Bitcoin is set to take a big step towards respectability as the cryptocurrency starts trading Sunday evening on the Chicago-based Cboe Futures Exchange.
It's still early days for anti-establishment currency which started life in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Those who are drawn to the idea may want to approach it with caution as it is largely unregulated around the world and there's no clear and transparent way of valuing it.
The proponents of bitcoin, like the American entrepreneurs the Winklevoss brothers Cameron and Tyler, who have made their fortune on the back of the cryptocurrency, liken it to an upgraded version of gold, providing investors a hedge to any turbulence in the mainstream financial system as happened in 2008. It is also increasingly being used to buy things online and the number of retailers accepting the currency is growing.
While the cryptocurrency has legitimate uses for conducting financial transactions using blockchain to provide instant payment, it has also been associated with criminal activity.
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Bitcoin futures to start trading on Cboe, taking cryptocurrency closer towards respectability
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The cryptocurrency has as many detractors as it has supporters but the fact that it has jumped 15-fold this year should make potential buyers wary of jumping into the pond quickly. As well as being used for criminal activities, digital currencies have also been subject to hacking and scams.
Chainalysis, a provider of anti-money laundering software, estimates 10 per cent of money intended for initial coin offerings were looted by scams such as phishing so far this year, according to Bloomberg.
Central banks over the past year have started to take notice. Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, which have seen massive growth in the past couple of years, are starting to face tighter regulations if not being banned altogether by some countries. It has also faced harsh criticism from bankers, including the chief executive of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, who has denounced the currency as a fraud. Other titans of the world of finance like billionaire investor Warren Buffet have dismissed it as a bubble.
The UAE's central bank is said to be finalizing a review of virtual currencies that may result in new regulations on the use of digital currencies like bitcoin. That's welcome news as the currency is gaining traction in the UAE and needs to be overseen in order to protect those who use it.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital