Cryptocurrency

Biden AI plan is one step in avoiding crypto trap

30 Oct 2023

The president’s new executive order aims to set regulatory guardrails for artificial intelligence. It still leaves a big hole for Congress to fill. Failing to set coherent rules risks the kind of piecemeal enforcement that hobbled crypto, but for a technology with higher stakes.

Bankman-Fried circus will be a singular clown show

4 Oct 2023

The FTX founder’s fraud trial bookmarks crypto’s rise and fall. Risk-loving speculators were the most obvious losers, while more everyday investors suffered in previous scandals such as Enron and Countrywide. This time, the spectacle is less likely to lead to new protections.

Capital Calls: US budget

21 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is siding with hardline conservatives to fund the government. Empowering the further-right flank narrows the already slim odds of new Ukraine aid, cannabis reform and crypto clarity.

Capital Calls: Coinbase’s Circle deal

22 Aug 2023

Concise views on global finance: Crypto exchange Coinbase is investing in struggling $26 bln stablecoin issuer Circle. Tokens tracking the US dollar haven’t delivered on hopes of transforming finance; the deal promises little current payoff, but at least keeps the dream alive.

Crypto survivors will be severely scarred

17 Aug 2023

Digital asset custodian BitGo says it raised money at a $1.7 bln valuation, days after a rival filed for bankruptcy. As with stablecoins, exchanges, and currencies, winners are emerging in crypto. Stumbles will still happen, though – a painful but necessary process.

Capital Calls: Coinbase raises the stakes

4 Aug 2023

Concise views on global finance: For the first time, the $21 bln cryptocurrency exchange generated more revenue from services like pledging coins for blockchain initiatives than from transaction fees. Diversification is sensible, but 10 state regulators jeopardize the strategy.

Coinbase is a crypto conundrum, squared

20 Jul 2023

The exchange boasts powerful Wall Street allies like BlackRock’s Larry Fink, and a recent court decision gave its shares a boost. But its future still hangs on unpredictable judges and politicians. The real unknown? Why the market thinks Coinbase is worth anything like $25 bln.

Winklevoss twins take strike two with crypto hype

11 Jul 2023

The founding brothers of crypto investment firm Gemini are suing the parent of bankrupt crypto lender Genesis over a soured deal that led to almost $1 bln in losses. The twins, known for their spat with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, are a bellwether of another messy tech hype cycle.

Capital Calls: Digital euro, Thames Water

28 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: Brussels is in a new push to convince EU member states and the European Parliament to endorse a digital euro; Britain’s Thames Water could be placed into special administration.

Hong Kong’s market promotions get shrill

28 Jun 2023

The city’s bourse is trying to lure foreign listings from Europe and the Middle East while regulators push local lenders to bank crypto exchanges. The first initiative is worthwhile but unlikely to yield much new business; the latter creates fresh headaches for HSBC and peers.

BlackRock puts bitcoin in a suit and tie

22 Jun 2023

The asset manager’s application to launch a bitcoin ETF ticks at least one box that other firms’ applications didn’t. If the SEC approves, it would make the oldest cryptocurrency easier to hold and more legitimate in the eyes of Wall Street investors – but still with far to go.

Crypto is dead: long live crypto!

16 Jun 2023

Already reeling from fraud and falling prices, cryptocurrencies suffered a fatal blow with US charges against two leading exchanges. Yet Felix Martin argues that the demise of speculative digital tokens may help revive their original purpose as private global currencies.

Capital Calls: London crypto move, Stellantis SPAC

12 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomes Andreessen Horowitz’s UK office just as cryptocurrencies face a regulatory crackdown in the US; the European carmaker’s move to back a London blank-check vehicle is less hairy than it sounds.

Coinbase investors are still aiming for the moon

9 Jun 2023

A lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission poses an existential risk for the crypto exchange. Yet it’s still valued at more than $11 bln, excluding spare cash. Loyal shareholders are betting CEO Brian Armstrong can avoid the crackdown – and find new ways to grow.

Capital Calls: Bitcoin is last crypto standing

6 Jun 2023

Concise views on global finance: SEC action against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase clarify the regulator’s thinking on which cryptocurrencies it deems to be securities. The lawsuits threaten every digital token except bitcoin, whose design makes it an outlier.

Binance charges are a last gasp for crypto

5 Jun 2023

The SEC sued the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange saying it misled investors and evaded securities law. Even if Changpeng Zhao’s firm works through regulatory investigations, dabblers will become even more shy, and diehards will pivot further to decentralized exchanges.

Capital Calls: Crypto mysteries, HSBC

5 May 2023

Concise views on global finance: A court decision adds pressure on the US SEC to say which digital assets are securities, which would bring clarity to Coinbase and others; None of the $150 bln global bank’s big investors other than Ping An back an AGM breakup proposal.

Digital “Chicago Plan” fixes many financial woes

28 Apr 2023

In the 1930s, economists drew up a radical blueprint to create safer banks. The advent of digital currencies issued by central banks is an opportunity to revisit the idea, writes Edward Chancellor. A shift could stabilise banking, reduce inflation, and even lower government debt.

Coinbase will force SEC to quit ghosting crypto

25 Apr 2023

It’s been eight months since Coinbase asked securities watchdogs to clarify how digital assets will be regulated. Now the world’s second-largest crypto exchange is suing for an answer. The legal battle will decide the fate of the trillion-dollar cryptocurrency industry in the US.

Capital Calls: Dogecoin, Boutique M&A deal

5 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Shiba Ibu breed associated with the crypto token turned up as Twitter’s logo and might catch the eye of securities watchdogs; The Raine Group not only is advising WWE on its blockbuster $21 bln merger, but inked an acquisition of its own.