#Citibank bites the bullet on #Bitcoin

The biggest change with Bitcoin is the shift from it being primarily a retail-focused endeavor to something that looks attractive for institutional investors.

#Bitcoin’s roughly tripled in past 3 months, but its liquidity has deteriorated

#Bitcoin liquidity is only $10BN/day vs. $100BN for #Gold, making it much more prone to wild gyrations from relatively small orders. $BTCUSD

Bitcoin Rally Faces Potential Test From Falling Market Liquidity

Joanna Ossinger

February 22, 2021, 6:48 AM GMT+1

Ether hit records on the weekend passing $2000/ $ETH

The rally in Bitcoin that took the digital token to a fresh peak over the weekend could face a test from declining liquidity in the market for the largest cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin rose as high as $58,350 on Sunday before retreating to about $56,200 as of 2:30 p.m. in Tokyo on Monday. The token has roughly tripled in the past three months but its liquidity has deteriorated, according to Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, a strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

"Market liquidity is currently much lower for Bitcoin than in gold or the S&P 500, which implies that even small flows can have a large price impact," he wrote in a note on Friday. 

Such a backdrop opens up the possibility of sharp moves higher or lower in the cryptocurrency depending on the prevailing ardor for digital assets. Of late, even some of the token's biggest backers appear surprised by its ascent. In a recent tweet, Elon Musk said Bitcoin prices "seem high," having earlier called it a "less dumb" version of cash.

Bitcoin trading volumes are around $10 billion daily for the spot and futures market combined, compared with an equivalent figure of $100 billion for gold, Panigirtzoglou wrote. That's consistent with "much lower liquidity in Bitcoin than in gold," he said.

Cryptocurrencies have enjoyed a strong start to the year, leaving other assets in the dust. The Bitcoin faithful argue corporate treasurers and institutional investors are new sources of demand and that the token can hedge risks such as faster inflation. Others see a prime example of speculative froth stoked by hedge funds and day traders in markets awash with stimulus.

"Bitcoin seems impervious to the barrage of fear, uncertainty and doubt waged against the industry," Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, wrote in an email.

Shares of Asian cryptocurrency stocks advanced Monday in the wake of Bitcoin's all-time high. One of the biggest movers was Japan's Monex Group Inc., which jumped as much as 16%.

Ether, the largest token after Bitcoin, also rallied over the weekend, topping $2,000 for the first time on Saturday. It's up about 150% year-to-date.

See the piece on Bloomberg here: 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-22/bitcoin-rally-faces-potential-test-from-falling-market-liquidity?sref=VxHCy32x

Additional resources:

Explain This: Bitcoin's Wild Ride 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-02-10/explain-this-bitcoin-s-wild-ride?sref=VxHCy32x

https://bit.ly/PangeaBlog

.@Hedgeye’s @KeithMcCullough sells #Bitcoin

Out—for now. Fearing an "epic drawdown". 

See the whole post here:

https://app.hedgeye.com/insights/90060-chart-of-the-day-it-s-not-personal-when-it-comes-to-bitcoin?type=macro%2Cmarket-insights

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#Gold is rallying on #Debt Deflation probabilities due to a Shortage of US #Dollars Thread by @RaoulGMI

"You see, the biggest problem the world faces is the dollar. We are in a viscous doom loop where slowing growth causes the dollar to rise, which causes slower growth, which causes the dollar to rise, as all borrowers play musical chairs to get access to the dollar to service debts"

...

The global system is just not set up to deal with this. It is an UGLY situation with almost zero options without a change in the entire system. No printing of money will solve this. It is structural.

And the change in the system is what gold is picking up (amongst many other things). All attempts to create more money to solve the dollar standard issue tends to devalue all fiat versus gold. Gold is rallying on debt deflation probabilities.

Read this excellent thread by Raoul Pal on why the Dollar won't be collapsing anytime soon...

Thread by @RaoulGMI: The Dollar Wrecking Ball: I hear the narratives that the Fed is printing money...Brrr... and that is going to cause a dollar collapse. I wor…

The Dollar Wrecking Ball:

I hear the narratives that the Fed is printing money...Brrr... and that is going to cause a dollar collapse. I worry that this narrative is very wrong. My strongly held view is that the dollar is the pinnacle of all the macro issues we face. 1/

The Fed have undertaken unprecedented printing, as we know, and the balance sheet is growing exponentially.

