GrayFox

My worst nightmare coming to life. Out of the top 10 mobile phone brands sold in Africa, about 7 of them are Chinese. They are all ready to take on the digital Yuan. Only a matter of time before China flips the switch in Africa. Time to brush up on my mandarin https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/08/30/china-to-build-global-clearing-network-for-mobile-payments-using-digital-yuan-state-media/

Just to clarify. This is not a blanket ban on Binance operating within the UK. This is a ban on Binance offering regulated products such as derivates, CFD, options etc which falls under the umbrella of the FCA. In the UK the FCA is a bit strict on institutions selling that stuff to average consumers due to the risks involved in the name of investor protection as it would require to have some compensation scheme. Cryptos are not yet regulated as they're still new hence why Binance can continue to offer crypto trading but the remaining financial products can pretty much slot into existing regulations which Binance requires a license to offer those products.

Check this brilliant documentary on China's grip on Zambia. China holds a third of Zambia's national debt and growing. Luckily, some of the African countries have started to wake up with some taking serious action and deporting China's expats from their countries. Some countries even refusing China's unethical loans. Modern colonialism works through debt slavery and China has learned that from the best lol. The borrower is slave to the lender.

Unlike South Korea, lobbying is not illegal in the US. Money should be completely removed from the political process but as long as big corporations are allowed to lobby then inequality will always continue to exist in the US. Is there anyone who can argue otherwise? Are we seriously entertaining the idea that Google, Facebook, Goldman, JPMorgan etc are lobbying for the benefit of the ordinary people and not for their own interest? Political parties should only be provided certain benefits such as airtime on TV/Radio to debate and perhaps some financial allowances provided by the government and nothing more. Any other form of lobbying should be banned.

I think the price dropped because of her. It's never healthy to keyboard slam buy orders before a skincare routine.

This whole case seems nothing more than a personal vendetta by the SEC. They previously took Larsen to court and spectacularly lost which forced them to change regulations. Sounds like they were gunning for Larsen and they'd do anything to win. Unfortunately those part time lawyers at the SEC are up against the Avengers of lawyers lol

Not just Africa but the Middle East, South East Asia, South America and Australia! For years the US and the rest of the world has been trying to get away on China's monopoly of rare earth minerals. Modern society relies on over 17 types of rare earth minerals which China controls over 80% of its production. Think about that, those high tech US/EU/Russia missiles and advance tech that protect you from China use rare earth minerals which China has a monopoly in its production. For years (if not decades) the US and the rest of the world have been looking for an alternative to China when it comes to rare earth minerals. Under developed continents like South America and Africa represented this escape and China damn well realised that if they lose their monopoly then they would also lose their future prospect on shaping the world and away from the USD dominance as a world currency. What does China do? They announce the Belt and Road initiative. China's belt and road is nothing but a Great wall of China around rare earth minerals to make sure the rest of the world will always beg China. If you consider the Congo alone for example, they have enough to destablise China's dominance on rare earth. What does China do? They buy the whole continent wholesale!

I love this and the video you linked as you can definitely put Traidman's points into practice by just looking at what China is actually doing. The USA called the shots with Bretton Woods as they were the super power at the time and their currency was backed by gold. The USD was not the first pick but the world didn't have a global currency at the time or couldn't agree on one so the US volunteered their currency and as it was backed by gold then it was a safe haven for nations to stockpile the USD as they could always redeem it against the gold reserves at the Fed. Nixon soon realised that the strength of the dollar backed by gold became its own Achilles heel. The world could literally wipe out the US gold reserves. He had good intentions to do so and protect his country but it was also the downfall of the dollar when he decided to remove its backing from the gold reserve. Now fast forward to China and its CBDC. Just look at what China is doing in Africa. This continent has been my primary focus as I hail from that continent and have been keenly watching China's actions and movement. China has been loaning African countries money to build infrastructure for their Belt and Road initiative knowing full well that these countries won't be able to pay it back. The catch is that if you don't pay it back then China gets to own it. China owns over 21% of Africa's debt. Not only is China buying Africa wholesale, its also creating a migration pathway for its citizens into Africa. China is setting up contruction companies helping to build the continent in all forms but they are mostly employing their own people. Africa has one of the fastest growing smartphone market in the world. The penetration is insane compared to the rest of the world. Not only that but of the over 300 mobile payment platforms in the world currently deployed, Africa is home to more than half of those. That's over 150 mobile money platforms with each country having nearly 3 different systems. China has recently insured that all the smartphones made in China have an integrated mobile wallet for its CBDC. They are selling these across the world and especially in Africa. If you think about it, not only are they buying Africa, they are also selling their products in Africa. China's dominance in Africa is growing and there'll come a time where they'll only allow African countries to trade in their CBDC. They'll basically do what the US did after WWII considering the amount of power they hold. This last point is emphasised by their recent recommendation about global CDBC rules. You know damn well they are setting the dominoes and just waiting for the right time to knock them all down. Interesting enough, they want a global overseen DLT solution to allow the exchange of different CBDC. Enter the XRP ledger stage left!

SWIFT is fighting a losing battle and war (to eliminate any notion that SWIFT could lose a battle and win the war). SWIFT in its governing form was created by banks and for banks to streamline the messaging format to make it easy for correspondent banks to interact, much like TCP/IP did for the internet. The thing about SWIFT is that it's losing this battle in correspondent banking to the likes of Ripple, Visa, Mastercard, (and soon) Facebook, Google, Apple and even PayPal to name a few. In turn, the banks that own SWIFT are currently also fighting a losing battle to neo banks, digital only banks, fintechs and so forth (e.g. Monzo, N26, Revolut, Metro bank etc). The funny thing is, the rhetoric that is being spewed by regulators is that they are trying to break up big bank monopoly on Central Bank accounts and also Central banks trying to break up huge banks to force them to specialise into specific markets. They learned from 2008 that big banks that are 'jack of all trades but master of none' are nothing but a huge risk which propelled far more stringent Basel III requirements. Since the introduction of Basel III requirements in 2009, banks have been walking away from correspondent banking enmasse and yet the demand for correspondent banking has grown considerably as consumers and businesses have an ever increasing appetite for products and customers across the globe. Ripple and SBI are disgustingly cunning (in a good way). They divided the world into 2 equal halves and are conquering it as they go along. The old adage of 'divide and conquer'. I don't care much about the works of Ripple/SBI in Europe and USA but care more for their works in places like ASEAN, Africa, Middle East and South America. These are the places that are hungry for fintech, hungry to access the global market and entice investors, hungry for growth. For example, Africa has one of the youngest population in the world that is hungry for jobs, its also one of the least exploited continent in terms of resources. There's a lot of natural resources underneath Africa with a growing young population that wants jobs. This is the same continent with the lowest penetration of banking services. I grew up in Tanzania, I remember my uncle had to drive 20 miles to get to the nearest bank! This explains why Africa has one of the highest adoption in mobile banking and why China is trying its hardest to buy the continent wholesale. Even China knows that Africa is the only continent that can destroy it in terms of a workforce and natural resources. China is selling its smartphones across Africa with hardware wallets built in ready to accept its CBDC. The US/Mexico corridor for Ripple is but a drop in the ocean. In about 5 to 10 years, the financial market is going to change with the likes of DeFi, fintech etc making it easier for the world to get even smaller by not just sharing information over the internet, but also finance, markets and consumers.

Love the first video when he says there'll be backlash as some of the incumbents will try to protect the status quo to their own benefit and control. *cough*Congress*cough*

Damn, so its been like 3+ years of POC and has taken this long? I wonder how many more are under NDA and not saying anything.

You and me are in the same boat. I want stuff to happen now but i know for a fact that its going to take years if not 1 or 2 decades for this new world order to take affect. Let's face, the Great Reset is not going to be an overnight thing. It's hilarious to think Ripple is moving towards zero carbon when I always belived that zero carbon is the future in accordance to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The G20 in Saudi Arabia set forth the new world order of SDG agenda. One of the things I have always felt why Bitcoin and Ethereum will never succeed and or proof of work will never succeed. But that's what the world wants and I don't care how old we are but the one thing we want is a world we co-exist. In 10 years time, I still wanna go hunting for wildebeest in the Afrtican Savanna as I always did. When Visa announced their digital currency initiative everyone was like this is the end of the world event for XRP but turns out that Visa was actually for XRP than any of us in this community ever imagined. Visa realised it's too expensive to build their own super highway to connect the world when there are 20 other super highways competing for the same thing. They are doing exactly what everyone finally realises and that is let the free market do what they do best and that is invent and the countries will play a game of thrones. Bank of England for example realises that the world will move towardss 24x7x 365 but they don't trust DLT enough to build their RTGS system on it so they decide to build a system with Accenture that allows for the the future to connect to it. You say you are in your mid sixties and that you feel like you will never get to realise this future but honestly I don't think you have to wait that long. I always believed that post 2025 when all these RTGS systems around the world will launch, gives regulators enough time to get their shit together.

