Bitcoin: The Criminal’s Dilemma

It’s no surprise that criminals were initially drawn to Bitcoin, but it seems they’ve quickly realized that Bitcoin’s public, permanent ledger doesn’t make it as anonymous as they might have hoped. Though Bitcoin is designed for privacy, transactions are recorded in a way that makes tracking relatively easy. Criminals may try to evade detection, but, as history shows, they’re bound to repeat mistakes. Investigators now have advanced methods to trace Bitcoin transactions and track illicit activities. For example, if a wallet used by an extortionist sends payments to a known business address, authorities can trace and make arrests. Despite this, Bitcoin’s price seems unaffected, and illegal activities have shifted toward other currencies like Monero.

Underwriting: The Changing Landscape

In investment banking, it’s common to provide free analysis in hopes of being paid for future, more valuable work. Traditionally, this could be offering free analysis on a potential merger to secure a paid bond underwriting deal. However, the banking landscape in Asia is changing.

Recently, some banks have been willing to accept minimal fees (as low as $1) for underwriting bond deals, hoping to make up for the losses in currency swaps and trading commissions. If this trend continues, we might see the cost of investment banking become even more competitive in the future.

Spotify’s Direct Listing: The New Trend

Spotify is making waves by announcing its decision to bypass the traditional IPO route and list directly on the exchange. Typically, an IPO works like a two-stage auction, with banks using bids from investment firms to set a price before the company goes public. However, with a direct listing, Spotify is skipping this process and letting the market set the price through supply and demand. This unconventional move could lead to some exciting, unpredictable outcomes as Spotify’s stock will trade freely without any predetermined valuation or price direction. It’s a bold new approach for an increasingly complex market.

Also,

• Taking stock of a very weird year in markets
• The challenge for Vanguard’s new CEO: Keep a behemoth growing
• How high-frequency trading hit a speed bump
• Russia and Venezuela’s plan to sidestep sanctions: Virtual currencies
• Pension funds’ dilemma: What to buy when nothing is cheap?
• Stockpickers’ fees set to suffer from ETF price war 
• Ocado apologizes to short seller it mistook for angry customer
• Passive funds can “smooth the ride” of an active portfolio
• The cashless society has arrived— Only it’s in China
• Amazon shipped more than 5 billion Prime items in 2017
• That magazine cover doesn’t make Apple shares a ‘sell’
• Fannie-Freddie overhaul might mint hedge fund riches, losses
• Goldman takes one-time $5 billion hit from new U.S. tax law

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