But it is not that simple. We live in a relative world where the dollar standard is the very cause of many of the issues we now face. There are simply not enough dollars available in the world to service all the debts and thus a debt deflation remains the BIG RISK.

The expansion of the balance sheet is in fact correlated to the rise of the dollar, not the fall. Here is the Fed Broad Trade Weighted Dollar Index versus the Fed balance sheet.

And since last year, when the global slowdown started, the two are joined at the hip...

People have been looking at the messy chart of the DXY and have been quick to call the end of the dollar rally.... but to me, the DXY broke a small wedge pattern.

And a break of the 103 high would break the neck line of a large cup and handle pattern....

Which, in turn, would lead to an acceleration phase of the bigger downward sloping wedge break that I have been following for most of the last decade.

The Fed Broad Trade Weighted Dollar Index is even more concerning. It has broken out of a massive cup and handle and is at all time highs and appears to be accelerating... (and this is without the RMB moving much...yet).

The magnitude of this pattern is mind blowing... here is the long-term chart going back to the 1960's.

This is matched by the size of the top pattern in the Asian currency index, which is so big that its almost beyond comprehension...

And the short term chart of the ADXY looks like it's about to break lower...again.

But it's not just Asia...the entire Emerging Market FX complex is in FREE FALL...

And that brings us back to velocity of the money that the Fed is printing... it is plummeting and that is crowding out the weakest borrowers, in this case EM FX. This is the very essence of a DEBT DEFLATION.

This year alone has been a blood bath of currencies versus the USD.

And since the Fed started "Haha...the money printer goes Brrr.." The situation has gotten no better..

You see, the biggest problem the world faces is the dollar. We are in a viscous doom loop where slowing growth causes the dollar to rise, which causes slower growth, which causes the dollar to rise, as all borrowers play musical chairs to get access to the dollar to service debts

Dollar swap lines, QE, jawboning, etc have done nothing to stop this. Nothing. The issue is here that swap lines cant help the weakest sovereign borrowers as they have no reserves. And the $13trn dollar short is held mainly by corporations, which struggle to get access to dollars

due to the fact that they are suffering massively weakened cash flows from trade tariffs, collapsing commodity prices, slowing world growth and a shrinking US trade deficit... (tariffs, oil and slow growth).

The global system is just not set up to deal with this. It is an UGLY situation with almost zero options without a change in the entire system. No printing of money will solve this. It is structural.

And the change in the system is what gold is picking up (amongst many other things). All attempts to create more money to solve the dollar standard issue tends to devalue all fiat versus gold. Gold is rallying on debt deflation probabilities.

Bitcoin will be part of the equation but has yet to make any serious move against this backdrop. Its time will come...

My guess is that the next Debt Deflation signal will come when bonds begin to price in negative interest rates. That day is coming soon...

Here are 2 year yields:

And here are 5 year yields:

And that will be the signal to sell equities and the INSOLVENCY phase will begin.

Correct chart:

Missing chart:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1254110879479746562.html

#Bitcoin’s #StockToFlow Model explained by #PlanB himself

If you want to Understand the Bitcoin Stock To Flow Model explained by PlanB himself, listen to Pomp's latest Off the Chain Podcast: Why Bitcoin's Stock-To-Flow Model Is Becoming More Accurate Over Time.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/off-the-chain/id1434060078?i=1000467978686

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Aleks Svetski,”#Bitcoin is all about #Money” with @APompliano

Very informative podcast with Aleks Svetski, Founder of Amber, on Anthony Pompliano's Off the Chain Podcast, on Bitcoin and how it's all about Money. 

Why The Bitcoin Price Is Wrong.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/off-the-chain/id1434060078?i=1000452270641

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85% of the Global #Bitcoins Supply Has Already Been Mined

As of August 2019, 10 years after its "Genesis", 85% of the Bitcoin supply is already in circulation. 

More specifically, there are only 3.15 million Bitcoins left to mine until sometime during the year 2140, when we're expected to be close to reaching the currency's 21 million coins limit.

The current reward for mining is 12.5 Bitcoins per block. But, when the next halving happens on the expected date of May 22, 2020, the incentive will become 6.25 Bitcoins per block created. 