I extremely apologise for the long post. This is my musings and please, you don't have to read it but if you ever feel why you are betting on the future generations then give it a read. This whole thread is worth a read from the start. I wholeheartedly agree with what you say. I too do not believe China will inherit the title of a sole reserve currency like the USD did. I do not believe that the world will ever turn to a single domestic currency that's also the World reserve currency like the USD did. Don't get me wrong, the USD had to create a lot of circumstances to get into that position that the UK Sterling Pound did before WWII which included if the US was ever to enter WWII then it was to ensure that the USD took control as the world reserve and not only that but the US had to invest beyond their means to ensure that places like Saudi Arabia had to trade its oil using the USD. Investment in oil is the sole reason why we are all here and nobody can contest to that fact. Oil literally fueld the next industrial evolution. China does not have those circumstances which is why they are banking on places like Africa and South America which are under developed to be their Saudi Arabia. They want to get a head start in continents that will play the next big industrial revolustion and fuel the next global economic growth. I think the world right now is ready to try out a new option and that is a world currency that is not pegged to a domestic policy. This is where the triffin paradox lies. May be a part of me wants to see a world that is not dominated by a single country and I guess that makes me a liberal. The XRP ledger represents a level playing field in the age of the internet that the Special Drawin Rights (SDR) could never achieve. A world where not just corporations but countries and individual companies can in themselves, can compete at a level playing field. Does that mean that XRP will ever achieve this? Certainly not which is why I think their investment and pivotal role in Interledger Protol (ILP), Coil and Mojaloop are a pure game chess movements to ensure their success. Picture this, imagine if the likes of Christopher Columbus had their world shaped by the Black sea. All they knew was the Black sea so imagine what their world view would be like that they had to create ships only to traverse the Black sea. Current systems in each individual banks and domestic payment rails is like the Black sea. They are landlocked and isolated and never knew the existence of the likes of the Pacific or Atlantic oceans. In comes the Pacific ocean that is the likes of Ripple that says hey! Did you know you that every source of liquidity can be channelled into what looks like the Pacific ocean and the Atlantic ocean? Oceans that are not controlled by a single country. Oceans that connect every single continent in the world? A source of liquidity that connects every single land mass. I still believe that the Interledger Protol (ILP) has been Ripple's largest bet. The ILP represents the oceans that connect every single landmass as opposed to closed up systems like the Black sea. You meantion that this is the time where the West needs to act and place its bets on the next global growth. You are right in saying China was the place that represented this next stage but there's one thing that China did that no other nation did and that is create an environment where their country became the 'world factory' but not a key player in consumption. They played that role for so long until they realised that they are about to tap the full potential of their country. Africa and under developed continents like South America represent the missed opportunity that the US and China never realised. Not just them but the whole world! These under developed continents represent the next stage where global growth can be realised and the likes of the IMF, WEF and BIS are communicating this in their rhetoric with banking the unbanked and so on and so forth. Let's face it, when it comes to banking the unbanked, Africa, South America and ASEAN represent the largest underbanked and underserved population of the world. That's 2/3 of the word population. My grand mother still doesn't have a bank account in East Africa. Every country's foreign policy boils down to the same priciples that govern you or me (as individual investors) and that is what will profit me as an investor. China and the US are vying for the next best thing to fuel their global domination, but in comes the population of the next generation that says we've had enough of bipolar dominance, what if we give the world a chance. The West is certainly not sleeping on its laurels and are investing heavily on the next generation as much as China is investing in Africa for example. They both realise that the world doesn't need either of them and that those positions of power will be inherited by millenials and the next generations who've had enough of past experiences. Mojaloop and ILP represent this world of interoperable payments where farmers in Tanzania can compete with farmers in Japan. The interner protocol of money as much as the Internet Protocol did for data! I sincerely apologise for everyone that read this. I do not care how much XRP is in the next 3 months or 5 years as much as I didn't care what Amazon or Albaba truly meant in 1990s compared to what it is now.

