Episode 80: All About Digital Currencies (And Some Libor, Politics & Game of Thrones)

This week there were several big announcements surrounding bitcoin and digital currencies. Anthony and James delve into those stories and look at James’ all-encompassing feature—which was published on Thursday—that looks at some of the issues hindering the cryptocurrency space. James next gives a breakdown of the FCA’s announcement that it will phase-out the Libor benchmark and what it will mean for the industry. They then talk about the dramatic scene that played out in the US Senate in the wee hours of Friday morning, and end things by discussing episode two of Game of Thrones. 1:00 First, an amusing story about how James got “scooped” by the SEC. 3:30 A quick tutorial on how digital currencies are traded. 6:00 A look at the biggest challenges facing adoption. 9:30 Circuit breakers and order limits—are those the solutions? 11:00 What does the SEC announcement mean for future bitcoin investment? 14:00 The CFTC approves LedgerX Bitcoin CCP. 16:00 FCA puts Libor on notice for 2021 phase-out. 20:00 What’s the tech component of this announcement? 21:45 POLITICS! (Be forewarned.) 31:30 GAME OF THRONES! (Spoiler alert.)