Today’s open letter from the SEC to investors and platforms “that refer to themselves as “exchanges”” is an important step for them to push the crypto markets towards maturation.  While stopping short of immediate enforcement actions, it is clear that the SEC is pushing hard towards a more regulated and stable secondary market for trading … Continue reading The SEC Weighs in on Secondary Crypto Markets

There was a lot of coverage of the SEC sweep on ICOs this morning, starting with the WSJ’s article:  “Cryptocurrency Firms Targeted in SEC Probe”.  This was followed by many others, including  crypto-community coverage from CoinDesk.   let’s try to separate fact from fiction. Most important, I do not believe that the SEC is taking issue … Continue reading SEC Sweep Might Herald Progress in the ICO Market

There has been a lot of media coverage and chatter in the crypto community over the concept of “decentralized” exchanges, but much of it is misplaced.  For example, after the recent hack of CoinCheck there were a series of articles, such as one from Bloomberg, that promotes “decentralized” exchanges as a solution to the security … Continue reading Is the term “Decentralized Exchange” an Oxymoron?

SEC Presentation on Crypto Market Structure This presentation was delivered to a combined audience of SEC staff from Trading & Markets, Corporation Finance, & Enforcement.   The discussion was wide ranging and covered many of the topics in the slides. My conclusion from the meeting is that the SEC is being thoughtful and measured in its … Continue reading Crypto Regulation: Discussion with SEC Staff, Feb 15, 2018

The news flow over the past few days has been kind to CoinRoutes.  We have been validated on three fronts.  First, on Monday morning, we learned that the concept we introduced first,  "dark liquidity aggregation," was valued by blockchain investors to the tune of over $30 million.  Next, we were pleased to see that the … Continue reading Validation is always nice…

  The headlines describing the "crash" in bitcoin prices are predictable, considering that the price has more than halved over the past several weeks, but I don't think that the word "crash" is particularly appropriate.  What has not been reported is the simple fact that the decline in prices over the past week, for example, … Continue reading Rout? Perhaps, BUT it’s More Orderly than the Rally…

  (the following is not investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell securities, commodities, or investments of any kind.  It is meant to be instructive on market microstructure only) The recent price behavior of BitCoin vs US Dollars is quite instructive on the importance of understanding market micro-structure.  Over the past week, as it … Continue reading BitCoin “Distribution” Phase?