ФінТех, Міжнародні платіжні системи, Пластикові картки Visa, MasterCard, American Express, обмін та переказ грошей, еквайрінг та прийом платежів. Електронні грошові системи PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс-Деньги, РБК-money питання придбання тощо.
2013-04-18: bitcoin.de - bitcoin.de announces it will sign a contract with a partner bank in the next 3-4 weeks.
Немецкая Биткоин биржа объявила о том, что она завершила переговоры с банком партнером и в течение 3-4 недель подпишет договор. Договор даст возможность клиентам биржы открывать застрахованные банковские счета в банке партнере для прямой торговли на бирже и выполнять все условия регуляторов для предупреждения отмывания денег.
2013-04-17: seekingalpha.com - Krugman Missed Bitcoin's Value
Кругман не понял ценность Биткоина. Очень интересная статья ответ всем тем кто не понимаю, на сколько существующие системы электронных платежей неудобны и дороги для современных предпринимателей работающих через интернет на международную аудиторию. А рынок интернет уже давно международный.
2013-04-26: rollingstone.com - Everything Is Rigged: The Biggest Price-Fixing Scandal Ever
Все подстроено: Самый большой скандал договорных цен всех времен
Статья напрямую не посвящена Биткоин - но не менее а может даже более интересна своими фактами раскрывающими уровень сговора крупнейших банков. После недавнего скандала с Либор этот скандал вскрывает ту же самую схему которую использовали те же банки при установке процентных ставок Либор только в это раз эти же банки договаривались по процентным ставкам Кредитных Свопов. Но на этот раз объем рынка ценных бумаг составляет 500 триллионов долларов.
А вот интересный комментарий к списке отзывов к статье, который вводит новую перспективу и расширяет контекст скандала. Комментарий указывает на то, кто в доме самый главный "манипулятор".
This is true, but in part silly. That the banks manipulated the Libor rate, is obvious, because it is a rate set by the banks. Yes, they bent their own rules. Yet there seems to be no collusion between banks, each bank did what it felt necessary. In fact, as pointed out by many, with the Libor "scandal", it would seem most of the bank manipulation was to the benefit of borrowers" and not to the banks themselves. One typical aspect was that since Libor is a list of compiled rates by the major banks (ok, that's a simplification), definitely some banks showed slightly lower rates (we're talking incredibly small shifts), than they should have, with the idea that showing a higher rate is a bad thing, the lower rates attract more borrowers. Most likely the manipulation resulted long term, in lower rates for "consumers", and lower profits for Banks, but that's the nature of competition. In this case it's mostly banks doing minor manipulation (which does affect everything that uses Libor which is yes, $100's of Trillions). Still isn't this what we consumers want - banks competing and lowering rates to increase their marketshare?
I don't doubt there were downsides, besides owners of bank stock who are suing the banks for providing too low a rate, and therefore lowering profits which would affect the banks' stock prices.
In the grand scheme of things, the Libor scandal first of all was not likely illegal, although I'm sure the EU and US governments will find some obscure regulation that might have gotten stepped on.
The point is, if you don't want your mortgage, or other financial instrument to be based on rates SET BY BANKS, then people should be sure to use one of many alternatative rates, be it US Treasuries, 11th district Cost of Funds (popular in the US for adjustable mortgages), etc.
But, the Libor rate is incredibly popular because it's movements behave in a way that makes far more sense for many types of loans, and other financial instruments. Treasuries can move too fast to be realistic, 11th district moves very slowly (rates can still be going up a year after a financial meltdown when Libor is already dropping is one good example).
Note that Libor - more than a year after the "scandal" broke is still the preferred index for all the same "consumers" which are individuals, corporations and even in many cases governments. It's because it is perhaps the best, most realistic of indexes for most use, and because the "manipulations" were incredibly tiny.
And again, some banks were shaving a tiny bit OFF their rates to attract more customers... So while this article is fun to read, it is a case of mountains out of molehills, in terms of the financial impact of the whole thing. Madoff's $11 billion (marked down from all the original $50 Billion plus claims), no doubt caused far more distortion than the Libor manipulation efforts affected Tabbai's $500 Trillion in Libor tied financial instruments. In most cases million dollar a month payments seem to be affected by a few dollars difference.
