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Digital assets and currencies

Understand assets, networks and trading mechanics with sources you can check.

Trading basics

Coin's Financial School

Coin's Financial School is an 1894 pamphlet written by lawyer, politician and resort founder William Hope Harvey (1851–1936). It advocated a return to bimetallism, where the value of a monetary unit is defined as a certain amount of two different kinds of metals, often gold and silver. In the book, Harvey charged that the demonetization of silver caused by the Coinage Act of 1873 led to

Securities & exchanges

Collateralized loan obligation

Collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) are a form of securitization where payments from multiple middle sized and large business loans are pooled together and passed on to different classes of owners in various tranches. A CLO is a type of collateralized debt obligation, or CDO.

Trading basics

Commodity broker

A commodity broker is a firm or an individual who executes orders to buy or sell commodity contracts on behalf of the clients and charges them a commission. A firm or individual who trades for his own account is called a trader. Commodity contracts include futures, options, and similar financial derivatives. Clients who trade commodity contracts are either hedgers using the derivatives m

Trading basics

Constant purchasing power accounting

Constant purchasing power accounting (CPPA) is an accounting model that is an alternative to model historical cost accounting under high inflation and hyper-inflationary environments. It has been approved for use by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Under this IFRS and US GAAP authorized system, financial capital m

Securities & exchanges

Covered warrant

In finance, a covered warrant (sometimes called naked warrant) is a type of warrant that has been issued without an accompanying bond or equity. Like a normal warrant, it allows the holder to buy or sell a specific amount of equities, currency, or other financial instruments from the issuer at a specified price at a predetermined date.

Trading basics

Credit card interest

Credit card interest is a way in which credit card issuers generate revenue. A card issuer is a bank or credit union that gives a consumer (the cardholder) a card or account number that can be used with various payees to make payments and borrow money from the bank simultaneously. The bank pays the payee and then charges the cardholder interest over the time the money remains borrowed. B

Trading basics

Credit enhancement

Credit enhancement is the improvement of the credit profile of a structured financial transaction or the methods used to improve the credit profiles of such products or transactions. It is a key part of the securitization transaction in structured finance, and is important for credit rating agencies when rating a securitization.

Fiat currencies

Credit theory of money

Credit theories of money, also called debt theories of money, are monetary economic theories concerning the relationship between credit and money. Proponents of these theories, such as Alfred Mitchell-Innes, sometimes emphasize that money and credit/debt are the same thing, seen from different points of view. Proponents assert that the essential nature of money is credit (debt), at leas

Assets

Cryptocurrencies in Europe

The general notion of cryptocurrencies in Europe denotes the processes of legislative regulation, distribution, circulation, and storage of cryptocurrencies in Europe. In April 2023, the EU Parliament passed the Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA) unified legal framework for crypto-assets within the European Union.

Finance

Cryptocurrencies in Puerto Rico

With the arrival of several figures led by Brock Pierce following the passing of hurricane Maria in 2017, cryptocurrency became an issue of media and economic interest in the Caribbean archipelago of Puerto Rico. These traders relocated to the island motivated by the tax incentives provided by Act 20-2012 and Act 22-2012 (both now part of as Act 60–2019) and the tropical setting. They cl

Assets

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is a type of digital asset that uses distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology to enable a secure transaction.

Assets

Cryptocurrency and crime

Cryptocurrency has been used extensively in criminal activities, such as investment and romance scams (often called "pig-butchering"), ransomware payments, thefts and exchange hacks, money laundering and sanctions evasion, darknet-market transactions, and off-chain coercion to obtain private keys. Law enforcement notes that investment fraud and laundering are frequent criminal uses of cr

Fiat currencies

Cryptocurrency in Iran

Cryptocurrency in Iran has emerged as a pivotal response to economic pressures and global isolation. In 2026, Iran had a total US$7.8 billion cryptocurrency market, and a number of exchanges such as Nobitex. Iran's interest in cryptocurrencies began in 2017 when international sanctions obstructed Iran's access to the global financial markets. In 2019, the government legalized cryptocurr

Assets

Cryptocurrency in Nigeria

Cryptocurrency in Nigeria describes the extent of cryptocurrency use, social acceptance and regulation in Nigeria. Nigerians are one of the major global users of cryptocurrencies.

Assets

Cryptocurrency tumbler

A cryptocurrency tumbler or cryptocurrency mixing service is a service that mixes potentially identifiable or "tainted" cryptocurrency funds with others, so as to obscure the trail back to the fund's original source. This is usually done by pooling together source funds from multiple inputs for a large and random period of time, and then spitting them back out to destination addresses. A

Networks

CryptoKitties

CryptoKitties is a blockchain game developed by Canadian studio Dapper Labs. The game allows players to buy, sell, and create non-fungible tokens (NFTs) using Ethereum. These NFTs represent virtual cats. The game's popularity in December 2017 congested the Ethereum network, causing it to reach an all-time high in the number of transactions and slowing it down significantly.

Assets

CryptoNote

CryptoNote is an application layer protocol designed for use with cryptocurrencies that aims to solve specific problems identified in Bitcoin.

Trading basics

CryptoPunks

CryptoPunks is a non-fungible token (NFT) collection on the Ethereum blockchain. The project was launched in June 2017 by the Larva Labs studio, a two-person team consisting of Canadian software developers Matt Hall and John Watkinson. The experimental project was inspired by the London punk scenes, the cyberpunk movement, and electronic music artists Daft Punk. The crypto art blockchain

Trading basics

Cuban convertible peso

The convertible peso (sometimes given as CUC$ and informally called a cuc or a chavito) was one of two official currencies in Cuba, the other being the Cuban peso. It had been in limited use since 1994, when its value was pegged 1:1 to the United States dollar.

Fiat currencies

Currency manipulator

Currency manipulator is a designation applied by United States government authorities, such as the United States Department of the Treasury, to countries that engage in what is called "unfair currency practices" that give them a trade advantage. Such practices may be currency intervention or monetary policy in which a central bank buys or sells foreign currency in exchange for domestic c

Finance

Currency of Colombia

Currency in Colombia denotes the ingots, coins, and banknotes that have been used in Colombia since 1622. It was in that year, under a licence purchased from King Philip III of Spain, that Alonso Turrillo de Yebra established a mint at Santa Fe de Bogotá and a branch mint at Cartagena de las Indias, where gold cobs were produced as part of Colombia's first currency. Silver milled coins d

Fiat currencies

Currency pair

A currency pair is the quotation of the relative value of a currency unit against the unit of another currency in the foreign exchange market. The currency that is used as the reference is called the counter currency, quote currency, or currency and the currency that is quoted in relation is called the base currency or transaction currency.

Payments & settlement

Curve (payment card)

Curve is a fintech company who propose the Curve card, a payment card that aggregates multiple payment cards through its accompanying digital wallet mobile app, allowing a user to make payments and withdrawals from a single card. It lets you "switch the bank card you paid with after each transaction is complete." Curve named this feature "Back in time".

Networks

Dark Machine

Dark Machine is a Japanese mixed-media project produced by Project Carbuncle. It includes a video game that uses Web3 elements, including integrated cryptocurrency and an NFT marketplace. An anime television series titled Dark Machine: The Animation and produced by Production +h. premiered in October 2026.

Finance

Dark pool

In finance, a dark pool (also black pool) is a private forum (alternative trading system or ATS) for trading securities, derivatives, and other financial instruments. Liquidity on these markets is called dark pool liquidity. The bulk of dark pool trades represent large trades by financial institutions that are offered away from public exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and the NA

Assets

Dash (cryptocurrency)

Dash is an open source cryptocurrency. It is an altcoin that was forked from the Bitcoin protocol. It is also a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) run by a subset of its users. It was previously known as Xcoin and Darkcoin.

