Exchange Invest Weekend 2898: Jail Money
Tardis size matters! Applauding humble sportsmen. Examining jail currency. Comparing per capita wealth: is the UK as poor as Mississippi?
Exchange Invest is a unique information resource combining the day’s stories in a newsletter for investors in exchanges/financial markets infrastructure.
Exchange Invest was founded by former exchange CEO and author of the first bestselling book of fintech (“Capital Market Revolution!” FT 1999) Patrick L Young. Monday through Friday our daily paid subscriber email discusses the business of bourses of all kinds across the world.
On this day in 2014, the infamous bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox went offline.
IN BIGWORLD
From Exchange Invest 2895: Wednesday, February 21st:
Following on from Wednesday’s Bigworld, our fact-checkers have discerned (qv Pint Of Your Finest Champagne, Please!) we might get 500 ml bottles of English sparkling if not a proper 568 ml pint of that or Reims’ finest tipple. #Itscomplicated but it seems to generate great publicity for Berry Bros & Rudd, the longtime distributor of Pol Roger in the UK.
Of course, the French champagne makers may yet baulk at their champagne being pint potted but given the welter of fine English bubbles on the go, surely soon enough England can deliver her own pint of brut?
At least parishioner Michael Spencer might be happy as a shareholder in Chapel Down maker of award winning English sparkling wines. We can drink to that!
IPO-VID LIVESTREAM
NEXT WEEK TUESDAY
IPO-VID Livestream 134: Season 23: Episode 02
Guest: Hamish Adourian
Tuesday, February 27th: 1700 UK, 1800 CET, 1200 EST
“The Holistic Exchange & Operational Resilience”
Hamish Adourian is Head of Sales and Marketing at Sinara, a London-based software house established for over 30 years well known as a trusted software partner to leading financial institutions worldwide.
Hamish joined Sinara in 2006 as a software engineer, building a strong background in the design and development of systems for exchange operations, commodities trading and market data distribution.
Having a keen interest in business, he progressed into sales & marketing, bringing to Sinara’s customers his insights into how technology can help solve challenges faced by participants across the financial markets. Since 2021, Hamish has been responsible for Sinara’s sales and marketing operations, championing the SinaraTLC initiative, where Sinara has invested in a new suite of trading lifecycle components for brokers, exchanges and clearing houses.
Watch the stream on:
NOW ONLINE!
IPO-VID Livestream 133: Season 23: Episode 01
Guest: Tiaan Bazuin
Tuesday, February 20th: 1700 UK, 1800 CET, 1200 EST
“Unlocking Namibian Growth”
Tiaan Bazuin is an entrepreneurial qualified lawyer who has been CEO of the Namibian Stock Exchange since 2013 and MD of the Central Securities Depository (Pty) Ltd, and MD of Birdsong Properties (Pty) Ltd, a real estate developer company situated outside of Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia. Tiaan is chairman of the CoSSE Legal Sub-committee and serves on the Board of Trustees of NMC (Namibia Medical Care).
Previously Tiaan was the Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary of LEO, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom.
Watch the stream on:
IPO-VID LIVESTREAM PODCAST
In the IPO-VID podcast episode #130, join Patrick L Young and delve into the second part of the IPO-VID 2023 highlights, spotlighting the capital market revolution. Tune in for a nostalgic journey down memory lane with dynamic guests who added depth to the spectrum of IPO-VID in 2023.
Now available from multiple different podcast sources:
EI Website
Spotify
Google Podcasts
Apple Podcast
EI WEEKLY PODCAST
TCS Falls Over Again
Sound CME Results
And ASX In Shambles
While EU Fin Mins Blame The Exchanges For Their Woes…
The Exchange Invest Weekly Podcast 233
VICTORY OR DEATH
20 years on from the first fintech bestseller “Capital Market Revolution!”… “Victory Or Death” is a must read book for anyone interested in the intersection of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and FinTech as part of the whole future of finance.
*Paid link, as an Amazon Associate, Exchange Invest earns from qualifying purchases.
