Gold, Silver, and Currencies

For policymakers using currency debasement as a "solution" to their problems, there could be nothing worse than cryptocurrency. Its status as a "hard" currency alternative to fiat money makes cryptocurrency a friend to people living in hyper-inflationary environments. The anonymity of many cryptos also makes them desirable for people in oppressed nations. That combo is hitting Turkey like a double-whammy. Laura Pitel and Eva Szalay report on Turks flocking to cryptocurrency in the Financial Times, writing: Despite having a masters degree and a stable job, a middle-class lifestyle has felt … [Read more...]

In what seems like a relentless drive toward self-actualization, discussion of the digitalization of the dollar has been winding its way through economic and financial news and analysis. But does America need a digital dollar? And are there dangers in such a creation? Alexander William Salter, an associate professor of economics in the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University and a senior fellow with the Sound Money Project, discusses some of the dangers of digitizing the world's reserve currency in The Wall Street Journal, writing: The Federal Reserve plans to consider the idea of … [Read more...]

Germany's inflation has climbed to a 29-year high of 4.1%. That's higher than at any point during Germany's participation in the euro currency bloc. This is perhaps most startling because of Germans' traditional aversion to inflation, which is understandable after having undergone one of history's worst hyper-inflations. Martin Anrold reports in The Financial Times: German inflation hit 4.1 per cent in September, its highest level for 29 years, prompting some economists to question whether central bankers are right to assume the surge in prices is only temporary and will disappear next … [Read more...]

Dollar stores are among the first to see trouble ahead from inflation in dollar prices. The Financial Times reports: Dollar stores have spread rapidly across the US since the Great Recession, pulling in cash-strapped consumers with their 21st-century twist on the “five and dime” model Woolworth popularised a century earlier. Dollar General now operates almost 17,800 stores and Dollar Tree has more than 15,900, compared with Walmart’s 4,740 larger US outlets. Close to 2,000 new dollar stores are expected to open this year, according to Coresight Research. That represents almost half of … [Read more...]

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Liquid, has been robbed by hackers who made away with $97 million worth of assets. Ryan Browne reports for CNBC: Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid said Thursday it has been hit by a cyberattack that saw hackers make off with a reported $97 million worth of digital coins. Liquid said some of its digital currency wallets had been “compromised,” and that hackers were transferring the assets to four different wallets. “We are currently investigating and will provide regular updates,” Liquid tweeted. “In the meantime deposits and withdrawals will be … [Read more...]

Owners of cryptocurrency have been frequent targets of cyber theft. Some of the most infamous cases of crypto-looting were Coincheck in 2018 and Mt. Gox in 2014. Now, a new heist can be added to the list. Hackers have stolen over $600 million in crypto from the Poly Network. Anna Hirtenstein reports for The Wall Street Journal: Hackers stole cryptocurrencies worth more than $600 million from Poly Network, a decentralized finance, or DeFi, platform, in one of the largest crypto heists of recent years. Poly Network, which uses digital assets for lending and other financial transactions, … [Read more...]

The Fed, along with researchers at MIT, is attempting to understand what it would take to create a US-backed digital currency. Gillian Tett reports in the Financial Times: Last year the Boston Fed asked researchers at MIT to embark on a project to build and test “with boldness [and] ingenuity” the computing systems needed to support a US-backed digital currency. That is scheduled to deliver two policy papers next month: one covering the CBDC coding challenges; the second on economic and design choices, such as what putative digital dollars might mean for commercial banks. To … [Read more...]