Banking

Debanking

Debanking (sometimes spelled de-banking, and also known within the banking industry as de-risking) is the closure of people's or organizations' bank accounts by banks that perceive the account holders to pose a financial, legal, regulatory, or reputational risk to the bank.

Trading basics

Debt evasion

Debt evasion is the intentional act of trying to avoid attempts by creditors to collect or pursue one's debt. At an elementary level, this includes the refusal to answer one's phone by screening one's calls or by ignoring mailed notices informing the debtor of the debt. In more advanced cases, this includes misleading the creditor to believe the debtor does not reside at the location whe

Fiat currencies

Debt monetization

Debt monetization or monetary financing is the practice of a government borrowing money from the central bank to finance public spending instead of selling bonds to private investors or raising taxes. The central banks who buy government debt, are essentially creating new money in the process to do so. This practice is often informally and pejoratively called printing money or (net) mone

Finance

Debt-to-equity ratio

A company's debt-to-equity ratio (D/E) is a financial ratio indicating the relative proportion of shareholders' equity and debt used to finance the company's assets. Closely related to leveraging, the ratio is also known as risk ratio, gearing ratio or leverage ratio. The two components are often taken from the firm's balance sheet or statement of financial position (so-called book value

Networks

Decentralized application

A decentralised application (DApp, dApp, Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a blockchain or other distributed ledger system. DApps provide a function or utility to their users with less human intervention. Control over some DApps is distributed over holders of tokens that represent ownership over a DAp

Networks

Decentralized autonomous organization

A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is a software system for organization of other computer programs handled through a decentralized ledger technology like a blockchain. These systems are used most commonly to handle voting and finances, among other processes. The precise legal status of this type of organization system is unclear.

Securities & exchanges

Delta one

Delta one products are financial derivatives that have no optionality and as such have a delta of (or very close to) one – meaning that for a given instantaneous move in the price of the underlying asset there is expected to be an identical move in the price of the derivative. Delta one products can sometimes be synthetically assembled by combining options. For instance, you can be long

Finance

Department of Finance (Ireland)

The Department of Finance (Irish: An Roinn Airgeadais) is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Finance.

Finance

Department of Finance (Papua New Guinea)

Papua New Guinea's Department of Finance is responsible for the "protection of public money" in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It aims to improve "the transparency and accountability of the accounting and financial reporting and their frameworks" in the country. The department is led by a Minister of Finance. The headquarters of the department are at Vulupindi Haus, Waigani.

Finance

Department of Finance Canada

The Department of Finance Canada (French: Ministère des Finances Canada) is a central agency of the Government of Canada. The department assists the minister of finance in developing the government's fiscal framework and advises the government on economic and financial issues. A principal role of the department is assisting the government in the development of its annual budget.

Trading basics

Deposit Insurance Agency of Russia

The Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA; Russian: Агентство по страхованию вкладов, АСВ) is a Russian state corporation (non-profit organization) established in January 2004 to manage operation of the deposit insurance system in the Russian Federation. DIA pays insurance compensations to depositors of failed banks. DIA also exercises bankruptcy administrator functions of insolvent banks, non–g

Finance

Deposit risk

Deposit risk is a type of liquidity risk of a financial institution that is generated by deposits either with defined maturity dates (then such deposits are called 'time' or 'term' deposits) or without defined maturity dates (then such deposits are called 'demand' or 'non-maturity' deposits).

Banking

Devaynes v Noble

Devaynes v Noble (1816) 35 ER 781, best known for the claim contained in Clayton's case, created a rule, or more precisely common law presumption, in relation to the distribution of money from a bank account. The rule is based upon the deceptively simple notion of first-in, first-out to determine the effect of payments from an account, and normally applies in English Law in the absence o

Payments & settlement

Digital River

Digital River, Inc. was a privately held company headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota that provided global e-commerce, payments and marketing services. In 2013, Digital River reported having processed more than US$30 billion in online transactions. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2025.

Banking

Direct bank

A direct bank (sometimes called a branch-less bank or virtual bank) is a bank that offers its services only via the Internet, mobile app, email, and other electronic means, often including telephone, online chat, and mobile check deposit. A direct bank has no branch network. It may offer access to an independent banking agent network and may also provide access via ATMs (often through in

Trading basics

Disability pension

A disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability.

Banking

Discount window

The discount window is an instrument of monetary policy (usually controlled by central banks) that allows eligible institutions to borrow money from the central bank, usually on a short-term basis, to meet temporary shortages of liquidity caused by internal or external disruptions.

Securities & exchanges

Distressed securities

In corporate finance, distressed securities are securities over companies or government entities that are experiencing financial or operational distress, default, or are under bankruptcy. As far as debt securities, this is called distressed debt. Purchasing or holding such distressed-debt creates significant risk due to the possibility that bankruptcy may render such securities worthless

Networks

Distributed ledger

A distributed ledger (also called a shared ledger or distributed ledger technology or DLT) is a system whereby replicated, shared, and synchronized digital data is geographically spread (distributed) across many sites, countries, or institutions. In contrast to a centralized database, a distributed ledger does not require a central administrator, and consequently does not have a single (

Networks

Distributed ledger technology law

Distributed ledger technology law ("DLT law") (also called blockchain law, Lex Cryptographia or algorithmic legal order) is a loosely defined emerging field of law resulting from the recent use of distributed ledger technology in business and government. Those smart contracts which were created through interaction of lawyers and developers and are intended to also be enforceable legal co

Trading basics

Distribution waterfall

In private equity investing, distribution waterfall is a method by which the capital gained by the fund is allocated between the limited partners (LPs) and the general partner (GP).

Payments & settlement

Double-spending

Double-spending is the unauthorized spending of the same money (either digital or conventional) more than once. As with counterfeit money, double-spending leads to supply inflation by creating a new amount of copied currency that did not previously exist. It can also devalue the currency and diminish user trust in the currency.

Finance

Dubai Papers

The Dubai Papers are a collection of more than 200,000 documents exposing the Hélin International Group's global network involved in money laundering and tax evasion. First published between 2018 and 2019 in a series of investigative reports by the French magazine Le Nouvel Obs, the leak led to the opening of fraud and tax evasion cases in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Finance

Dubai Unlocked

Dubai Leaks is a global collaborative investigative journalism project that has revealed the global elite's ownership of properties in Dubai. The project, named Dubai Unlocked, is based on data that provides a detailed overview of millions of properties in Dubai and information on their ownership or use, mostly between 2020 and 2022.

Fiat currencies

E-gold

E-gold or eGold was a digital gold currency operated by Gold & Silver Reserve Inc. (G&SR) that allowed users to make payments, which it called "spends", in grams of gold, silver, and other precious metals. E-gold was launched in 1996 and grew to five million accounts by 2009, when transfers were suspended due to legal issues. At its peak in 2006, e-gold processed more than US$2 billion w

Trading basics

E-services

Electronic services or e-services are services that make use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The three main components of e-services are:

Fiat currencies

E. C. Riegel

Edwin Clarence Riegel (June 18, 1879 – 1953), generally known as E.C. Riegel, was an American author, consumer advocate and independent scholar who campaigned against restrictions on free markets that harmed consumers and promoted an alternative monetary theory and an early private enterprise currency alternative.

Fiat currencies

Early American currency

Early American currency went through several stages of development during the colonial and post-Revolutionary history of the United States. John Hull was authorized by the Massachusetts legislature to make the earliest coinage of the colony (the willow, the oak, and the pine tree shilling) in 1652.

Finance

Earnings per share

Earnings per share (EPS) is the monetary value of earnings per outstanding share of common stock for a company during a defined period of time, often a year. It is a key measure of corporate profitability, focusing on the interests of the company's owners (shareholders), and is commonly used to price stocks.