Analysts believe that the May 2020 halving event will cause a Bitcoin price bump. (The halving is in place to control inflation. A central bank, a government entity or an individual cannot choose to make more Bitcoins when the supply gets too low. This reality makes Bitcoin a deflationary currency.)

Sene the whole article here: 

85% of the Global Bitcoins Supply Has Already Been Mined by KaylaMatthews

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Pangea on Medium https://link.medium.com/r8SlNaAcXZ

 

Thread by @RaoulGMI: "Big, important thread alert: There is a lot going on in Europe that feels like it's coming to a head soon... probably by the end of the summer"

Thread by @RaoulGMI: "Big, important thread alert: There is a lot going on in Europe that feels like it's coming to a head soon... probably by the end of the summer"

https://twitter.com/raoulgmi/status/1147878009870983169?s=21

Big, important thread alert:

There is a lot going on in Europe that feels like it's coming to a head soon... probably by the end of the summer. The EU economy is in mild recession...

But it is unlikely to deteriorate further for a month or two until the CESI up-cycle finishes around the end of the summer

But inflation expectation are collapsing (5yr shown) and show no signs of abating..

And we know that the ECB is only driven by ONE mandate - inflation. Therefore, they HAVE TO ease policy. Problem is that they have few levers to pull, so first it'll be lower rates. 2 yrs can go back to below -1%....

And bund yields will keep falling too...using a regression channel, it would suggest that -1.6% is the objective...

That's all well and good, but it's killing the banks, which are correlated with falling yields...(cause vs effect? Im not sure. Probably a bit of both). Chart is of EU Banks sector vs 10 yr bunds...

We are all well aware that $DB is a total shit show and is something I have been talking about for the last few years. The news out this weekend of a restructuring and loss of 20,000 jobs simply can not be achieved fast enough and all the senior leaders are bolting for the exits

They've tried mergers. Fail. They are trying bad bank. Not sure it will get done yet. And now they are trying restructuring. Too late/no time. Meanwhile, the ECB will push yields lower, putting $DB closer to the End Game. How else can they fight a recession? They cant use fiscal

But, this is NOT a DB problem, it is a STRUCTURAL EU/Swiss problem, on a scale not understood by most. UBS is about to break support and head to zero...

Credit Suisse is arguably worse...that support is the life/death line.

And in France, Soc Gen is also in free fall, with its own Cliff of Death approaching...

In Spain, all the banks look terrible, as I have been shouting from the roof tops for a while. BBVA is right at the Cliff of Death

And even Barclays in the UK looks bad too

So, the knock on effects are all lining up to push one bank after another of the Cliff of Death...and there ain't a thing the ECB can do about it, as they have only one mandate - inflation. They HAVE TO cut rates. And this is why Christine Lagarde has been brought in...

The ECB is going to need to become political. It is going to have to rescue an EU-wide banking system and put the banks into state hands and buy the extra gov debt and they are going to need to force fiscal reforms and massive fiscal stimulus. They will use the situation to force

through tighter EU fiscal consolidation, maybe even leaving some nations behind. Lagarde is perfect for this. It's what the IMF does. She is also a lawyer and a politician. The problem is, this stuff takes time. The ECB will buy any credit instrument to avoid capital

markets seizing up but shareholders are going to sense an equity wipeout over the debt holders, so equities bear the brunt of it (and bunds go more negative). The dollar will get bid as the $ funding crisis can not easily be solved by the ECB and lending at the margin tightens

And a strong dollar would destroy the banks and the global economy. It's all very circular and there are very few circuit breakers. Throw in heightened trade wars between EU/US (highly likely) and China/EU/US and you have a very big issue. And my problem with all of this

It's that the probability is much much higher than I'd like. And that is the reason to own bonds, dollars, bitcoin and gold. The former two are the beneficiaries of current needs, and the latter two are the high-gamma options on this escalating into an extreme policy event.

This all needs to be watched very closely. I am concerned that the summer will end with a building sense of crisis. You can already see the signs as liquidity issues come to the fore.. (Woodford, H20). None of this is a certain but the odds are exploding.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1147878009870983169.html

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#Swiss bank #Vontobel’s #DigitalAssetVault aims to bring the worlds of #crypto-assets and traditional finance closer together

Swiss bank crypto services 'tip of the iceberg'

Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch

5-6 minutes

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Bank Vontobel is the biggest Swiss bank so far to offer crypto trading and storage services for its clients.

