In a 300-page report on digital assets published in late June, the Law Commission — an independent body that reviews and recommends reforms to U.K. and Whales laws — cited a classification of fiduciary duty that bolsters the developers’ defense that they are not directly responsible for 111,000 Bitcoin (BTC) lost to hackers.Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More
In a report co-written with consulting firm Oliver Wyman, UK Finance said the advantages of tokenization, such as lower costs, lower risk and wider access, are not just “a nice-to-have.” Tokenization “can transform the financial system, and the UK should be at the centre of this transformation,” it said. Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More
TORONTO (Reuters) -The Canadian dock workers strike is another factor for the Bank of Canada (BoC) to consider ahead of its policy announcement next week because the longer it drags on, the greater the risk of supply-chain disruptions that fuel inflation, economists said.Some 7,500 dock workers went on strike on Saturday for higher wages, upending operations at two of Canada’s three busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert. The two ports are key gateways for exporting the country’s natural resources and commodities, and for bringing in raw materials.The walkout impacting C$500 million ($374 million) in trade per day, now in its sixth day, could also hurt economic activity, though that is less of a concern for the central bank, especially if overtime work later clears backlogs.”The supply-chain impact and any kind of inflationary pressure is the bigger risk,” said Andrew Grantham, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets.”If there’s a near-term volatility in the trade figures or even the GDP figures based on this, the Bank of Canada always looks through that volatility no matter where it comes from.”The BoC came off the sidelines in June after a five-month pause, raising interest rates to a 22-year high of 4.75%, blaming stronger-than-expected growth and a tight labour market for stubbornly high inflation.Inflation was 3.4% in May, the latest data show, down from a peak of 8.1% last year, but the BoC has said it will take until the end of next year to get it all the way down to its 2% target.Money markets expect the central bank to tighten further, possibly as soon as at a policy decision next Wednesday. Most economists surveyed by Reuters are convinced there will be another rate hike next week. Canada’s federal and provincial governments have been urging the parties to restart talks after they broke down on Tuesday.”Industry, labour, and all levels of government want to see goods moving through our BC ports,” Canada’s minister of labour, Seamus O’Regan, said in a statement posted on Twitter on Thursday.O’Regan said he spoke with Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su on Thursday afternoon. Around two-thirds of Canada’s total global trade is with the U.S., according to the federal government website. The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CM&E) industry body said the strike is disrupting C$500 million in trade every day. “This is a serious disruption that will have some noticeable consequences if it drags on,” Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note.($1 = 1.3360 Canadian dollars) More
(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.Asian markets are set for a torrid end to the week on Friday as another spike up in U.S. bond yields and the prospect of interest rates being kept higher for longer triggered waves of ‘sell’ orders across all asset classes on Thursday.Investors are once again grappling with the prospect of steep borrowing costs following the release of bumper U.S. private sector jobs data. Friday’s non-farm payrolls report for June could cement the hawkish outlook for U.S. rates and yields.The two-year yield hit its highest since 2007, and the 10-year yield climbed back above 4.00%.The MSCI World share index on Thursday posted its biggest decline since April, while the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index had its biggest fall since February and second biggest this year.There is a sprinkling of economic data from Asia on Friday including the latest snapshots of South Korean trade and Japanese household spending and consumption. But all eyes will be on U.S. bond markets and China.U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has arrived in Beijing for a four-day visit during flaring trade tensions between the two economic superpowers. Expectations on both sides for a thaw in icy relations are low.Yellen tweeted the trip is “an opportunity to communicate and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding,” but that may be all that is achieved. Investors certainly aren’t expecting much more.Investors’ gloomy economic and market view of China darkened further after a downbeat Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) report on its banks on Wednesday sparked a widespread selloff in the country’s Hong Kong-listed banking stocks.Goldman downgraded some major Chinese banks over government debt concerns, deepening worries over a sector already suffering from a creaking property market and sluggish economic growth.The Hang Seng Mainland Banks Index tumbled 6.4% on Thursday to a new low for the year, its biggest one-day fall since February 2018. It is down almost 10% this week, also on course for its biggest weekly fall in more than five years.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in China- Japan household spending (May)- South Korea current account (May) (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Josie Kao) More
The assets will be returned on a pro-rated basis to victims of the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Shortly after the security breach, Bitfinex issued Recovery Rights Tokens (RRTs) with a par value of $1 each. There are currently 30 million RRTs in circulation. After redemption of RRTs with recovered assets, the remainder will be paid to token holders of Unus Sed Leo (LEO), Bitfinex’s native token.Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More
Called CryptoRLPM, short for “Cryptocurrency reinforcement learning portfolio manager,” the AI system utilizes a training technique called “reinforcement learning” to implement on-chain data into its model. Continue Reading on Coin Telegraph More
(Reuters) – Time is running out for Digital Currency Group to agree on a deal to restructure its bankrupt crypto lending unit Genesis after its largest creditor Gemini – the crypto company founded by the Winklevoss twins – set Thursday afternoon as the final deadline before the company pursues litigation. The lending unit of crypto firm Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January after the collapse of key counterparties including FTX caused it to freeze customer redemptions in November. Genesis is owned by venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG).Although Genesis’ lending unit had initially outlined a plan to exit bankruptcy by May, it has yet to reach an agreement on a restructuring plan with creditors, to whom it owes more than $3 billion, according to court filings. Its largest creditor is Gemini, founded by billionaire identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss who are also former U.S. Olympic rowers. Gemini is seeking to recoup more than $1.1 billion. In a letter to DCG CEO Barry Silbert that Cameron Winklevoss tweeted on Monday, Winklevoss shared what he called his “best and final offer,” and said the deadline for DCG to agree to the proposal was 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on July 6. “No extensions and no more delay. It is a simple yes or no,” Winklevoss told Reuters in a statement.DCG declined to comment. Lawyers for Genesis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DCG had called a previous open letter from Winklevoss earlier this year a “publicity stunt” to “to deflect blame from himself and Gemini.”The bankruptcy has brought some of the most powerful and high-profile crypto industry personalities into direct conflict, and is being closely watched by the crypto market. The Winklevoss twins shot to fame after they sued Meta Platforms founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, alleging he had stolen their idea for Facebeook. They agreed to a settlement in 2008 in which they received cash and Facebook (NASDAQ:META) stock. Connecticut-based DCG has a formidable portfolio of companies — over 200 in more than 35 countries, Silbert told shareholders earlier this year. It owns crypto asset manager Grayscale as well as crypto news and events site CoinDesk. A bankruptcy court appointed a mediator in April to help Genesis, DCG and its creditors agree on a restructuring plan, but the parties have yet to reach a deal despite several extensions. The latest mediation period expired on Wednesday. Winklevoss’ restructuring proposal includes a $275 million forbearance payment, a $355 million debt tranche due in two years, and a $835 million debt tranche due in five years. Under the offer, DCG would retain the proceeds from the sale of Genesis’ lending unit.If Silbert and DCG do not agree, Gemini will sue Silbert and DCG, and file a motion to place DCG in default and demand immediate debt repayments, Winklevoss said. “This proposal is fair and reasonable for everyone,” Winklevoss said in the letter. More
In the week ended July. 5, banks borrowed an average of $3.36 billion each night, up from $3.21B from a week earlier, according to new Fed data released Thursday.Borrowing from the Fed’s Bank Term Funding Program — the new emergency lending program launched following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank — fell to $101.96B from $103.08B in the prior week.Lending to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which took over the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, fell $3.52B to $164.78B.Total lending from the Fed’s three main lending programs fell to $270.09B from $274.58B. More
