Author: Editorial Office CVJ.CH

The French SEC-equivalent AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers), detailed the existing issue on approaches taken regarding digital currencies. In their report, the AMF called on the European Commission to develop a strategy for digital financial services. The Fintech dossier called for the EU to “regulate the issuance and exchange of financial instruments in a blockchain (tokenization)“. This would only be feasible by removing current legal barriers. Legal barriers to the development of block-chain based securities According to the report, currently, attention is drawn to problems that have already been addressed by other market participants. Following a detailed legal analysis, the AMF has identified…

Bitcoin/USD daily basis Bitcoin/USD – First taste of the strong resistance zone This week, the price of bitcoin managed to break through the psychological hurdle of USD 10,000; with the breakthrough occurring in the late hours of last Sunday. This momentum was put to the test on Monday and Tuesday, which saw a daily low around 9’800 USD. However, Tuesday’s closing price of USD 10,250 was higher than in the previous days, which formed the basis for further price increases. In the second half of the week, daily highs amounting to USD 10,500 were reached, moving the price of bitcoin…

Bitcoin is undoubtedly becoming more popular. While many people have heard of bitcoin, the percentage of the world’s population that owns bitcoin is still negligible. In the following article, a two-pronged interpretation regarding the distribution of bitcoin will be presented. The first part will focus on total quantity and distribution. Total quantity: Limited maximum number and inflation rate Bitcoin as a digital currency has predefined limits on the supply side. The maximum number of bitcoins anchored in the code is limited to 21 million.  The current total quantity is roughly 18 million coins. Newly created bitcoins are distributed to the miners as a payment. The miners, by engaging in…

We saw an eventful year, with investment growth in the crypto-currency sector as well as in trading. There were also some important macro moments that have motivated Bitcoin traders in 2019. A review and outlook by Patrick Heusser. Bitcoin: Trading review 2019 and outlook 2020 If one looks at the market as a whole, as is done in the 3-year Bitcoin Chart above, one has a good point of reference when looking back to 2019; with a first glimpse of the market in 2020 also possible to discern. In our view, the Bitcoin run that peaked $20,000 was driven by two main events. One was the…

Terms like “Bitcoin”, “Blockchain”, “Altcoins” and “ICO” are heard more and more often, crypto name-dropping is the latest trend. If you want to understand what is hidden behind these terms, you will find the 1×1 of the crypto world here.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell addressed the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. When asked about digital currencies, Powell admitted that the Libra project had sparked some excitement in the Fed last year. Jerome Powell, the current chairman of the Federal Reserve, said this in response to Illinois Congressman Bill Foster’s question about the progress being made on the issue of central bank digital currency (CBDC). Furthermore, Powell made statements that would allow for an increasingly larger scope of private crypto-currency transactions, including data protection,: which is a reversal of previous policy. Question about the digital dollar The discussion between…

The Swiss regulatory authority FINMA has announced a new proposal that provides stricter guidelines for unidentifiable crypto-currency transactions. The new FIDLEG and FINIG laws, have obliged the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA to issue certain, mainly technical, implementation provisions. For this reason, FINMA presented a new, streamlined ordinance last week. Among other things, the ordinance calls for a lowering of the threshold for exchange transactions in crypto-currencies. Reduction of the threshold value for transactions from CHF 5,000 to CHF 1,000 FINMA is proposing to amend the thresholds for client identification in crypto-currency exchange transactions as per the FINMA Anti-Money…

The following rules should pave the way for a successful trading strategy. Definition of a strategyA trading strategy should be based on fundamentals that someone has personally observed or learned from the market.Technical analysis, i.e. the closer look at price movements, is an important tool for this purpose. The market should be analyzed in order to discover recurring patterns.Thus a strategy can be developed, after which one should act strictly. Leaving out emotionsTraders must trade with their head, not their stomach. By nature, people tend to act emotionally. In trading, emotions are dominated by fear and greed. These should be…