(KEYSTONE/Ennio Leanza)

The worlds of crypto-assets and traditional finance have been brought closer together by Swiss bank Vontobel's Digital Asset Vault. More banks are expected to follow suit, often in combination with technology firms to bring cryptocurrencies to the masses.

Digital Asset Vault is a plug-in platform that enables other institutions to both store and trade crypto-assets on behalf of their clients. It combines Vontobel's trading know-how with the expertise of Swiss crypto-company Taurus to solve two problems in one stroke.

The vault allows people to trade cryptocurrencies without the technological hassle of holding their own encrypted private keys. It also lets banks keep cryptocurrencies off balance sheets, which would otherwise force them to hold large amounts of capital in reserve to insure against potential losses.

The aim is to provide a fully regulated corridor to trading in crypto assets that appeals to institutional investors. The platform will focus on cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, rather than the forecast wave of tokenised securities.

Last year, Gazprombank Switzerland teamed up with financial software company Avaloq and crypto-storage specialist METACO to develop a similar service. It is due to go live in 2019 once regulatory approval is given.

METACO CEO Adrien Treccani told swissinfo.ch in an interview last month that Gazprombank's adoption of the platform is just the tip of the iceberg. "Many banks want to move into the crypto-market but are waiting for the first movers to overcome regulatory hurdles," he said. "In the next two years most banks will be integrated into this asset class."

"At the moment, there are discussions going on with several banks that are interested in our solution, both in Switzerland and internationally," said Avaloq spokesman Andreas Petrosino. He added that other banks were expected to follow suit once Gazprombank's platform has cleared a path.

No names

Geneva-based Taurus said in its press release on Monday that its crypto-storage platform "is already in production with several leading financial institutions". But the company said it is not allowed to name any of the institutions besides Vontobel.

State-owned telecommunications company Swisscom is also working with financial institutions to ease their path into crypto-assets through its Swiss Blockchain unit.

Vontobel was one of the first banks in Switzerland to dabble in crypto-assets by issuing cryptocurrency-linked tracker certificates from 2016. They were followed by Cornèr Bank and Swiss fintech firm Amun, which released an exchange-traded product on the Swiss stock exchange last November.

Falcon private bank and digital trading platform Swissquote have been early crypto-service adopters too, also by teaming up with crypto-specialists who take custody of the assets. Swissquote allows its own clients to invest in initial coin offerings (ICOs) – crowd-investing schemes used by blockchain firms to raise start-up capital – through its platform.

Bank Zarattini also makes the same offer in combination with crypto-financial services firm Inacta, but this service is also open to investors outside the bank's circle of clients.

There are also at least two brand new financial institutions, Seba and Sygnum, waiting on the sidelines to launch as crypto banks  – provided they get the licenses they seek.

Cold shoulder treatment

It is all a far cry from the cold shoulder treatment that Swiss banks have been giving the growing blockchain industry. Some banks, particularly larger institutions that have had been through tax evasion probes, are still showing extreme caution towards the crypto scene. Vontobel is the largest home-grown Swiss bank to date to break ranks.

A gradual thawing of attitude has been helped by the Swiss government's plans to regulate the blockchain sector while accepting cryptocurrencies as an asset class with an inherent value.  

For some cryptocurrency enthusiasts, merging the likes of bitcoin with the mainstream financial system runs contrary to the spirit of a decentralised economy. They will not be rushing to Vontobel's Digital Asset Vault but will prefer to retain complete control of their cryptocurrencies and exchange them peer-to-peer instead.

Other investors are yet to be convinced by decentralisation but still want to trade crypto-assets. Actors on both sides of the financial industry divide – mainstream and crypto – are increasingly aiming new services to capture this class of investor. 

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/banking-on-crypto_swiss-bank-crypto-services--tip-of-the-iceberg-/44679582

swissinfo.ch

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.@Fidelity hopes its Trading-Clearing-Custody-#ColdStorage system for #Crypto Assets Will be the #MissingLink to lure Institutional Investors

Fidelity plans to setup a trading/clearing/custody system that, "permits users to execute trades at one or more exchanges at best price, then determine how to settle. This is what institutional demand requires," Tom Jessop, Fidelity's new Crypto Head, says. 