FINANCE BOOK OF THE WEEK
In response to reader’s queries, we have added a book of the week column to the EI weekend edition — interesting books pertaining to exchanges and markets, investment et al.
— Anybody can sign up for EI Weekend for free at ExchangeInvest.com.
This week’s book was written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.
*Paid link, as an Amazon Associate, Exchange Invest earns from qualifying purchases.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) explores the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more. Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives — how people get what they want or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing.
Get the book here.
*Paid link, as an Amazon Associate, Exchange Invest earns from qualifying purchases.
Suggestions welcome if you would like to nominate a book for us to cover!
Our next Book of the week will be unveiled Saturday in the EI Weekend Edition.
& don’t forget if you want all the news on the bourse business sent daily to your Inbox subscribe to Exchange Invest — via Exchange Invest.com — it’s only $375 per annum to join “The Exchange of Information.”
BITCARNAGE
Suddenly the talk is of Coinbase being the unassailable leader of the pack.
(e.g. Coinbase Is An Unstoppable Crypto Giant Nasdaq)
Sounds good until you remember, so were the now deceased Mt Gox and FTX while last year it was just impossible according to conventional wisdom to see criticism of Binance as anything but “4:FUD!”
If you enjoyed this excerpt you may be interested to know that you can read Bitcarnage every day in Exchange Invest.
Alternatively, if you want to follow Bitcarnage — the daily update on happenings in the world of crypto and digital assets, then you can find Bitcarnage as a standalone on Substack.
MACRO THOUGHTS
Visualizing The Top Countries By Wealth Per Person
Visual Capitalist
Is Britain Really As Poor As Mississippi?
FT
Why Britain Is Poorer Than Any US State, Other Than Mississippi
Is Mississippi Really As Poor As Britain?
The Atlantic
PLY: A former UK MP, Douglas Carswell took up the cudgels for his adopted homeland of Mississippi in this illuminating debate….
OF INTEREST
As always, a review of interesting reading to provoke thoughts and consideration… Not sure we agree with much of it….but it’s thought-provoking!
The Admirable Humility Of Japanese Sports Stars
The Spectator
PLY: A truly fascinating state of play compared to the petulant blitherwits that Western sports stars can all too often become.
The Surprising Science Of The TARDIS: Oh My! It REALLY Is Bigger On The Inside! | By Selena Routley
Cantor’s Paradise
It Sounds Fishy, But SBF Really Is Trading Mackerel In Prison: Report
Cointelegraph
PLY: “Pharma Bro” and seasoned prison inmate Martin Shkreli reckons SBF was conned paying 4 Macs for his haircut but then again given the dimensions of his enormous mullet, I am not so sure it wasn’t a fair price. Anyway, prison currency varies according to Shkreli with Macs more common in remand and stamp books in federal or other prisons post-sentencing, are more the thing. Albeit, if you possess more than 500 books, they can be confiscated by authorities.
In the US, prison currency has had a big swap in the past decade. Traditionally tobacco was the key means of barter / exchange payment with of course a permanent pressure (especially in the heydays of smoking) of supply being literally burnt. However, the swap circa the middle of the last decade was to ramen noodle packs, apparently following a tobacco ban in 2015. In the UK, other tins of fish including tuna retain their allure amongst the lags, apparently. Phone credit was very popular until a crackdown with prison authorities issuing codes which could only be used to call pre-authorised numbers.
In a fascinating twist spices also attract a high value albeit they need to be held sparingly as e.g. peppers can be used as a weapon and are consequently banned. Thus those in the right (AKA potentially profitable) corner of the kitchen can profit from being able to find spices to enhance the rather bland prison food… Here’s a rundown of other key prison currencies: 13 Interesting Things Used As Currency In Prison. Which leads to an interesting discussion of prion economics: From Pecan Pralines To ‘Dots’ As Currency: How The Prison Economy Works (The Guardian).
LAST WORD
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The future continues in the water cooler of the bourse business…
