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Blockchain DeFi Finance

Navigating The Decentralized Future: Blockchain, DeFi, and the Next Paradigm of Money and Commerce

The cryptocurrency and DeFi space is a confusing and chaotic mess. There is so much noise hyping the next great token, so much speculation about what price action is doing tomorrow and so much energy being spent on short sighted and trivial questions. That atmosphere is doing all of us a great disservice. It terribly distracts us from attempting to really understand the long term realities that are made possible by the underlying technologies. We are truly on the brink of a technological revolution which will transform many aspects of our lives.

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Blockchain Finance

Crypto Trading for Ambitious Beginners: A Practical Guide to Profitable Trading in Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies

No, you haven’t missed the boat on crypto. In fact, compared to many other technological revolutions, the crypto revolution has really only just begun—and this book will show you how to get into crypto the right way. Consider this observation about the computer revolution in the 1980s: “Today only 15% of American homes have a […]

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Business Finance IT Books

Microsoft Excel Tips and Tricks

Some Excel tips and Tricks to save you 100 hours of manual work. Microsoft Excel is one of the most popular applications for data analysis and I have been using it non-stop for 20+ years! With built-in pivot tables, they are without a doubt the most sought-after analytic tool available. It is an all-in-one data […]

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Finance Fintech.

What drives 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 up and down?

The diagram below shows how 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 make the prices go up or down, using Meta’s stock as an example. All the buy/sell orders are placed into a 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐁 (Centralized Limited Order Book). Green ones are buy orders, and red ones are sell orders. At each price level, there are several orders queued up […]

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Finance Fintech.

What are the 4 models of 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬?

The diagram below shows the 4 models. ▶️ 1. 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 The correspondent bank holds deposits owned by other banks from other countries. This allows banks to access financial services in different jurisdictions. Under some international card schemes (Visa, Mastercard), participating banks typically rely on correspondent banking for settlement. [1] ▶️ 2. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 […]

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Finance Fintech.

Why are stocks settled so slowly (T+2)?

The diagram below shows the overall flow. There are 3 parts: 🔹 Trading 🔹 Clearing 🔹 Settlement ▶️ 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 Steps 1.1 – 1.3: The stock buyer and seller place orders via brokers or custodian banks. Step 2: The brokers execute the orders in the exchange. ▶️ 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 Step 3: The exchange sends execution reports to […]

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Finance Fintech.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐁𝐃𝐂 (Central Bank Digital Currency)?

Why is it called 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲? The diagram below shows a typical retail 𝐭𝐰𝐨-𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫 CBDC architecture. Tier 1 is the 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤, which is in charge of 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐠 CBDC. Unlike cash, the issuing doesn’t involve printing out money, rather it is just a digital currencies that exist in the central bank’s system. Tier 2 is […]

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Finance Fintech.

“𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭” card vs “𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐭” card

Why is a credit card called a “𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭” card? Why is a debit card called a “𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐭” card? 👇 An example of a debit card payment is shown in the diagram below. 🔸 Each transaction in the business system is transformed into at least two journal lines in the ledger system. This is called 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞-𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 […]

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Finance Fintech.

What is Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and how does it work?

What is the revenue model for BNPL providers? The growth of BNPL has been dramatic in recent years. The BNPL provider represents the primary interface between the merchants and the customers for both eCommerce and POS (Point of Sale). The diagram below shows how the process works: Step 0. Bob registers with AfterPay. An approved […]

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Finance Fintech.

What is 𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐓? How does SWIFT wire transfer work in 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬?    

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is the main secure 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 that links the world’s banks. The Belgium-based system is run by its member banks and handles 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 per day. The diagram below illustrates how payment messages are transmitted from Bank A (in New York) to Bank B (in […]