Jessop believes that Fidelity's vaulted cold storage custody solution, when paired with its traditional security protocols (the "Fidelity standard"), will be the missing link that finally lures a herd of institutional investors into the cryptosphere.

https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/10/27/fidelity-will-provide-missing-crypto-link-for-institutional-investors-says-head-of-investment-arm/?platform=hootsuite

We Will Provide Missing Link for Institutional Investors, Says Fidelity Crypto Head

Nick Chong

The president of Fidelity Digital Asset Services has spoken about the company's plans in an interview, such as the decision not to launch an in-house exchange, how it intends to attract more institutional investors, and why it's crypto offering is focused on custody and trade execution.

Crypto Paired with More Traditional Financial Models

In his interview with Laura Shin, yesterday, on her Unconfirmed podcast, Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity's new investment arm, outlined the asset management's game plan.

Rather than operating an exchange — which Jessop says "other folks are already doing quite a good job at" — the firm instead wants to focus its energy on creating high quality market access services for its customers.

#Blockchain-based #Gold tracking coming to the #LBMA

London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) to create a set of standards for blockchain-based gold tracking, as well as an oversight committee to approve and monitor technology providers

London is the largest hub in the world for OTC gold trades and clearing. Wholesale gold trades across London's five precious metal clearing banks, overseen by the LBMA, reached a value of $6.7 trillion in 2017.

https://bitcoinist.com/blockchain-could-track-the-globes-gold-bullion-by-2019/

Blockchain Could Track the Globe's Gold Bullion by 2019

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Ethical sourcing is becoming critical in such a high-value sector as precious metals. It will become even more important as reserves of metals such as gold diminish and scarcity develops.

Proving the origins of gold could prevent smuggling from developing countries where mining practices can threaten lives and damage the environment. It ensures that everyone involved in the supply chain, including miners, are rewarded and reassures gold buyers and consumers that both people and the environment are being protected.

The tracking of gold bullion from its origin through its ownership and use cycle could prevent theft. It could also prevent illegal sales, smuggling, and use funding conflict and terrorism. Blockchain technology presents a way to remove illegal or unethical gold from the markets.

Achieving a Credible Blockchain Solution

The LBMA is a global authority on gold and the international trade association for the over-the-counter (OTC) gold bullion market. Its members include the largest gold miners, refiners and traders of gold.

The LBMA asked its members for proposals in March 2018 regarding how to track gold and prevent forgery. According to Reuters reporting, the LBMA received 26 proposals, including pitches from technology startups, and also from IBM. Out of the 26 proposals, 20 incorporated blockchain technology.

The authority will now create a set of standards for services, whilst understanding what a "credible blockchain solution" is, said LBMA's executive board director Sakhila Mirza who added:

Once those have been appropriately established, the result would be a selection of service providers that meet the minimum standards.

Tracking a Trillion Dollar Industry

Selecting service providers is likely to occur in 2019. The successful blockchain developer would be responsible for a system that provides tracking and transparency to a trillion dollar industry.  

London is the largest hub in the world for OTC gold trades and clearing. Wholesale gold trades across London's five precious metal clearing banks, overseen by the LBMA, reached a value of $6.7 trillion in 2017.

The estimated implied market capitalization for gold is over $7 trillion. It is an implied capitalization as it includes gold already mined, in circulation, and potentially still in the ground. London's gold vaults contain around 8,000 tonnes of gold bullion, second only to the gold held by the U.S government.

What are your thoughts om blockchain-based gold tracking? Let us know in the comments below!

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Yale’s endowment invests in #crypto funds

Yale CIO David Swensen's investments in Andreessen & Paradigm crypto funds represent a vote of confidence for an asset class that's yet to see the support of major endowments and foundations. 

"People are excited about it but afraid of being the first, or having to explain themselves," said Bill Barhydt, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Abra. "That's the fear vs. greed of institutional investing. There's a herd mentality there as much as there is in retail investing."

The most influential endowment manager just jumped into crypto with bets on two Silicon Valley funds

CNBC, 7:24 PM ET Fri, 5 Oct 2018 | 05:18

Peter Foley | Bloomberg | Getty Images

David F. Swensen, chief investment officer of the Yale University Investments Office.

