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A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. Anticipation of easing U.S. borrowing costs and a possible U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund have lifted crypto prices since the summer, with market bitcoin gaining by about half since the end of August. Ether , the layer 1 token linked to the Ethereum blockchain on which most layer 2 tokens are based, has leapt 13.8% to $2,028.80 in the past month. They are often among the last ones to catch a bid when broader crypto market rises and among the first ones to sell off when sentiment is shaken. Numerous projects and their tokens were launched as the crypto market boomed in 2020, before sinking during the crypto winter of 2022.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, It's, Matteo Greco, Joshua Peck, Peck, Alyse Killeen, Fineqia International's, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Tom Wilson Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, Fineqia, Reuters, Thomson Locations: La, Paris, France, U.S, Stillmark, Bengaluru

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 14 (Reuters) - Bitcoin miners are making hay while the sun shines. "You're seeing a lot of urgency to plug rigs in ahead of the halving," said Gregory Lewis, analyst at brokerage BTIG that covers the 13 biggest U.S.-listed bitcoin miners. That means miners are having to use more and more power and speed to crack the complex maths puzzles that earn them a bitcoin. "It's too early to say if all bitcoin miners are out of the wood," said Ludovic Thomas, portfolio manager at Swiss-based Criptonite Asset Management that invests in digital assets.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Gregory Lewis, Bitcoin's, Morgan, William Szamosszegi, Matteo Greco, It's, Ludovic Thomas, Medha Singh, Lisa Mattackal, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, U.S, Fineqia, Central, Swiss, Management, Thomson, Reuters Locations: La, Paris, France, J.P, Bengaluru

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. It's a bit old hat, say a cohort of crypto investors who are betting on blockchain technology breathing new life into traditional assets. Others like Franklin Templeton, UBS Asset Management and ABN Amro (ABNd.AS) have launched tokenized versions of assets such as money market funds and green bonds. Indeed, the actual issuance and value of tokenized traditional assets remains small. Some market players now see significant advances.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Franklin Templeton, Colin Butler, tokenization, hasn't, Morgan Krupetsky, Doug Schwenk, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Tom Wilson, Pravin Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, London Stock Exchange, Mirae, Securities, UBS Asset Management, ABN Amro, Polygon Labs, Reuters Graphics, Northern Trust, HSBC, Ava Labs, Digital Asset Research, Thomson, Reuters Locations: La, Paris, France, U.S, blockchain, Bengaluru

☆ Policymakers see darker days ahead in China as growth sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Divya Chowdhury | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Policymakers expect persistently slower growth in China, perhaps even more sluggish than current consensus estimates, seeing its transition from an infrastructure- and investment-led economy to becoming consumption-driven as "difficult". "The inflation rate in China is around 0% - that means distortion of domestic demand and domestic supply," he said. This follows economic growth in 2022 recorded at one of its worst levels in nearly half a century. The Croatian central bank chief sees narrowing room for expansionary policies in China, adding, "We have to be careful." The RBNZ has already factored in "a pretty subdued period" for commodity prices within their projections, before they see them beginning to rise again, Hawkesby said.

Persons: Takahide Kiuchi, Goushi Kataoka, Boris Vujcic, Robert Holzmann, Christian Hawkesby, Hawkesby, Divya Chowdhury, Savio Shetty, Lisa Mattackal, Mehnaz Yasmin, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Former Bank of Japan, Reuters Global Markets, European Central Bank, ECB, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, China, Europe, Croatian, Austrian, United States, Mumbai, Bengaluru

☆ Full impact of Fed hikes still to be seen in real economy, ex-vice chair Blinder says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Fed has cumulatively raised its target rate by 525 basis points to 5.25%-5.50% over the last 17 months. "I think there's a lot more to be seen," Alan Blinder, Fed vice chairman between 1994 and 1996, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum (GMF). So against that, if it's three months or four months faster, that's not a big deal, and suggests there's still plenty to come," Blinder added. Blinder also said core inflation tends to react to monetary policy action at a slower pace than headline inflation, and that coupled with the transmission lags means the Fed should consider pausing rates for some time from here. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe 'last mile' of bringing inflation down may prove difficult for the Fed, Blinder said, adding that the central bank won't be "stubborn" if inflation settles somewhat above its stated 2% goal.

Persons: Alan Blinder, there's, Blinder, Lisa Mattackal, Divya Chowdhury, Savio Shetty, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S, Reuters Global Markets, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Fed, Thomson Locations: U.S . Federal, Bangalore, Mumbai

☆ Privacy, market maturity hurdles facing Brazil's CBDC rollout -cenbank official
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Maintaining privacy and increasing understanding of blockchain technology are primary issues to solve before Brazil's central bank digital currency (CBDC) is ready for widespread use, the central bank's coordinator of the project said on Tuesday. Named DREX, the digital real is set for a first phase launch aimed at financial institutions in May 2024, though postponed from an initial planned launch in February. "We need to ensure that the privacy is compatible with the law," he told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. Market maturity is another important issue to solve as the central bank wants businesses to develop new use cases for the technology, Araujo said. The Atlantic Council says 130 countries are in some process of exploring a CBDC, with 21 in the pilot stage.

