Fintech Land

Just in time for the implementation of stringent new regulatory requirements, some of the largest banks in the world have revealed a pilot designed to simplify compliance using ethereum.

Banking giant UBS announced Monday it has united with Barclays, KBC, SIX and Thomson Reuters to advance the MiFID II data collection project. MiFID II is a revamped version of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which is intended to offer greater protection for investors. MiFID II officially comes into force Jan. 3, 2018.

According to Deutsche Bank Chief International Economist Torsten Slok, the major risks for the global economy in 2018 include a crash of Bitcoin.

Slok sees huge potential for volatility in the price of the cryptocurrency, as do other economists, and has indicated that the price may even see huge changes before the close of the current year. His main concerns include regulation, transparency, and disclosure, as well as volatility drifting into the overall market. He said: "It’s mainly because it (Bitcoin price volatility) is something that I think financial markets so far have been discounting as a small issue," Slok said.

Representatives of two Swiss banks that offer bitcoin products, Falcon Private Bank and Vontobel Holding AG, are high on bitcoin’s future due to the pending introductions of bitcoin futures in the U.S., according to Bloomberg. The banks believe the futures contracts will usher in more digital currency products.

For more than four decades, the Chicago Board Options Exchange has allowed investors to place their bets on commodities from corn to steel.

Bitcoin made its debut on a major exchange Sunday, a landmark for the cryptocurrency that has generated enthusiasm among some investors and more than a little anxiety from others.

"Bitcoin bonanza takes hold of world markets," proclaimed the front page of the Times of London on Friday, reporting on the latest record price of the digital currency.

Bitcoin’s recent price increases continued unabated on Wednesday, as the world’s most well-known digital currency roared to new highs above $14,000. In the last twenty-four hours alone, Bitcoin has repeatedly set new record highs, breaking through the $12K, $13K, and $14K price barriers. The gains increased Bitcoin’s total market capitalization to more than $246 billion.
The latest buying spree, which defies chatter about a bubble ready to pop, appears to have driven by a recent frenzy of interest among South Korean speculators and news that bitcoin derivatives will be sold in the U.S. by next week.

A Yale expert has added his voice to the growing list of bitcoin naysayers by arguing that it is a ‘dangerous speculative bubble.’ The digital currency has been experiencing record highs throughout 2017. However, despite the impressive journey that bitcoin has been on, that hasn’t stopped many from claiming that it is in a bubble. Another voice added to that list is Stephen Roach, a Yale University senior fellow and the former Asia chairman and chief economist at Morgan Stanley, reports CNBC.

The price of bitcoin has risen above $12,000 for the first time. According to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is trading at $12,201.67. This represents a gain of just over $500 since the day’s open and a gain of more than 4 percent overall. With Wednesday morning’s spike, the cryptocurrency now has a total market value of about $203 billion, more than twice Goldman Sachs’ market cap.

The uncertainties of the monetary system mean that bitcoins and cryptocurrencies will be used increasingly in the future, especially once the regulatory bodies have found a way to eradicate anonymity, charging the exchanges with anti-money laundering responsibility.