The Beginning When, in the 80s computer-based trading appeared on Wall Street, the environment reaked of gold diggers. Profits that had been hardly conceivable until that time, were now being realized as the result of automatic trading algorithms. Within a short period of time, stock exchanges were technically revolutionized, thus redefining the rules and balance of power within the industry. The vast extent to which stock market trading had been transformed, as a result of the advent of computers, was first experienced  on the 19th of October 1987. “Black Monday”,  as it is now referred to, saw share prices plummet worldwide.…

In May 2020 it is “halve-time”. The fee received by a miner for securing the blockchain network in the form of newly created bitcoins will be halved. The term known as “halving” will half bitcoin’s inflation rate. Thus, it is important to ask, what impact have the past halvings had on the price of bitcoin? Bitcoin money supply and inflation Bitcoin, as a digital currency, has a predefined limit on the supply side. The maximum number of bitcoins anchored in the digital asset’s underlying code is limited to 21 million.  There are currently almost 18 million coins in circulation. Newly created bitcoins are paid to miners, who contribute computing power to ensure the functionality of the blockchain system. Currently, there are 12.5 bitcoins…

The U.S. Treasury Department, which is responsible for the administration of government revenue, is testing blockchain technology to track federal grant payments.  The Department intends to use a proof-of-concept program that will serve as a blockchain-based letter of credit for grant recipients, according to Craig Fischer. Fischer is the head of the innovation program at the Treasury department, and announced this at a conference, according to Federal Computer Week (FCW).  Tokenization helps the Treasury Department with identification According to the report, the test program uses accreditation tokens to track the flow of funds from federal reserves to recipients. Via tokenization, it should  be possible to identify the number of recipients, the amount of the money and important data such as…

At Davos last week, the World Economic Forum released a 28-page article on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The document is intended to help countries to introduce digital currencies. An insight from Demelza Hays. The World Economic Forum’s Central Bank Digital Currency Policy‑Maker Toolkit is a document that explains design features of CBDCs including, potential benefits, risks, and costs of implementation. Design characteristics of the “CBDC Policy-Maker Toolkit” The overall message in the WEF’s CBDC Policy-Maker Toolkit is clear: CBDCs will not be a harbinger of freedom and prosperity based on sound money principles. The most glaring red flags are…

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in Germany is currently clarifying how the newly defined law can be applied to companies regarding the safekeeping of crypto-currencies. Companies that would be affected are one’s subject to foreign jurisdictions but serve the German market. In a guideline published in January, the regulatory authority announced that companies that have already held digital assets for Germans do not have to fear punishment for not having a license. For the time being, these companies will receive the same protection as companies based in Germany. Those intending to apply for a licence must do so by the end…

Last week, a global consortium was announced at the WEF to focus on designing a legal framework for managing digital currencies, including stablecoins. In 2020, the WEF brought more than 3,000 global leaders from politics, government, civil society, science, arts and culture, and media together. Under the theme “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World”, participants focused on defining new models for building sustainable and inclusive societies in a multicultural world. Digital currencies a key issue at the WEF Digital currencies are a focal point of the forum, said WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab. The area requires contributions across sectors,…

The SIX Swiss Exchange has recently observed an increased interest in trading crypto assets. This increase in interest is shown by a survey (full-report in English) conducted by SIX among Swiss Exchange participants. Market participants observe increasing customer demand for digital assets Around two-thirds of the retail participants surveyed stated that their customers are showing an increasing appetite and demand for trading digital assets. In the long term, an even higher proportion of retailers – namely 80% – are expecting the demand for trading digital assets and crypto products to grow considerably. The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2019…

Six major central banks, including the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, are scheduled to meet in Washington in mid-April to discuss issues related to the likely introduction of central bank digital currencies. According to the Japan Times, the governors of the ECB and the central banks of the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland are to consider conducting joint research on the possible future introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). They will also discuss possible challenges such as cross-currency settlements and the defence against cyber attacks, the source said. The meeting is said to take place in…