Category Archives: Payment system

Never Mind the Pandora Papers: Why Secrecy Still Rules in the UK

Thanks to poor drafting and a lack of enforcement, anti-secrecy legislation intended to make it clearer who owns UK companies isn’t working

When Counterculture Goes Mainstream: A Dispatch from the 2021 Bitcoin Conference

How Bitcoin hard-core loyalists see the future of their project.

Will Tether Bring All The Cryptocurrencies Way Down?

The more you look at the cryptocurrency Tether, the less there is to like.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb Shellacks Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies

Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains why Bitcoin is not good for much except enriching early adopters and intermediaries.

Crypto Crackdown: Only the Beginning?

If you think the officialdom is getting tough with crypto, there’s even more they can do to tighten the screws.

Sputtering About Crypto and the US Pipeline Ransomware Attack

You can hear the silence about the role of crypto in the Colonial Pipeline and a growing spate of ransom demands.

Michael Hudson on American as Absentee Landlord on The Greyzone: Biden Administration, New Cold War, Super Imperialism, Dollar Weaponization

Michael Hudson discusses geopolitics including currency power plays, global institutions like the IMF, the new Cold War, and Bill Gates

By Declaring March 11 “Our” Covid Anniversary, the Press Erases Covid’s Origin Story in the U.S.

The hive mind hums happily.

What Happens If Bitcoin Succeeds?

Most of us would not want to live in a society where bitcoin succeeds.

This Is What Can Happen When a Cross-Border Bank Merger Goes Horribly Wrong

As Banco Sabadell’s disastrous acquisition of UK TSB has shown, a bank merger can founder due to botched IT integration.

Regulating Fintech in Europe: Lessons from the Collapse of Wirecard

Since Fintech companies can be very complex, their oversight requires understanding their business model and combining regulation and supervision based on both entities and activities.

China Takes Step Against Securitization, Consumer Borrowing With Suspension of Ant IPO

With its smackdown of Ant and its billionaire founder Jack Ma, China has made clear that financiers do not call the shots.

The IRS Moves to Crack Down on Cryptocurrency Tax Evaders

The IRS is officially in “No more Mr. Nice Guy” mode with respect to cryptocurrency enforcement.

How Do Banks Create Money?

A short primer on banks from a Modern Monetary Theory perspective.

Yanis Varoufakis: Why Bitcoin Is Not a Socialist’s Ally – Reply to Ben Arc

Debunking some major misperceptions about potential roles for Bitcoin and blockchain.