Persons: Fabio Araujo, Araujo, Lisa Mattackal, Divya Chowdhury, Marcela Ayers, Lincoln Organizations: Machine, Banco Central, Reuters Global Markets, Atlantic Council, Bank for International, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Bangalore, Mumbai

Their new platform is cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN.O), which on Aug. 16 became the first crypto-focused firm to win approval to offer cryptocurrency futures to U.S. retail customers. Yet, trading volumes in derivatives decreased by nearly 13% in July to $1.85 trillion, the lowest monthly volume since December 2022 and second lowest derivatives trading volumes since 2021, research firm CCData reported. Derivatives made up 78.2% of the total cryptocurrency trading volume on centralized exchanges in July, CCData reported. Spot cryptocurrency trading volumes also fell 10.5% to $515 billion in the same period, CCData showed. This essentially means that there is potential for growth in derivatives trading.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Lucas Kiely, languish, disinclined, Todd Groth, CCData, Dessislava Aubert, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Sumanta Sen, Vidya Ranganathan, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Derivatives, Research, Reuters, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru

Over 50 cryptocurrencies worth over $100 billion in total and making up about 10% of the overall market, are now viewed by the SEC watchdog as securities, according to CCData. Among major players, for example, solana , polygon and cardano have sunk between 23% and 32%. Bitcoin and ether weren't named in the SEC's lawsuit, nor were stablecoins such as tether and USC Coin. By contrast, bitcoin investors who have held their coins for more than five months appeared relatively calm and accounted for just 1.9% of deposit volume. Investment products tracking altcoins have seen positive - albeit small - net inflows this year, in contrast to bitcoin and ether, Coinshares data showed on Monday.

Persons: Vetle Lunde, Ryan Rasmussen, solana, Lucas Kiely, Alex Thorn, Noelle Acheson, James Butterfield, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Pravin Organizations: U.S, SEC, K33 Research, solana, Securities, Bitwise Asset Management, Reuters Global Markets, Cardano Foundation, Solana Foundation, Reuters, Polygon Labs, Reuters Graphics Reuters, USC, BTC, ETH, Firmwide Research, Galaxy Digital, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: cardano, altcoins, Bengaluru

May 18 (Reuters) - Equity markets in North Asia will outperform the broader region this year, buoyed by China's reopening and a post-pandemic recovery-led earnings rebound, investors and strategists said. Liquidity from easing monetary and fiscal policy, along with Asian central banks' early victory on inflation, is expected to defend against an incoming downtrend, keeping North Asian equities resilient. Grace Tam, chief investment officer-Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, expects North Asia to outperform this year following a strong 2022 from South Asian equities. Goldman Sachs sees the north versus south disparity in Asia as a top investment theme in 2023. "China's growth recovery and North Asia's earnings rebound in 2024 remain our key investment themes and overweight areas," it said in its second-quarter outlook.

☆ Private-credit firms see opportunity as banks tighten lending
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Private-credit firms are eyeing fresh opportunities from a potential borrowing squeeze in the United States as battered regional banks tighten lending after the turmoil in the sector, according to fund managers and investment strategists. Such lenders see commercial and residential real estate as particularly attractive, given the prominence of regional banks in these sectors. Regional U.S. banks accounted for about 70% of outstanding loans to the commercial real estate (CRE) sector alone, according to Capital Economics. "Signature was one of the biggest providers of real estate lending in the New York area, commercial real estate is very vulnerable ... as a lender you want to be on the other side of that," Handa said. Many private credit funds have plenty of excess funds, or "dry powder" to invest, said Matt Malone, head of investment management at private investment management firm Opto Investments.

Apparently they can in some parts of the world, such as Argentina and Turkey, where soaring prices and tumbling local currencies have forced people to seek refuge in digital coins. Trading volumes for spot bitcoin are highest during U.S. opening hours, with little change from 2022, Kaiko data showed. If dollar to crypto volumes are excluded, then the next most dominant currency is South Korea's won . Crypto trading volumes in South Korea are back to levels seen in first quarter and second quarters of 2022 after a weak fourth quarter in 2022, analysts at crypto investment firm Matrixport said. "This is in stark contrast to other crypto exchanges where bitcoin and Ethereum account for the majority of the volume."

Yet investors aiming to amp up their bets face an ominous obstacle: a lack of liquidity that could trigger wild price swings. Slippage, a liquidity measure describing how much prices change between the placement and execution of a trade, has also increased. The vanishing liquidity can be traced back to the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange and hedge fund Alameda Research. Until then, "liquidity is probably going to get worse and worse", said Joseph Edwards, investment adviser at Enigma Securities. "Even if some players haven't left the place, they are on the sidelines right now because of what's happening with banking turmoil," Edwards said.

