[FOREX NEWS] AUD/USD flirts with lower lows amid the RBA minutes

The Reserve Bank of Australia released its meeting minutes from the most recent rate decision in November. They said that there is “considerable uncertainty” about wages picking up. Regarding inflation, they also see any “pass-through” as being delayed due to many factors. What about the Aussie? They repeat that any further rise in the A$ [...]

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[FOREX NEWS] EUR/USD in mid-range: up or down from here?

EUR/USD down and up and down again on the news from Germany. Yet in general, the pair sticks to the middle of the range. What’s next? Here are two opposing views: Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews: EUR/USD: The Signal From Flows Supports Bullish EUR View Into 2018 – Nomura Nomura FX Strategy Research [...]

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CryptoCurrency News: Tether Claims $30 Million in US Dollar Token Stolen By Attacker

The team behind the stable cryptocurrency Tether is claiming $30 million worth of its funds have been sent to an unauthorized address.

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CryptoCurrency News: Bitcoin ATM Installations Draw Warning from Russian Prosecutors

Prosecutors in the Russian state of Tatarstan have issued a warning to a local businessman about two bitcoin ATMs.

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CBOE Releases New Details on Bitcoin Futures Contracts

Options exchange CBOE has released early specifications for its planned bitcoin futures product.

In a blog post from Friday, the company published some of the technical details for its futures contract, which will be listed under the symbol XBT – that is, of course, pending approval from U.S. regulators. The development dates back to August, growing out of an initial partnership that saw New York-based exchange startup Gemini (owned by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss) providing data to the Chicago-based CBOE.

It's a development that adds further fuel to efforts to create trading products tied to the cryptocurrency market. With a futures contract, two parties agree to trade an asset – in this case, bitcoin – at a predetermined time and price. Those involved in the agreement seek to make a profit on the difference between the quoted price and its actual value when the contract expires.

Derivatives exchange operator CME Group is moving to launch its own product within weeks, and startups like LedgerX have been pursuing new markets for the exchange of such contracts.

And although the exact listing date isn't available, CBOE's website had other points of interest related to the XBT listing, including the indication that both weekly and quarterly contracts will be available. The listed contract multiplier is 1 BTC, according to CBOE, and the settlements will be paid out in cash.

In detailing the efforts to develop the product, CBOE's Russel Rhoads wrote that readers may want to avoid trying to predict how futures prices will relate to today's price, noting:

"The question I am constantly hearing is, 'How will the futures prices relate to spot bitcoin pricing,' and the best (and most honest) answer I can give is, 'I don’t know.' ... Personally I think the best strategy is to see what the market tells us when bitcoin futures are available for trading."

Rhoads also ran a comparison between the CBOE Volatility Index, its stock market volatility index and bitcoin's degree of price fluctuation, finding that "they are pretty darn similar."

Source: CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: State Bank of India to Beta Test Blockchain Smart Contracts Next Month

The State Bank of India is planning to beta launch smart contracts and blockchain-based know-your-customer processes.

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CryptoCurrency News: $10 Million: Ethereum.com Domain Name Up for Sale

The domain name Ethereum.com is up for grabs, according to reports. The cost? Around $10 million.

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CryptoCurrency News: CME's Bitcoin Futures Likely to Start Trading December 11

CME Group's planned bitcoin futures product could start trading on Dec. 11, according to the firm's website.

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JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs Trial DLT in Equity Swaps Pilot

A group of major financial firms including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs has trialed the exchange of equity swaps over a distributed ledger (DLT) system.

Using the AxCore distributed ledger platform from startup Axoni, the pilot – which also included BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Citi – saw the banks process equity swaps from start to finish, according to an announcement from today. The trial looked at the potential of DLT to streamline the way swaps are made.

By carrying out trades across a network where all parties use the same valuation data and share the same books, in theory, payments can be processed nearly instantaneously and disputes over transactions will be less likely.

Greg Schvey, CEO of Axoni, said in a statement:

"Equity swap data is infamously complex and difficult to manage, making it a terrific fit for distributed ledger technology."

Following on from a proof-of-concept from late last year, the pilot tested tasks like trade creation, amendments, swap aging and dividends. The pilot also tested factors external to the trades, such as network performance and privacy, although it was conducted entirely a test environment. None of the trades were real and no money changed hands, according to Bloomberg.

Axoni used a standardized data structure for the swaps, built in collaboration with the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). The collaborators also put together a governance framework to be used on a production network.

In May, Axoni closed a $20 million Series A round that saw participation from banks such as Citi and investors like Andreessen-Horowitz.
Source: CoinDesk

CryptoCurrency News: $8,200: Bitcoin's Price Starts Week With New All-Time High

The price of bitcoin has hit yet another all-time high, passing above $8,200 for the first time.

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[FOREX NEWS] EUR/USD down on the Draghi drag and FDP failure

The president of the ECB is speaking for the second business day in a row. Mario Draghi is mostly repeating the same stance of his previous speech: great growth but with lagging inflation. Yet he adds some other interesting comments: the central banker warns that geopolitical risks and outside forces could trigger a market correction [...]

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CryptoCurrency News: Futures Boost? Ether Looks Up on 11-Week High

With talk of a possible derivatives market on the way, the price of ether, ethereum's native token, looks to be on the rise.

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CryptoCurrency News: Estranged Moscow Exchange Director Emerges as Blockchain Boss

A former executive of the National Depository of Ukraine left because of politics, but found "game-changing" opportunities in blockchain.

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CryptoCurrency News: Rally Fatigue? Low Bitcoin Volumes Could Cap Upside

Bitcoin prices are at their highest ever, but there may be a chink in the cryptocurrency's armor – low volumes.

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CryptoCurrency News: Australian Government Grants $8 Million for Blockchain Energy Pilot

The Australian government has announced that it will provide over AU$8 million in grants for a blockchain-powered smart utilities project.

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CryptoCurrency News: Smart Dubai Office Bags Award for Blockchain Initiative

The Smart Dubai Office won an award for its blockchain initiative at the Smart Cities Expo and World Congress last week.

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CryptoCurrency News: TGEs or ICBMs? Words Might Not Make a Difference for ICOs

The hottest industry term in cryptocurrnecy is proving a doubled-edged sword for the entrepreneurs seeking to enter the market.

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[FOREX NEWS] EUR/USD shows its muscle: a full recovery from the fall

The worries about the failed German coalition talks sent EUR/USD some 50 pips lower. But this did not last. The pair is already back to 1.18, even exceeding the opening levels. This is more than a full recovery. When a currency doesn’t fall on bad news, its strength is exposed. This implies magnified gains when [...]

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CryptoCurrency News: Bitcoin Price Reaches New Record High Close to $8,100

As the cryptocurrency market in general continues to climb, bitcoin prices reached new heights close to $8,100 last night.

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CryptoCurrency News: Survey: Institutional Traders Are Split on Bitcoin's Price, Wary of ICOs

A plurality of respondents to a new survey from brokerage firm Triad Securities said they believe bitcoin is in a bubble that's primed to crash.

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