I'll throw in my 2 cents. I'll start with the how many customers are on Ripple. I stopped measuring this and I no longer care what Ripple announces. Accenture, Temenos and the likes have been providing Banking as a Service and that is the future of banking. Long gone will be the days of banks having to spend millions if not collectively billions a year trying to keep up with an IT department that's only their to ensure their inhouse systems actually talk to each other. Banks can save billions by digitilisation and moving towards banking as a service. The fact that Ripple connects to Accenture and Temenos in turn means that Ripple's customer numbers become exponential as you can never truly define the number! Mark Carney's remarks when he said (I'll paraphrase) hey! the future is probably gonna be dominated by the Reminbi but for now, we are going to need an interim currency that transitions us from the USD and that could potentially be in a digital form or what not. Now that point is critical. China is definitely vying for world domination and my primary focus is on Africa. China has a monopoly on rare earth minerals. Every electrical device with a microchip is dependent on rare earth minerals and China dominates which is why your iPhone will always be made in China and so is your washing machine regardles if your Samsung washing machine says made in South Korea, the compenents dependent on rare earth minerals are still from China. For years the US has been trying to find a replacement for China when it comes to rare earth minerals because those US missiles are dependent on it! Africa was the next best thing which is why I feel the next growth will come from these continents like Africa and South America. They are untapped and under developed. For instance, the US did a geological study of the Congos and they found that it has around $30 trillion dollars of untapped natural resources, untapped!. China realises that the US wants to break up the relationship and is already swiping right on Tinder. So what does China do? They buy Africa wholesale by investing in infrastructure that they know full well that African nations can never pay back the loans so they get to own the whole damn country. If China can build a great wall (no pun intended) around rare earth minerals then guess what, the whole world is at the mercy of China because all electronic devices will be made in China. What does the US do? Enter the trade war stage left! Africa on the otherhand is realising that the next expansion in the world involves them so what do they do? They decide we are going to create the African Continental Freetrade Area which is much like the European Union. If Africa wants to play a major role then they need to become a union but at the same time they need to rail in on the mobile money silos. These are the key facts on Africa, this is a continent with the youngest population in the word and growing. Africa as a continent will surpass any other continent in the world in terms of natural resources and work force. The two things that China had dominance of but now even they are reaching their maximum capacity which is why China has changed its stance and is investing heavily in Africa! Something that the West couldn't be bothered doing and the US realised this. Whilst the US and China are fighting over whatever's left of the world's natural resources, every continent is starting to realise its worth which is why I bring back Mark Carney's words that although the future is the reminbi and chances are that China is releasing their CBDC to accelerate this process to allow those countries dominated by China in Africa for example to be able to use the Reminbi freely through the African Continental Free Trade area and interoperable payment rails but the west is also waking up to the idea. I'm betting my entire XRP holdings that the future is not going to be another Domestic currency that will dominate world trade. I personally believe that the USD post Bretton Woods was a temporary measure but the Special Drawing Rights failed miserably in replacing the USD for the very reason that the US told Britain if they were to enter WWII then the Sterling Pound would have to relinquish its status as the world currency and the US made sure by forging relations with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world to trade oil in only USD. Satoshi gave the world a vision and that is, right now we can finally realise the internet of Value. Recreating the Triffin Dilemma in a digital form (Reminbi CDBC) is basically recreating the current problems in a digital form so Mark Carney's remarks are right, we are probably never going to see a future dominated by the Reminbi in our life time but in the interim, what is the world suppose to do? The answer is interoperability. Don't understimate the works that Mojaloop is doing in Africa because that continent will fuel the next industrial revolutions. And one thing that the world is deciding on is that they'll never adopt a domestic currency as a benchmark for world currency as the USD did since Bretton Woods. There is a chance that China's Reminbi will ever dominate as a world currency.

It's a bit difficult to measure Ripple's customers considering companies like Accenture or that SwissRoute service that give their customers the option to either use SWIFT or RippleNet as options. Do you measure Ripple customers by those they directly announce? Or do you measure the indirect customers who can get to Ripple through companies like Accenture that offer a suite of banking software? Or do you measure Ripple customers by those that use ODL? If its ODL then you know the answer, until banks are given clarity then they won't hold or trade them directly. Custody is not the same. Since 2008, banks have been under stringent regulation forcing them to derisk resulting in reduced correspondent relationships. Demand for cross-border payments on the otherhand is on the rise. There's a reason why the likes of Visa and Mastercard were fighting over Earthport or why Facebook is launching Libra. Banks have left empty seats and everyone wants a piece of the growing pie.