This explanation from an article in MonthlyReview.org which attacks the banks is a better explanation of the Libor rate:
"Each participating bank has to answer the question: At what rate could you borrow funds, were you to do so by asking for and then accepting interbank offers in a reasonable market size, just prior to 11:00 AM? The top quarter and bottom quarter estimates are then discarded, and the Libor is the trimmed average of the remaining submissions."
But at least as significant from the same article: "“By shaving tiny fractions of a percent off their winning bids, the banks "
... basically mostly provided lower rates than they would have, had they not manipulated the rate. But, since 50% of the rates (highest and lowest) had to be thrown out, for there to be any meaningful change, more than 50% of banks had to be manipulating the rate in the same direction.
Regardless of all of this, consumers/businesses (who rarely worry of their rate is going to be 5.65% or 5.65002%, favor Libor because it is, overall, the rate that makes the most business sense most of the time.
That most of the fines are in the $10's and $100s of millions and not tens or hundreds of billions we see banks being fined for, is a good indication that despite Libor affecting more money than any other rate, that any "damage" is relatively minor, and Libor remains the preferred rate.
Now, you want to see some MASSIVE rate manipulation, just look to the US Fed and Treasury, who manipulate interest rates in chunks of multiple percent, rather than thousandths of a percent.
Do you really believe that if the US government wasn't buying $85 billion in bonds a month, that short term treasuries would be anywhere near the current 0%? Let's get real, you want to crack down on manipulation of rates, the only real culprits out there are world governments.
Any two consecutive sentences from Bernanke is more manipulation than all the Libor rate action in the last 3 decades!
What, no one cares that the US government is forcing most of their retired citizens into poverty by making it impossible for them to invest money safely at anything above (or even close to) the real inflation level?
2013-04-26: guardian.co.uk - Bitcoin: the Berlin streets where you can shop with virtual money The digital currency is rising in popularity among traders in the rebellious Kreuzberg area of Germany's capital
Биткоин: Улицы Берлина где вы можете покупать за виртулаьные деньги Популярность электроннай валюты растет среди торговцев в районе Кройцберг известном своей историей протеста.
2013-04-30: blogs.wsj.co - Will Bitcoin Be Accepted by PayPal?
Будет ли Пейпал принимать Биткоин?
Джон Донахоу
EBay may open its wallet to the virtual currency Bitcoin.
The e-commerce heavyweight is exploring ways to integrate bitcoins into its PayPal payments network, Chief Executive John Donahoe said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“It’s a new disruptive technology, so, yeah, we’re looking at Bitcoin closely,” Donahoe said. “There may be ways to enable it inside PayPal.”
EBay может открыть свой кошелек виртуальной валюте Биткоин.
Тяжеловес электронной коммерции изучает пути интеграции Биткоин в свою платежную сеть Пейпал, говорит исполнительный директор ИБей Джон Донахоу в своем интервью Уол Стрит Джорнал.
"Это прорывная технология, так что, да, мы внимательно смотрим за развитием Биткоин," говорит Донахоу. "Возможно мы включим поддержку биткоин в платежной сети Пейпал"
2013-05-03: online.wsj.com - Bitcoin vs. Ben Bernanke The chief scientist for the digital currency talks about its appeal—and pitfalls—in a world of fiat money.
Биткоин против Бена Бернанки Ведущий ученый электронной валюты говорит о её приввлекательности и подводных камнях в мире фиатных денег.
Интерьвю с Гейвином Адресеном главным разработчиком кода платежной системы биткоин.
2013-05-03: jingji.cntv.cn - Bitcoin on China Central Televition Биткоин на центральном телевидении Китая.
Выпуск известной китайской программы - Экономика за пол часа. Выпуск полностью посвящен биткоин - от кафе до майнинга, асиков, и банковских клерков. Позитивное освещение.
Видео На 10й минуте интервью с англоязычным покупателем.