Finance

Economic bubble

An economic bubble (also called a speculative bubble, asset bubble, or simply financial bubble) is a period when current asset prices greatly exceed their intrinsic valuation, being the valuation that the underlying long-term fundamentals justify. Bubbles can be caused by overly optimistic projections about the scale and sustainability of growth (e.g. dot-com bubble), and/or by the belie

Fiat currencies

Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World

Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World is an 1896 United States five-dollar silver certificate. It is of the US large-size variety measuring 7.375 in (187.3 mm) by 3.125 in (79.4 mm). The note is one of three notes that are part of the "Educational Series". As a result of the nudity portrayed on the obverse and other controversies, the note was replaced in 1899.

Payments & settlement

Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting

ERMA (Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting) was a computer technology that automated bank bookkeeping and check processing. Developed at the nonprofit research institution SRI International under contract from Bank of America, the project began in 1950 and was publicly revealed in September 1955.

Trading basics

Electronic toll collection

Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll houses and tollbooths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most cases, vehicles using the system are equip

Finance

Electronic trading

Electronic trading, sometimes called e-trading, is the buying and selling of stocks, bonds, foreign currencies, financial derivatives, cryptocurrencies, and other financial instruments online. This is typically done using electronic trading platforms where traders can place orders and have them executed at a trading venue such as a stock market, either directly or via a broker.

Finance

Envy ratio

Envy ratio, in finance, refers to the ratio of the price paid by investors to the price paid by the management team for their respective shares of equity.

Networks

EOS.IO

EOS.IO is a blockchain protocol based on the cryptocurrency EOS. The smart contract platform claims to eliminate transaction fees and also conduct millions of transactions per second. It was developed by the private company Block.one and launched in 2017. The platform was later released as open-source software.

Trading basics

Equity co-investment

An equity co-investment (or co-investment) is a minority investment, made directly into an operating company, alongside a financial sponsor or other private equity investor, in a leveraged buyout, recapitalization or growth capital transaction. In certain circumstances, venture capital firms may also seek co-investors.

Trading basics

ERPNext

ERPNext is a free and open-source integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) software developed by an Indian software company Frappe Technologies Pvt. Ltd. It is built on the MariaDB database system using Frappe, a Python based server-side framework.

Assets

Ethereum and ETH

Ethereum is a public blockchain that runs smart contracts, and ETH (Ether) is its native asset. This article introduces its positioning, mechanisms, verification guidelines, and common misconceptions.

Trading basics

Ethereum Classic

Ethereum Classic is a blockchain-based distributed computing platform that offers smart contract (scripting) functionality. Ethereum Classic was created in a hard fork with the mainline Ethereum blockchain, and maintains the original, unaltered ledger prior to the attempt to reverse a hacking attack on the Ethereum-based DAO in July 2016. It is now the largest smart contract platform sec

Finance

Eurobond (external bond)

A eurobond is an international bond that is denominated in a currency not native to the country where it is issued. They are also called external bonds. They are usually categorised according to the currency in which they are issued: eurodollar, euroyen, euroeuro and so on. The name became somewhat misleading with the advent of the euro currency in 1999; eurobonds were created in the 19

Finance

Expert systems for mortgages

An expert system for mortgages is a computer program that contains the knowledge and analytical skills of human authorities, related to mortgage banking. Loan departments are interested in expert systems for mortgages because of the growing cost of labor which makes the handling and acceptance of relatively small loans less profitable. They also see in the application of expert systems a

Trading basics

Extended warranty

An extended warranty, sometimes called a service agreement, a service contract, or a maintenance agreement, is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers in addition to the standard warranty on new items. The extended warranty may be offered by the warranty administrator, the retailer or the manufacturer. Extended warranties cost extra and for a percentage of the item's retail price. Some

Trading basics

EZ TAG

EZ TAG is an electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States, that allows motorists to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. Motorists with the tags are allowed to use lanes reserved exclusively for them on all Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) roads. As of late 2003, the EZ TAG can also be used on all lanes of tolled roadways in Texas that accommodate el

