Late last month, the NY Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the parent company of Bitfinex and the Tether stablecoin (USDT), alleging that they illegally diverted funds to cover undisclosed losses incurred due to issues at a payment processor utilized by the exchange.  The story has captured people’s imaginations, with a lot of media coverage … Continue reading What SHOULD we Learn From the Bitfinex/Tether Story?

The question on everyone's mind after today’s run up in the price of bitcoin, was "why did it happen?" There has been a predictable rush of articles. Barrons headline summed it up: Why Did Bitcoin Suddenly Surge?  It’s a Mystery. A better question, is how could you have profited? At the very least, how could … Continue reading The “Mystery” of Today’s Bitcoin Rally And How You Could’ve Profited

(This piece was originally published in Coindesk's Institutional Newsletter) We have all witnessed armies of “introducers” trolling around LinkedIn & Telegram advertising their access to buyers or sellers of bitcoin, coupled with hundreds of wannabe over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks whose only method of trading is to call wholesale market makers. The irony of this is … Continue reading The Ultimate Irony of Crypto Trading

Over the past week, we have seen a couple of cases where the only way to explain the price movement in Bitcoin is if traders are dumb, evil or a combination of both.  Before delving into the specifics, it is important to understand that the only way such things will cease occurring is if traders … Continue reading Does it matter if Bitcoin traders are evil, or just dumb?

The story of QuadrigaCX has been told and retold over the past week, but all of the stories miss the most important point.  Lost among the tales of lost keys, a suspicious death, & questions of the coins existence is the fact that QuadrigaCX routinely violated principles of best execution. Wait???   Did he just say … Continue reading The REAL Lessons from the QuadrigaCX Fiasco!

With the announcement that Bittrex has joined Kraken, Coinbase, itBit and other exchanges by offering an OTC trading desk, it seems that most exchanges have decided that OTC trading is their best chance to grow their business.  This comes amidst a backdrop of OTC desks out-competing the exchanges for market share, particularly for large traders, … Continue reading If You Can’t Beat Em, Join Em???

As 2018 has now ended, there is a plethora of both prediction and “year in review” commentaries.  Across these articles, there is a lot being written about the wreckage left by the crypto tsunami, where crypto surged to meteoric heights in 2017, followed by a brutal bear market in 2018.  In 2017 we witnessed tales … Continue reading Lessons from the Crypto-Tsunami

(Editors note -- This first appeared in John Lothian News) The price action of most crypto-assets over the past year and, in particular, the last quarter, has been downright ugly, and a great many ICOs launched earlier have been exposed as either frauds or very bad investments.   The good, however, has come in the form … Continue reading Crypto: The Good the Bad and the Ugly

  I know you've deceived me, now here's a surprise I know that you have 'cause there's magic in my eyes I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles Oh yeah If you think that I don't know about the little tricks you've played And never see you when deliberately … Continue reading We can see for miles

The title of this blog is, of course, the answer to the “Ultimate question of the life, the universe, and everything” from the classic work, The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.   Contrary to the hysterical questions on Crypto-Twitter and Crypto message boards, the ultimate question is NOT whether this is “The … Continue reading 42…