MarketVector's Smart Contract Leaders Index (.MVSCLE), which tracks major tokens of this kind - including ether, dot and solana - is up 36% in 2023, outpacing even bitcoin's 33% rise. Bundeep Rangar, CEO of crypto-focused asset manager Fineqia, said he expected the biggest crypto returns to come from smart contract tokens on platforms that support decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. Around seven of the top 20 biggest crypto assets are smart contract tokens, including ether and dot , solana and cardano . BofA analysts also pointed to smart contract tokens and the blockchain-based applications they power as similar to growth stocks in the equities world, typically technology shares. They caution, though, that the global macro outlook and central bank policy could hit the growth of crypto projects and their associated tokens.

[1/4] People stand in front of the Blockchain Hub Davos 2023 at the Promenade road during the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023, in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - In the snow and ice on the main drag in Davos, the impact of the crypto winter is plain for WEF attendees to see. Executives in Davos said they are now all about blockchain technology, proper controls and regulation, and the promise of disruption that it holds for financial services and beyond. Colm Kelleher, chairman of Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S), told a WEF panel that blockchain technology will help reduce costs for banks. "We kind of dodged a bullet," Kelleher said, noting that the collapse in the value of crypto currencies had not caused systemic problems.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expects a record loss in 2022, primarily due to losses from its portfolio holdings in Russia and Belarus, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said on Wednesday. The bank earlier reported record investments in 2022 of about 13.1 billion euros ($14.1 billion), and expects to continue investments targeted around food and energy security, Renaud-Basso said. It may make record investments in Tunisia. Renaud-Basso reiterated the bank's commitment to send 3 billion euros to Ukraine by the end of this year, particularly to help rebuild infrastructure. That would mean an expected deployment of around 1.3 billion euros in 2023, following last year's disbursement of 1.7 billion euros.

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Bitcoin is on the charge in 2023, dragging the crypto market off the floor and electrifying bonk, a new meme coin. Few crypto tokens have benefited more than bonk, which was launched at the end of December on the Solana blockchain and had rocketed 5,000% by early January. Other meme tokens are also up, with dogecoin and Shiba Inu up 19% and 27% respectively in 2023. The Solana token has now indeed jumped as bonk has gained traction: it's up 131% in 2023, the biggest gainer among major cryptocurrencies. The dollar value of bitcoin trading volumes on major exchanges over a 7-day period jumped to $151 million, the highest in nearly two months, according to data from Blockchain.com.

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Major markets such as the United States need new statutory definitions of digital assets to provide regulatory clarity for the sector, Jeremy Allaire, CEO of USDC stablecoin issuer Circle said on Monday. Allaire said blockchain technology itself should be viewed similarly to an operating system, while individual use cases should be regulated separately. "New definitions ... would help provide more clarity on which regulators are involved in what activity," Allaire told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. The European Union is leading in developing digital asset regulations, he said, with the region's Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) rules expected to come into effect in 2024. "We're quite optimistic that MiCA will create the conditions for a thriving competitive market in the EU," Allaire said.

Ben McMillan, chief investment officer at IDX Digital Assets, said the rising popularity of blockchain-based tools including decentralized exchanges and decentralized finance had also been an important development this year. "We could see bigger allocations to digital assets once risk appetite resumes in 2023." Bitcoin and other tokens took a hammering, slumping by over half in just 49 days from the end of May. On a single day in June, bitcoin fell over 15%, its worst day since March 2020 when COVID chaos roiled financial markets. Bitcoin fell by a quarter in less than four days as Bankman-Fried scrambled for funds to bail his exchange out.

Interest in this niche breed of cryptocurrencies, typically linked to sports teams like Barcelona or Brazil, has been charged up by the soccer World Cup which began on Nov. 20. The token of Lionel Messi's Argentina side slumped 25% to $5.26 following the team's shock defeat by Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup game. The broader crypto market malaise is partly to blame for price drops, according to researchers who said the flighty assets were wilting as investors shunned risk. "But the first perception should never be that you're buying the fan token from a profit-generating standpoint." It facilitates trading of most fan coins, describing buying such tokens as joining a loyalty scheme with exclusive benefits and prizes.

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Solana, a poster coin of the crypto future, is in trouble. "In the current crypto shakeout, the most unfortunate innocent victim is the Solana ecosystem," said Stefan Rust, CEO of blockchain wallet company Laguna Labs. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko tweeted that development company Solana Labs didn't hold any assets on FTX and had enough financial runway for around 30 months. Ether's market cap has fallen 21% to $150.7 billion, while bitcoin's has fallen 18% to $319 billion. The collapse of the company has seen more than $190 billion wiped from the value of the overall crypto market.

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