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Crypto

The whole point of money is to NOT know your customer

I really did not want to write about this article on the ECB’s website but, after so much coverage (including our discussion on this week’s FU), I feel I have to. So, the ECB say bitcoin is irrelevant. Why? Well, on the back of the collapse of Terra-Luna, Three Arrows Capital, Celsius, FTX, BlockFi and more,…

You cannot have money without government … the question is: what government?

It amazes me how many people misread, half-read or assume things based on what you say. There were two instances in the last week. The first: There is an error in @Chris_Skinner’sreasoning. High quality crypto assets absolutely do have fundamental value (all currencies don’t have intrinsic value.) https://t.co/vCWqi00VQV — Gene Hoffman hoffmang.xch 🌱 (@hoffmang) November…

The Crypto House of Cards

Building on Friday’s blog, everyone is asking whether the house of crypto is falling apart like a house of cards. People are saying that Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and faller at FTX, was running a Ponzi scheme. What is the definition of a Ponzi scheme? According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is “a form of…

FTX? Short for FinTech eXplosion …

This year is proving a testing year for everyone, but particularly for those in the cryptocurrency space. We’ve seen the collapse of Celsius,  Terra-Luna, and now FTX and possibly Genesis. It just reinforces the Wild West of Crypto, which I’ve referred to often. The Financial Times commented on the collapse of FTX – surely you’ve heard…

Are fiat currencies dead? [CeFi or DeFi, Part Two]

I said yesterday that, for the moment, I’ll stick with fiat currencies as cryptocurrencies are generally quite messy when used for retail purchases. And no, I’m not speaking as an observer but as a user. To buy my Watford football shirt, I had to open an account with a crypto app – which I’ve never…

Arguments for and against CeFi [Part One]

Russell Brand had a big rant against Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) the other day, claiming that digital, programmable money combined with a digital identity is a fantastic way for governments to place you in a digital straitjacket. It’s a very convincing discussion with over a million views in just a few days. Russell’s humorous…

The great FTX collapse, and the role Binance played

I was tempted to write about this, but many others have. In particular, I received a post from Dan Ashmore, crypto analyst at Invezz, which I thought was worth sharing. To begin with, if you’re not aware, there’s a massive war taking place in cryptoland. As bitcoin and other crypto prices dive, exchanges and key figures…

Democratising Football using Cryptocurrencies and NFTs

Just over a year ago, I blogged about why I bought a Watford FC shirt, when I’m a Spurs fan. Now, I’ve just invested in a Crawley Town t-shirt. Why? It’s all about cryptocurrencies. Watford, sponsored by a bitcoin exchange, has been followed by Crawley Town, purchased by an American group led by Preston Johnson,…

Using blockchain to keep track of every gold bar in the world

During the week I tweeted an interesting quote from a start-up firm "A database using blockchain technology to keep track of almost every gold bar in the world"https://t.co/8yd7eHMuBj — Chris Skinner (@Chris_Skinner) October 16, 2022 The story is based upon a reimagining of the gold trade. As Bloomberg explains: Trading on one of the world’s…

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