The publication of the Bitcoin white paper immediately after the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008 is hardly a mere coincidence. The financial collapse especially touched on one crucial question: Money talks, but who talks money if you will? According to Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym behind Bitcoin, it’s the world’s central and commercial banks which rule over our money. As a careful analysis of the...
Read More »Gold’s Price Performance: Beyond the US Dollar
With the first half of 2018 now drawn to a close, much of the financial medias’ headlines and commentary relating to the gold market has been focusing on the fact that the US dollar gold price has moved lower year-to-date. Specifically, from a US dollar price of $1302.50 at close on 31 December 2017, the price of gold in US dollar terms has slipped by approximately 3.8% over the last six months to around $1252.50, a...
Read More »Ist Bitcoin Geld?
Bundesbankpräsident Jens Weidmann hält die Kryptowährung Bitcoin für ineffizient. Mein ehemaliger Kollege und heutiger Vorstand der Bundesbank Carl-Ludwig Thiele versteift sich sogar in der Aussage: „Bitcoin ist kein Geld, sondern ein Spekulationsobjekt“. Schnell stellt sich die Frage: Was ist überhaupt Geld und ist es immer effizient? Geld ist das allgemein akzeptierte Zahlungsmittel. Und da fängt es schon an. Denn nicht jede staatliche...
Read More »Global Asset Allocation Update:
There is no change to the risk budget this month. For the moderate risk investor the allocation to bonds is 50%, risk assets 45% and cash 5%. Despite the selloff of the last week I don’t believe any portfolio action is warranted. While the overbought condition has largely been corrected now, the S&P 500 is far from the opposite condition, oversold. At the lows this morning, the S&P 500 was officially in...
Read More »Gold Rises As Global Stocks Plunge and Bitcoin Crashes 70 percent
– Gold gains 0.6% in USD and surges 1.7% in euros and pounds – European stocks fall more than 3% at the open after sharp falls in Asia – DJIA falls 1,175 points, S&P 500 down 4.1% and Nikkei plummets 4.7%– Gold rises from $1,330 to $1,342, £942 to £960 and €1,067 to €1,085 /oz– Bitcoin crashes another 10% and has now plummeted by 70% to below $6,000 – Increased risk aversion will drive safe haven demand for gold as...
Read More »Digital Gold Flight To Physical Gold Coins and Bars
‘Digital Gold’ Bitcoin Flight To Safe Haven Physical Gold – Latest bitcoin, crypto crash causes gold coin and bar demand to surge– Bitcoin down 40% from high, Ripple down 50% and Ethereum down 30%– Ripple and ‘Digital gold’ Bitcoin fall past key psychological price levels– $300bn wiped from cryptocurrency fortunes in just 36 hours– New research says that there is ‘Price Manipulation in the Bitcoin Ecosystem’– Savvy...
Read More »Oligopolistic Anonymity
On Alphaville, Kadhim Shubber reports that just a few marketplaces handle the vast majority of illicit drugs-vs.-bitcoin trades. In short, the illicit bitcoin ecosystem is centered around a small number of services that could be subject to scrutiny, regulation and co-option by law enforcement. It’s a wild west, but luckily for the police all the bad guys are hanging out at a single saloon.
Read More »Chinese bitcoin mining giant sets up Swiss hub
One of the world’s largest bitcoin miners is setting up a hub for European operations in Switzerland, a person familiar with company has confirmed to swissinfo.ch. The Chinese firm Bitmain Technologies is setting up in Zug just as the Chinese authorities move to shut down cryptocurrency miners. Bitmain Technologies builds and supplies machines for bitcoin mining and runs its super-scale mine in China. The company set...
Read More »Gold Hits All-Time Highs Priced In Emerging Market Currencies
Gold Hits All-Time Highs Priced In Emerging Market Currencies – Gold at all time in eight major emerging market currencies– A stronger performance than seen when priced in USD, EUR or GBP– As world steps away from US dollar hegemony expect new gold highs in $, € and £ – Gold is a hedge against currency debasement and depreciation of fiat currencies Gold Prices in Emerging Markets Currencies, 2010 - 2018(see more posts...
Read More »If Bitcoin Is A Bubble…
Our earlier articles on bitcoin discuss the crypto asset as a currency and a commodity. Both papers focused on the consequences of bitcoin’s defining feature: the asymptotic supply limit of 21 million coins. This gives it an unusual juxtaposition of demand uncertainty and supply certainty (as well as inelasticity). As a currency, it gives rise to a tension between its use as a store of value and as medium of exchange....
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