David Swensen, who's known as Yale's 'Warren Buffett' because of his investing success with the university's endowment, is making his first big bets on cryptocurrency following the recent swoon in the price of bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Swensen, who is chief investment officer of the university's $29.4 billion endowment, has invested in two venture funds dedicated to cryptocurrency, according to people familiar with the matter.

#Malta's Cabinet Approves #Cryptocurrency Bill - #Bitcoin News

Virtual Financial Assets Bill  provides the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs)
https://news.bitcoin.com/maltas-cabinet-approves-cryptocurrency-bill/

The Cabinet of Malta has approved three bills related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. One bill in particular, the Virtual Financial Assets Bill, provides a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings.

Crypto Bill Approved by Cabinet

Apr 26, 2018

The Cabinet of Malta approved three bills on Tuesday, one of which is the Virtual Financial Assets Bill that provides the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs), according to local media. The other two bills are the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Bill and the Technology Arrangements and Services Bill.

All three were also presented to the Parliament of Malta for its first reading on Tuesday. The next stage is a debate between both sides of the House before they are passed into law, the Malta Independent explained. The news outlet noted that Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Silvio Schembri, "strongly believes" that:

Once new laws surrounding blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are enacted in Malta, banks would be less reluctant to welcome companies working in the industry, presumably due to the legal certainty it would provide.

He was also quoted by Malta Winds, saying, "As a government, we think that by regulating this market, it will ensure that the three main principles of financial regulation are adhered to and will be a market that protects the investor and provides market integrity and financial soundness."

About the Three Bills

The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Bill establishes a new department named the Malta Digital Innovation Authority along with its duties and responsibilities. It also focuses on internal governance arrangements, explained Mamo TCV Advocates law firm. One of the key roles of the Authority is "the certification of DLT [Distributed Ledger Technology] platforms to ensure credibility and provide legal certainty to users wishing to make use of a DLT platform."

The second piece of legislation, entitled the Technology Arrangements and Services Bill, deals with the registration of technology service providers and the certification of technology arrangements, such as concerning system administrators and auditors.

The Virtual Financial Assets Bill, the law firm described, focuses on ICOs "and the regulation in respect of certain service providers which will be involved in activities related to ICOs." The firm added that "The bill will also outline the regulatory regime which will be applicable to cryptocurrency exchanges," noting:

Malta has witnessed an exponential worldwide interest from exchanges seeking to relocate to Malta and issuers of ICOs wishing to launch from Malta. The proposed bill will further strengthen Malta's position on the DLT front and solidify its reputation as a blockchain island.

Moreover, the bill empowers the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) "with the necessary regulatory and investigatory powers" such as "the powers to issue directives, to adopt and publish rules, to require information…[and] to suspend either an ICO or the trading of a VC on an exchange."

Do you think Malta will become a crypto island? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock and the Malta Independent.

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Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space

#Swiss authorities tread wary path through ‘#CryptoValley’ #Bitcoin

Swiss authorities tread wary path through 'Crypto Valley'

Officials seek balance between encouraging new technologies and risking reputation

"My big worry is that the whole intransparency will lower Zug's standing worldwide," says Andreas Hürlimann, a local Green party councillor. "You don't know from where to where the money is flowing, whether it is drug money for instance." 

 One Swiss finance specialist says: "I'm just waiting for Washington to call Bern and ask 'what are you doing down there in Zug?'."

https://www.ft.com/content/bea458ba-25fc-11e8-b27e-cc62a39d57a0

#Cryptocurrencies & #Gold @GoldCouncil

While #gold's performance was a solid 13%, it was a fraction of the 13-fold increase of #bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies are no substitute for gold

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Bitcoin's parabolic price rise was the big story of 2017 – putting the spotlight on the cryptocurrency market. While gold's performance was a solid 13%, it was a fraction of the 13-fold increase of bitcoin by the end of the year. Some commentators went as far as to claim cryptocurrencies could replace gold. Cryptocurrencies may become an established part of the financial system. But, in our view, gold is very different from cryptocurrencies, as gold:

is less volatile has a more liquid market trades in an established regulatory framework has a well understood role in an investment portfolio has little overlap with cryptocurrencies on many sources of demand and supply.

These characteristics underpin gold's role as a mainstream financial asset that will likely continue to resonate in today's digital world.

Download report