This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Recent developments in the global financial landscape have captured the attention of the finance world, promising a new era of integration, transformation, and collaboration. Amidst the excitement, however, it is essential to acknowledge the formidable obstacles that stand in the way of realizing these ambitions. The 2023 BRICS Summit , slated to convene amidst this shifting landscape, is poised to be a significant juncture that could have profound implications for the future of international finance. The resurgence of Bitcoin, marked by an impressive, if smaller, year-to-date price surge, has underscored its enduring relevance. Similar concerns surround the exploration of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The UK's digital pound initiative, while forward-looking, raises questions about stability, security, and privacy and potential economic power imbalances. The notion of a BRICS digital currency, potentially extended to include several countries, reflects a desire to chall...

  In the wake of the lawsuits filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance , it's time to refocus the conversation on the transformative potential of cryptocurrency, particularly in its capacity as a form of money that transcends traditional limitations. The conventional functions of money are widely acknowledged as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value. But cryptocurrency underscores a less-discussed fourth function: a means of social control, an ability to set the rules of economic interactions. It's a democratic financial instrument that exists outside the control of traditional central banking systems. Cryptocurrency, by its decentralized nature, pushes back against the centralized control and regulation associated with traditional money. In doing so, it raises important questions about financial sovereignty and monetary policy. It forces a discussion about who should have control ov...

Bitcoin and Blockchain Bitcoin is a digital currency that operates as a decentralized authority. This means it is not government operated as other currencies, like the US dollar. Bitcoin is kept in check by blockchain, a public “ledger” that keeps records of all transactions. Bitcoin mining in the simplest of terms is people searching through transactions, verifying them and being rewarded with bitcoin for it. Since the launch of bitcoin, it has inspired many cryptocurrencies like ethereum, dogecoin, NFTs, and even virtual real estate. Stability of Bitcoin An important detail about Bitcoin is that it is backed only by those who partake in it. As opposed to the US dollar, which is backed by the government, bitcoin is backed by nothing nor is the conversion to USD 1 to 1. Other cryptos known as “stable coins” have real monetary backings. Bitcoin is fully digital and until it can become liquid, which would go against what it is as a cryptocurrency, it will not become stable. El Salvador a...

WEBINAR DESCRIPTION (15 seats total) COST - $20 to $60. NOTE: We accept Bitcoin. RSVP https://bitcoinnow.eventbrite.com Bitcoin is a new type of currency. As an online, open source payment mechanism, many believe this new tool will impact currency, governments, and financial technology. This webinar explains what Bitcoin is and how it works. We give some information on how this new currency may be treated. We will discuss how it may affect your business and your life.  Join economist William Michael Cunningham to learn more about this new payment mechanism/currency. Mr. Cunningham has been tracking Bitcoin since 2011 and became active in the field in 2014 (see: http://williamcunningham840.wixsite.com/bitcoinassociates ) We review Bitcoin, its spectacular price growth, describe where it is now and what it could become. We also review the best mechanisms and resources for learning more and for getting involved. We'll begin with a discussion of Bitcoin technology, move t...

The meteoric rise of cryptocurrencies supported by the blockchain has regulatory agencies, financial institutions and central banks around the globe asking the same question: What in the world is going on here? Applications in finance, data storage, cybersecurity, and government merit the attention blockchain technology has received. As of last week, Bitcoin (the first and most notable cryptocurrency) approached $5,000, up +600% on the year compared to a 20% return for the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the same time. (Bitcoin has since returned to the more mundane level of $4,470 as of 9/5/17) Other cryptocurrencies ,including Litecoin and Ethereum, have seen a similar pattern of rise, retreat and rise. Governments and financiers acted decisively in the past month in an attempt to seemingly make up for lost time. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued new regulations on the proliferation of Initial Coin Offerings (see: the American Banker Newspaper BankThink ...

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s concern about “initial coin offerings” is understandable. There are significant problems in the ICO marketplace, but new markets always have issues. Unfortunately, the SEC’s recent restrictions defining the tokens sold through such offerings as “securities” completely miss the point and once again will constrain the ability of startups to raise much-needed capital without having to go to a bank or venture capitalist first. See:  https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/sec-takes-jab-at-startups-while-leaving-the-big-banks-alone

NOTE: Previously, I wrote an introductory article on cryptocurrencies and other applications of blockchain, The article can be found here: http://twisri.blogspot.com/2017/05/summary-of-bitcoin-and-its-underlying.html . The article below builds on this by explaining the actual “nuts and bolts” of the bitcoin blockchain. Our goal is to have the reader walk away with a better, more technical understanding of the bitcoin blockchain. If the reader is not familiar with terms and concepts such as: blockchain, cryptocurrencies, distributed ledger, bitcoin mining, etc. It may be best to read the introductory article first or obtain the basic knowledge from other sources.) Many people have a rough idea of how the bitcoin blockchain works, but few understand precisely how it works. This article intends to explain the blockchain in a clear, simple, and visual way. Part 1 The Hash and the Blockchain [1] Before we talk about blockchain, let’s talk about a hash [2]. The hash is the found...

On April 17, 2017 , we made the following suggestion: "Get some Bitcoins. Now! Why? Our economic forecasting models (the same ones that predicted Trump's win , btw) show an extended period of instability coming, and soon. Should things really go south, bitcoin will be one of the few transaction tools you can depend on. (You can thank me later..just don't say we didn't warn you and give you a way out that we both could benefit from...but I digress...) If you don't know what Bitcoin is, this may help: 'Bitcoin is a new kind of money that can be sent from one person to another without the need for a trusted third party such as a bank or other financial institution; it is the first global, decentralized currency. One of the most important elements of Bitcoin is the blockchain, which tracks who owns what, similar to how a bank tracks assets. What sets the Bitcoin blockchain apart from a bank's ledger is that it is distributed, meaning anyone can view it. ...

Bitcoin Everyone’s probably heard of “bitcoin,” but many only have the vaguest idea about it and little understand the underlying technology. Even fewer realize the true impact this technology may have on the future. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. A cryptocurrency is a digital program or asset designed to work like currency . It seeks to have the following properties: a store of value, a unit of account, and a medium of exchange  Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency of the seven hundred out there. Other major cryptocurrencies are Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin. Cryptocurrencies work via a system of paired-public, private keys - randomly generated numbers. Each user in the cryptocurrency network has a unique pair of public and private keys. The public key is a string of numbers available to everybody on the network. They are used for encryption. The private key is only available to an individual. It is used for decryption of the paired public key. The bitcoin transfer ...