Contrary to what casual observers might believe, the Cboe and CME weren’t the first exchanges to offer trading and clearing of bitcoin derivatives in the US - that distinction belongs to a relatively obscure company called LedgerX, which received permission from the CFTC over the summer to create the first swap execution facility - or SEF - allowing it to clear trades of bitcoin-focused options.
A very interesting chart has crossed our feed this morning via Teddy Vallee, a consumer analyst, who we pay attention to on occasion...
The first half of the chart shows the bottom 50% of Western European’s national income, which has stayed relatively the same for the past 30-years.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the bottom 50% of Americans have been royally screwed of the course of 30-years.
Pakistan is considering replacing the U.S. dollar with the Chinese yuan for bilateral trade between Pakistan and China, Pakistan's Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said according to Dawn Online and The Economic Times. Interior Minister Iqbal, who has been central to the planning and implementation of China-Pakistan economic ties, was reported discussing the proposal after unveiling a long-term economic development cooperation plan for the two countries, Reuters added.
A rudimentary payments network that can only process - on average - about 7 transactions every 10 minutes isn’t deterring merchants from accepting bitcoin for large-scale purchases like homes and cars.
To wit, the owner of a car dealership near Albany told a local news station that he will begin accepting bitcoin, as the Associated Press reported.
Since the US government nationalized the two GSEs in 2008 in a $187 billion bailout of the mortgage giants, there have been consistent calls for them to be wound down and for the private sector to fill the void. As we discussed, this view is, or was, shared by new Fed Chairman, Jay Powell.