Save over 65%$99 for your first yearFT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday, plus FT Digital Edition delivered to your device Monday-Saturday.What’s included Weekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysis More
BitMEX, the world’s leading crypto derivatives exchange, has announced the launch of its new automated trading tool, Trading Bots. This powerful feature is designed to offer effortless automation based on predefined strategies or reactions to signals, providing a seamless way to trade 24/7 in the fast-moving crypto markets without the need for coding experience.To mark the launch of Trading Bots, BitMEX launched its ‘Trading Bot Challenge’ campaign featuring 22,000 USDT worth of rewards for new and existing traders. Participation for the campaign begins on 14 October at 04:00 UTC and ends on 13 November at 23:59 UTC. For more information on how to start using Bots on BitMEX, users can visit this page. BitMEX offers two tiers of trading bots to cater to traders of different backgrounds: Stephan Lutz, CEO of BitMEX said, “The introduction of Trading Bots on BitMEX marks an exciting step forward at the intersection of cryptocurrency and AI-driven technology. For nearly a decade, we’ve equipped our users with advanced tools to enhance their trading experience, and as we celebrate our 10th year in the industry, I’m excited to see more innovative technology becoming a key part of that legacy. The BitMEX trading bot feature enables faster, data-driven decision-making – an advantage that even beginner traders can benefit from. By integrating these tools, we’re ensuring that our users, regardless of experience, have everything they need to navigate the complexities of the crypto markets.”To get started, users can head to the Bots tab on the navigation bar, select their bot of choice, and set up their trading bot’s parameters. Once configured, the bot will automatically execute trades based on the user’s market view. Traders can easily adjust or stop their bots at any time, providing flexibility in changing market conditions. About BitMEXBitMEX is the leading crypto derivatives exchange, providing professional crypto traders with a platform that caters to their needs with low latency, deep liquidity and unmatched reliability.Since our founding, no cryptocurrency has been lost through intrusion or hacking, allowing BitMEX users to trade safely in the knowledge that their funds are secure. So too that they have access to the products and tools they require to be profitable. BitMEX was also one of the first exchanges to publish their on-chain Proof of Reserves and Proof of Liabilities data. The exchange continues to publish this data twice a week – proving assurance that they safely store and segregate the funds they are entrusted with. For more information on BitMEX, please visit the BitMEX Blog or www.bitmex.com, and follow Discord, Telegram and Twitter.ContactBitMEX [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.At the end of September there was a big spike in the Secured Overnight Financing Rate. This may already be putting you to sleep but it’s potentially a big deal, so please stick around. SOFR was created to replace Libor (R.I.P.). It measures the cost of borrowing cash overnight, collateralised with US Treasuries, using actual transactions as opposed to Libor’s more manipulation-prone vibes. You can think of it as a proxy of how tight money is at any given time.Here you can see how SOFR generally traded around the central point of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate corridor, and fell when the Fed cut rates by 50 basis points in September. But on the last day of the month, it suddenly spiked. This is natural, to an extent. There’s often a bit of money tightness around the end of the quarters, and especially the end of the year, as banks are keen to look as lean as possible heading into reporting dates. So SOFR (and other measures of funding costs) will often spike a little around then.But this was FAR bigger than normal. Here is the same chart but showing the end-of-2023 spike, and little dimples at the end of the first and second quarters.Indeed, Bank of America’s Mark Cabana estimates that this was the single-biggest SOFR spike since Covid-19 wracked markets in early 2020, and points out it happened on record trading volumes.Cabana says he was initially too hasty in dismissing the spike as driven by a short-term collateral shortage and unusually large amounts of window-dressing by banks. In a note published yesterday, he admits to overlooking something potentially more ominous: reserves seeping out of the banking system.We have long believed funding markets are determined by 3 key fundamentals: cash, collateral, & dealer sheet capacity. We attributed last week’s funding spike to the latter 2 factors. We overlooked extent of cash drain in contributing to the pressure. The increased sensitivity of cash to SOFR hints of LCLOR. LCLOR stands for “lowest comfortable level of reserves”, and might require a bit more explanation.Back in ye olde times (pre 2008), the Fed set rates by managing the amount of reserves sloshing around the US monetary system. But since 2008 that has been impossible due to the amount of money pumped in through various quantitative easing programmes. That has forced the Fed to use new tools — like interest on overnight reserves — to manage rates in what economists call the “abundant reserve regime”.But the Fed has now been engaging in reverse-QE — or “quantitative tightening” — by shrinking its balance sheet sharply since 2022. The goal is not to get the balance sheet back to pre-2008 levels. The US economy and financial system is far larger than it was then, and the new monetary tools have worked well.The Fed just wants to get from an “abundant” reserve regime to an “ample” or “comfortable” one. The problem is that no one really knows exactly when that happens. As Cabana writes (with FT Alphaville’s emphasis in bold below): Like the macro neutral rate, LCLOR is only observed near to or after it is reached. We have long believed LCLOR is around $3-3.25tn given (1) bank willingness to compete for large time deposits (2) reserve / GDP metrics. Recent funding vol supports this.A similar dynamic was seen in ‘19. At that time, the correlation of changes in reserves to SOFR-IORB turned similarly negative. The sensitivity of SOFR to reserves correlation signalled nearing LCLOR. We sense a similar dynamic is present today.Unfortunately, when reserve levels drop to uncomfortable levels, we tend to find out very quickly, in unpleasant ways.Cabana’s mention of 2019 is a reference to a repo market crisis in September that year, when the Fed missed growing hints of tightness in money markets. Eventually it forced the Federal Reserve to inject billions of dollars back into the system to prevent a broader calamity. MainFT wrote a superb explainer of the event, which you can read here.In other words, the recent SOFR spike could be a hint that we are approaching or already in uncomfortable reserve levels, which could cause a repeat of the September 2019 repo ructions if the Fed doesn’t act preemptively to soothe stresses. Here are Cabana’s conclusions (his emphasis):Repo is heart of markets. EKG measures heart rate & rhythm. Repo EKG flags shift. Cash drain has supported spike in repo. Fed should take repo pulse & sense shift. If Fed too late to diagnose, ‘19 repeat. Bottom line: stay short spreads w/Fed behind on diagnosis. More
