Opinion

Opinion

The Intangible Reasons Ethereum and Bitcoin Lead

In open-source development, where there's little privileged intellectual property, intangibles like brand and community matter more.

Business  ·  9 February 2021
Enterprise Blockchain

Wall Street Shifts Focus From Blockchain Infrastructure to Crypto Assets

Enterprise blockchain technology has been underwhelming but financial institutions are investing heavily in digital assets, a new analysis shows.

Policy & regulation  ·  8 February 2021
Stablecoins

Caveat Depositor. How Safe Is Your Stablecoin?

USD stablecoins are created largely outside the dollar system and lack federal deposit guarantees. Investors should be careful.

Markets  ·  8 February 2021
Bitcoin Mining

What Bloomberg Gets Wrong About Bitcoin’s Climate Footprint

The comparison between Bitcoin and Visa's energy use, reached several highly misleading conclusions, our columnist says.

Markets  ·  8 February 2021
Opinion

Unlike the Early Web, Crypto Does Not Need State Patronage

Blockchain doesn't need ARPANET-type government support. But co-ordination and collective action are vital to avoid duplication of effort.

People  ·  6 February 2021
Opinion

Fundamental Investing Is Alive and Well in Crypto

Ironically, digital assets might be one of the best asset classes for true fundamental investment analysis, says our columnist.

Policy & regulation  ·  5 February 2021
Newsletters

Money Reimagined: Enterprise Blockchain Isn’t Dead

Corporations find blockchain technology challenging to use. But it's much too early to write off enterprise applications wholesale.

Business  ·  5 February 2021
Opinion

China Leads Africa’s Digital Currency Race

With years of public investment and plenty of penetration for its phone makers, China is well placed to establish a digital currency in Africa.

Policy & regulation  ·  3 February 2021
Opinion

A Big Year for Decentralized Identity and Infrastructure

The World Economic Forum's head of blockchain highlights four trends to look out for in the year ahead.

Markets  ·  2 February 2021
Opinion

Why Crypto Markets Aren’t ‘All-to-All’ Either (and How They Can Be)

GameStop-Robinhood revealed inequalities in the retail equity trading system. Can crypto markets do better? They must.

Policy & regulation  ·  2 February 2021
Opinion

Robinhood Can’t Democratize Finance Using Old Tools

Robinhood saw the ire of traders last week because it promised to be different. It turned out to be fancy app on top of an antiquated system.

Tech  ·  1 February 2021
Opinion

The GameStop Stop Is Not a Technology Problem

Robinhood didn't halt GameStop trading to punish retail players. It reacted to market risk. And, no, blockchain wouldn't have fixed this.

Policy & regulation  ·  29 January 2021
Newsletters

Money Reimagined: Narratives Wall Street Can’t Control

It used to be that Wall Street dictated the big stories around finance. It’s unclear whether that’s still the case.

Policy & regulation  ·  29 January 2021
Opinion

GameStop and the Real Market Manipulators

WallStreetBets traders coordinated buying of GameStop stock to squeeze short-selling hedge funds – but was that collusion?

People  ·  28 January 2021
Opinion

Scarcity Gives Bitcoin Value, but Not the Way You Think

Bitcoin is "scarce" (and therefore valuable) when demand for it exceeds the available supply, not because of its 21 million hard cap, says our columnist.

Business  ·  28 January 2021