Disruption Banking Weekly Highlights (23)

Today our team is heading to Zurich to cover the Point Zero Forum and speak to delegates from leading banks around the world, including HSBC, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and many others. Coverage to follow but in the meantime, let’s catch up on last week’s content from #DisruptionBanking:

Ayanfe Fakunle started the week by looking into the launch of the new Texas Stock Exchange. The TXSE, which is headquartered in Dallas, has garnered attention as an upstart stock exchange – but can it rival more established platforms like the NYSE and Nasdaq? Ayanfe explores:

Harry Clynch then analysed movements on Mexican peso (MXN) markets, which have experienced significant volatility after the left-wing Claudia Sheinbaum secured a massive election victory. Markets fear that her policies will mean a more difficult business environment, higher government spending, and higher debt at a time when Mexico is already running a budget deficit of nearly 6% of GDP. Find out what could be in store for the peso here:

Ahead of the first election debate, Adéníyì Mákindé took a deep-dive into the US elections and analysed the two main candidates’ positions on crypto. “If Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, the crypto industry may see a more favourable regulatory environment,” Makinde writes.

Harry also analysed trends affecting the Japanese yen (JPY), which has reached its lowest level against the US dollar for almost forty years. The yen has now depreciated by over 12% since the start of the year alone and is one of the worst performing major currencies of 2024. With the interest rate differential between Japan and the US still significant, Harry suggests more trouble could be in store for the yen:

On June 9th, a white hat researcher from the security firm CertiK discovered a vulnerability on the Kraken exchange, allowing withdrawals on a user’s balance sheet without completing the deposit process. But how did this turn into a PR disaster for CertiK rather than Kraken? Laird Dilorenzo investigates:

Finally, Ayanfe also looked into trends on Bitcoin markets, where the big news is that Mt Gox, the once-dominant but now defunct crypto exchange that collapsed in 2014 after being hacked, is preparing to return over 140,000 bitcoins to creditors this month. This mass influx of BTC into the market has spooked investors who fear that this could drive down the price of Bitcoin:

Make sure to check back next week for more from the #DisruptionBanking team in London!