CARV, the largest modular identity and data layer for gaming and AI, today announces the launch of its native utility token, $CARV. Built on Base and available now on 8 centralized exchanges including Bybit, Kucoin, and Bitget, the token marks a significant milestone in CARV’s mission to revolutionize data ownership.As the governance and participation cornerstone of CARV’s ecosystem—spanning CARV Protocol, CARV Play, and CARV Labs—$CARV empowers holders to actively shape the protocol’s future, share in its success, and truly own, control, and monetize their data. Holders can not only engage in decision-making and propose new features but also acquire CARV nodes with 40M tokens allocated to further decentralize the network and generate new revenue streams. Furthermore, CARV also provides a buyback program for the node holders to foster true decentralization. On the strength of CARV’s proven revenue model and high-yield staking opportunities, $CARV presents a compelling case for traders.$CARV is available today on the following 8 exchanges: Bybit, KuCoin, Bitget, HTX, Gate, BingX, HashKey Global, and MEXC. More exchanges are to come.This is proving a pivotal year for the project. In addition to securing $10M in Series A funding, propelling protocol decentralization with a $35M verifier node sale, and launching a $50M accelerator, CARV has demonstrated remarkable revenue generation, a rarity in the web3 space. In the first three quarters of 2024, CARV reported over $43M in total revenue. Today’s token launch marks a new chapter in data empowerment backed by a track record of financial success and technological innovation.And CARV isn’t done yet for 2024. The team remains busy focusing on its upcoming mainnet release and other key initiatives before the end of the year. These include extending its identity and data layer with decentralized sequencers and data verification, enhancing the ERC-7231 standard by incorporating Merkle trees to improve data processing and privacy, and offering an on-chain database solution for instant identity integration with CARV ID.For more, see Messari’s latest report into CARV or stay up to date at the blog or Twitter (X).About CARVCARV is building the largest modular Identity and Data Layer (IDL) for gaming, AI, and beyond, integrating over 900 games and AI companies, representing more than 30% of all Web3 games, and serving 9.5M+ registered players with 1.3M+ daily active users and 2.8M unique on-chain CARV ID holders. Ranking among the top three globally with 2.1M+ average daily unique active wallets across 40+ chains, CARV has raised $50M in total funding from top-tier investors like Tribe Capital, Temasek Vertex (NASDAQ:VRTX), HashKey Capital, Animoca Brands, and ConsenSys, along with major gaming studios and ecosystems such as MARBLEX (Netmarble) and the Sandbox. The team comprises industry veterans from Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Binance, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA), all dedicated to revolutionizing data usage in gaming, AI, and beyond.ContactCOOVictor [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
Save over 65%$99 for your first yearFT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday, plus FT Digital Edition delivered to your device Monday-Saturday.What’s included Weekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysis More
Save over 65%$99 for your first yearFT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday, plus FT Digital Edition delivered to your device Monday-Saturday.What’s included Weekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysis More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to lower taxes on U.S. citizens living abroad, in his latest attempt to lure voters before the Nov. 5 election in which he is locked in a tight race with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.WHY IT’S IMPORTANTBoth Trump and Harris have in recent weeks made economic pledges to woo voters. Harris has said she will aim to pass a middle class tax cut, while Trump has advocated cutting taxes on overtime pay. Both candidates have supported eliminating taxes on tips.KEY QUOTE”I support ending the double taxation of overseas Americans,” Trump said in a statement from his campaign. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report Trump’s plans. The statement offered no specific details on how he would go about this policy.CONTEXTAmericans living or traveling outside the United States are required to file income tax returns, estate tax returns, and gift tax returns and “pay estimated tax in the same way as those residing in the United States,” according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.The U.S. has tax treaties with a number of foreign countries that already allow reduced rates and exemptions. Americans abroad do not have to pay U.S. taxes on their first $126,500 in earned income and are eligible for some foreign tax credits, according to the IRS.Claiming the foreign tax credit can let individuals effectively reduce their U.S. tax liability and avoid double taxation on the same income earned internationally.BY THE NUMBERSAbout 4.4 million U.S. citizens lived abroad as of 2022, according to data from the Federal Voting Assistance Program. About 2.8 million of those were eligible to vote in their former states. More
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said eligible securities firms, fund companies and insurers can apply to join the swap scheme, which gives them easier access to funding to buy stocks.The announcement came after Chinese stocks tumbled on Wednesday following a blistering rally, as previous investor enthusiasm about Beijing’s plans to revive the economy waned.The PBOC first announced the scheme on Sept. 24 as part of a broad package of policies to stimulate the economy and boost capital markets.Under the swap facility, eligible securities firms, fund companies and insurers can use their assets including bonds, stock ETFs and holdings in constituents of the CSI 300 Index as collateral in exchange for highly liquid assets such as treasury bonds and central bank bills. The initial scale of the swap program is set at 500 billion yuan, and can be expanded in the future. ($1 = 7.0800 Chinese yuan) More
