By Jamie Redman Since the birth of Bitcoin, crusaders fighting for the separation of money and state discovered a new payment tool that bypasses the nation state’s control over the monetary system. For over ten years now, lots of people have been using digital currencies to hide from prying eyes of governments in order to free themselves from a system that contributes to … [Read more...] about Doing What You Want With Your Money Is a Fundamental Right
Banking
A Tale of Two Bubbles: How the Fed Crashed the Tech and the Housing Markets
By Luka Nikolic Since its founding, the Federal Reserve has had a hand in creating some of the largest bubbles in history. When the bank lowers interest rates, there is excess cash in the economy, making it relatively cheap for anyone to borrow. This creates malinvestment in the economy because while not everyone has profitable ideas, many more people can borrow, causing a … [Read more...] about A Tale of Two Bubbles: How the Fed Crashed the Tech and the Housing Markets
Unbanked for Buying Bitcoin: How the Financial System Criminalizes Crypto
By Kai Sedgwick When we think of the unbanked, we envisage citizens of developing nations who lack the means and documentation to obtain access. But you don’t have to be a Mongolian goat herder to find yourself financially excluded. In the West, relatively affluent citizens are having their banking services withdrawn suddenly and without warning. Their ‘crime’? Buying and … [Read more...] about Unbanked for Buying Bitcoin: How the Financial System Criminalizes Crypto
The Pension Fund Apocalypse
By Colin Lloyd Over the period from 1915 to 2014 the return on U.S. equities was an annualized 11.5 percent, while the return on government bonds averaged 4.3 percent. The longer-run average S&P 500 return is nearer 9 percent, but during the past decade it has exceeded 14 percent. U.S. bonds have also rallied, returning around 2 percent. Yields across most developed … [Read more...] about The Pension Fund Apocalypse
How Central Bank Interest Rate Policy Is Destabilizing Banks
By Justin Murray Broadly speaking, banks operate under the concept of maturity transformation. Banks take short-term – less than one year – financing vehicles, such as customer deposits, and use that to finance long-term – more than one year – returns. These returns range from the most commonly understood loans, such as auto loans and mortgages, to investments in equity, … [Read more...] about How Central Bank Interest Rate Policy Is Destabilizing Banks