Cryptocurrency

Crypto is next fintech battle for India’s Gen Z

1 Nov 2021

CoinSwitch Kuber makes buying and trading bitcoin and ethereum easier than ordering a pizza. The $2 bln Coinbase-backed group is rapidly luring users who are new to financial investing. It’s a dicey path to building the next super-app, even if demographics are on its side.

First bitcoin ETF is test for fans and watchdogs

19 Oct 2021

ProShares’ new U.S. fund based on bitcoin futures lacks the direct holdings enthusiasts might prefer. But it's a way to get tradable exposure without the hassle of digital wallets and such. An orderly debut could ease regulators' resistance to ETFs that buy crypto directly.

Crypto puts U.S. and El Salvador in the same boat

18 Oct 2021

Hispanic and Black people are top American owners of digital currencies. Discrimination and lagging access to financial services are drivers and are among the better reasons why the Central American nation turned to bitcoin. It’s a lost opportunity for traditional banks.

Capital Calls: OCC, China crypto ban

23 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Biden’s pick for the U.S. bank regulator would be a square peg in a round hole; Beijing regulators declared all cryptocurrency activity to be illegal underlining the cons and a pro of the digital assets.

Crypto gives watchdogs a new risk checklist

20 Sep 2021

The SEC boss wants to regulate the $2 trln market. Standard financial dangers like inadequate liquidity or capital exist. But 51% attacks, chain splits, hacks and such could cost people cash and confidence. Policing cryptocurrencies requires more than calling them securities.

Capital Calls: Fake crypto news summons regulation

13 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Litecoin's value jumped more than 30% after a phony press release about a partnership with Walmart.

Viewsroom: Bitcoin, El Salvador and Roger Federer

9 Sep 2021

As the Central American country adopts the cryptocurrency as a coin of the realm, Richard Beales and Gina Chon discuss the merits of stablecoins and the scramble by regulators to catch up with the market. Karen Kwok takes a slice at Roger Federer-backed running shoe outfit On.

El Salvador takes a risky punt on crypto

7 Sep 2021

Bitcoin is now an official currency in the Central American republic, alongside the U.S. dollar. There are potential benefits for a country that is so dependent on remittances from abroad, but President Nayib Bukele’s pioneering move has way too many downsides.

Crypto poses systemic risks that need swift remedy

7 Sep 2021

Digital currency trading venues are a $2 trln industry while some coins, like Tether, are backed by fiat currencies. If money markets freeze up, their positions are so large that they could have ripple effects. Watchdogs are classically behind in reining in the market.

Cardano joins crypto’s creative destruction loop

2 Sep 2021

The third-biggest virtual currency has doubled in a month, gaining on larger rivals bitcoin and ether. It’s more environmentally friendly, though less useful for the time being. But upstarts like Cardano may help crypto deliver riches, even if today’s investors lose their shirts.

Capital Calls: Amazon, Robinhood, GlobalFoundries

19 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The e-commerce giant may open its own version of department stores; contrary to the stereoptype, Robinhood IPO buyers may be holding rather than flipping; a successful IPO by chipmaker GlobalFoundries would bolster the case for an Arm listing.

Coinbase leans into uncertainty

11 Aug 2021

The $75 bln cryptocurrency exchange had a stellar second quarter as revenue rose more than 10-fold from a year ago. But the company isn’t joking when it says, “Our business is inherently unpredictable.” Retail trading growth is slowing, regulation looms and rivals are moving in.

Viewsroom: Olympic blunders and Robinhood’s IPO

22 Jul 2021

The Tokyo games are struggling with rising Covid-19 infections, corporations pulling out, an unenthused Japanese public and now a bad Holocaust joke. Pete Sweeney and Rob Cox discuss. Meantime, John Foley says Robinhood resembles E*Trade 20 years ago – in good and bad ways.

Robinhood takes E*Trade lessons almost to heart

22 Jul 2021

The online brokerage’s $33 bln IPO valuation looks modest by today’s, if not by tomorrow’s, standards. Like its dot-com-era predecessor, Robinhood is a double bet on jacked-up markets. It can avoid some of E*Trade’s early pitfalls, but risks stumbling into some bigger new ones.

Bob Diamond SPAC takes aim at his former employer

8 Jul 2021

The former Barclays CEO’s blank-check firm is merging with digital-currency operator Circle. Its cheap transactions may one day threaten traditional banks' core business. But a $4.5 bln valuation is premised on breakneck growth, and regulators could easily spoil the party.

Cryptocurrency’s Wild West is in Wyoming

7 Jul 2021

The cowboy state has revamped financial rules to attract bitcoin businesses like Kraken Bank. That puts it ahead of the Fed and other D.C. regulators. But the measures for firms dealing in volatile digital currencies are untested, making it the venue for crypto’s first rodeo.

Capital Calls: Genetic gold rush

28 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: A company has shown biotechnology called CRISPR can precisely edit defective genes in humans, fueling investment and squabbles.

Review: Reining in the crypto-fanatics

25 Jun 2021

Ex-Swift executives Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha de Terán traverse the payments world in “The Pay Off”. Anecdotes and explanations lend pace and purpose. But despite warnings about central bank digital currencies and other novelties, they ask more questions than they answer.

Bitcoin accounting is a niche problem – for now

14 Jun 2021

U.S. asset-reporting rules aren’t fit for crypto mania. At payments firm Square, bitcoin also distorts revenue. Standard-setters’ inaction rests partly on the dearth of big companies taking the plunge – and partly on the huge significance digital assets could one day accrue.

Capital Calls: U.S. malls are a tale of two REITs

14 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: Shopping center operator Washington Prime filed for bankruptcy protection, but the outlook is a bit rosier for premium mall owners.