infected devices to mine them, with numbers quadrupling from February to March alone.
Kaspersky finds that case of cryptomining malware were up, while financial malware was down in Q1 2021.

Kaspersky has published two reports detailing the state of the cybersecurity threat landscape in the first quarter of 2021. The first report, details desktop attacks and found that cryptomining malware has exploded in popularity, while the second report covering mobile devices, revealed that a popular Trojan targeting gamers has made the leap from PC to Android. 

Read the article and access the reports HERE. 

 

High-Frequency Trading: A Sociologist’s Take

For Donald MacKenzie, individuals’ interactions with machines, mathematics and technology in competitive settings – and the risks that may ensue – are subjects of great fascination, whether in financial markets, bitcoin mining or nuclear weaponry.

MacKenzie comes at it not as a technologist, mathematician or engineer, but rather as a social scientist.

Professor Donald MacKenzie weighs the risks of models, algorithms, market concentration and jitter in this article by Katherine Heires and published on the GARP website. Read it HERE.

Here comes official e-money

Technology has changed everything. Bitcoin has moved from being a gimmick to a supposed “financial asset”. The stock market, once the preserve of the specialist broker has become the stomping ground of the digital day trader, and have become a real force on Wall Street. China’s digital payments giants are being closely pursued by America’s PayPal. With its 392 million users, PayPal has become a force in its own right.

Now, a new development, barely noticed on the murky frontier between technology and finance could become the most revolutionary of them all. The government digital currency.

Imagine if people could deposit directly with the central bank; conventional lenders would be completely sidelined.

Government digital currency or “Govcoins” are a new manifestation of plain old fashioned money, those coins and notes we all know so well.

“Govcoins” not only promise to make finance work better, they have the potential to upend the financial system.

The last decade has seen a revolution in banking and payment systems. Experiments abound.

Read the full story HERE.

 

NatWest will not accept corporate customers who deal in cryptocurrencies

UK commercial and retail bank NatWest will not accept corporate customers who deal in cryptocurrencies.

“We have no appetite for dealing with customers, whether taking them on as new clients or having an ongoing relationship with people, whose main business is backed by an exchange for cryptocurrencies, or otherwise transacting in cryptocurrencies as their main activity,” said NatWest head of risk Morten Friis during a recent shareholder event.

Friis indicated that the NatWest board, of which he is a member, is taking its cues from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, which earlier this year issued a warning to crypto customers that Bitcoin and other digital assets are risky investments.

Read the full story HERE.  

Decentralized Finance - What it is and what it means

"If you're not into cryptocurrency, then the mere mention of Bitcoin or Ethereum probably makes you want to roll your eyes. However, it's possible you won't be able to ignore the changes that will arise in the world of non-traditional banking for long.

That's because DeFi is currently on a path to disrupt most financial transactions in a major way. But, what is DeFi exactly? Well first, it’s short for “Decentralized Finance”.". So writes Robert Farrington in Forbes magazine.

Find out all about Decentralized Finance; what it is and what it means. Read the full article in Forbes HERE

Warren Buffett on Bitcoin: Has His Opinion Changed?

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger share their thoughts on Bitcoin. Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and is widely considered the greatest investor of all time. His style of investing (first taught by Ben Graham and later adapted through conversations with Charlie Munger) has been studied by many stock investors throughout the world.

Bitcoin Blues

From The Economist

Bitcoin speculators had a jittery week, pushing the cryptocurrency down from a record high. Janet Yellen, America’s treasury secretary, added to the febrile atmosphere when she described bitcoin as an “extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions”. Meanwhile, New York state’s attorney-general branded Tether “fraudulent” and barred the stablecoin—commonly used to buy bitcoin on crypto-exchanges—from trading in New York. Tether long claimed its coin was backed one-to-one by the dollar, but New York concluded that it overstated its reserves and is “a stablecoin without stability”.

The knock to bitcoin was a factor behind a sharp fall in Tesla’s share price. The electric-car maker made a controversial $1.5bn investment in bitcoin recently. Shortly before the cryptocurrency plunged, Elon Musk mused that its price seemed “too high”. The drop in Tesla’s stock at one point wiped $15bn off his fortune.

Regulators issue warning to cryptocurrency investors after Bitcoin reaches new all-time high

Regulators have issued fresh warnings on investing in cryptocurrencies after Bitcoin skyrocketed to a new all-time high last week.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has cautioned consumers about the high risks involved in investing in cryptocurrencies.

“Investing in cryptoassets, or investments and lending linked to them, generally involves taking very high risks with investors’ money,” the City watchdog said in a statement. “If consumers invest in these types of product, they should be prepared to lose all their money.”

The warning closely follows the regulator’s ban on selling crypto-derivates to consumers which came into effect January 6.

You can read the full article on Bobsguide HERE

Cryptocurrencies - Investors allege that Tether deliberately inflated a mega-bubble

Launched as Realcoin in July 2014, Tether aimed to become a more reliable alternative to Bitcoin. Today with a $4.1bn market capitalisation, it is now the fifth-largest virtual currency. However, its efforts to gain investors’ trust have fallen short. On October 6th, a group filed a class-action lawsuit in New York, accusing Tether of being “part-fraud, part-pump-and-dump, and part-money laundering”. They call for truly startling damages: more than $1.4trn.

Read more at The Economist