Fiat currencies

Facebook Credits

Facebook Credits was a virtual currency that enabled people to purchase items in games and non-gaming applications on the Facebook Platform. One U.S. dollar was the equivalent of 10 Facebook Credits. Facebook Credits were available in 15 currencies including U.S. dollars, pound sterling, euros, and Danish kroner. Facebook was hoping eventually to expand Credits into a micropayment system

Finance

Fairmat

Fairmat is a free-of-charge multi-platform software that allows to model financial contracts (e.g. a derivative contract) or projects with many contingencies (e.g. a Real Options model) by decomposing it into basic parts. Complex structures and dependencies are modelled using a graphical interface. Virtually any pay-off function and asset class( from interest rate derivatives to equity-l

Finance

Federal financing for small businesses in Canada

Federal financing for small businesses in Canada is facilitated via a number of programs and agencies. Financing is available in the form of grants (sometimes called "non-repayable contributions"), loans, loan guarantees, income support and subsidized hiring and/or training programs. The government also provides funding for no-cost or subsidized services to small businesses, including wo

Finance

Financial analyst

A financial analyst is a professional undertaking financial analysis for external or internal clients as a core feature of the job. The role may specifically be titled securities analyst, research analyst, equity analyst, investment analyst, or ratings analyst. The job title is a broad one:

Trading basics

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) was established in 2010 in the United States to investigate the causes of the 2008 financial crisis. The commission, led by Phil Angelides, held public hearings, gathered testimony from hundreds, and released its report in January 2011.

Finance

Financial institution

A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions.

Finance

Financial instrument

A financial instrument is a monetary contract between parties. They can be created, traded, modified and settled. They can be cash (currency), evidence of an ownership interest in an entity or a contractual right to receive or deliver in the form of currency (forex); debt (bonds, loans); equity (shares); or derivatives (options, futures, forwards).

Finance

Financial intermediary

A financial intermediary is an institution or individual that serves as a middleman between two or more parties, typically a lender and borrower, in order to facilitate financial transactions. Common types include commercial banks, investment banks, stockbrokers, insurance and pension funds, pooled investment funds, leasing companies, and stock exchanges.

Finance

Financial mismanagement

Financial mismanagement is management that, deliberately or not, is handled in a way that can be characterized as "wrong, bad, careless, inefficient or incompetent" and that will reflect negatively upon the financial standing of a business or individual. There are many ways of how financial mismanagement is carried out. For example, the wrong distribution of responsibility, to be remiss

Finance

Financial plan

In general usage, a financial plan is a comprehensive evaluation of an individual's current pay and future financial state by using current known variables to predict future income, asset values and withdrawal plans. This often includes a budget which organizes an individual's finances and sometimes includes a series of steps or specific goals for spending and saving in the future. This

Finance

Financial result

The financial result is the difference between earnings before interest and taxes and earnings before taxes. It is determined by the earning or the loss which results from financial affairs.

Fiat currencies

Financial services in Japan

The industry which has a range of businesses that deal with money like banks, insurance companies, accounting companies, finance companies, taxation, investment funds, credit companies, and few government enterprises is called the finance industry. The activities or services within this industry that cater to the economy of the country are called financial services. Therefore, the econom

Finance

Financial Stability Forum

The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) was a group consisting of major national financial authorities such as finance ministries, central bankers, and international financial bodies. It was first convened in April 1999 in Washington. At the 2009 G20 London summit, the G20 nations established a successor to the FSF, called the Financial Stability Board with an expanded membership and broaden

Finance

Financial Times Deutschland

The Financial Times Deutschland was a German-language financial newspaper based in Hamburg, Germany, published by Bertelsmann's Gruner + Jahr newspaper and magazine division. The daily contained four sections: Business, Politics & Economy, Finance, and Agenda (Comment, Analysis, Sport, Culture). It ceased publication on 7 December 2012.

Assets

Firo (cryptocurrency)

Firo, formerly known as Zcoin, is a cryptocurrency aimed at using cryptography to provide better privacy for its users compared to other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Finance

First Direct

First Direct (styled first direct) is a telephone and internet based direct retail bank, which is a division of HSBC UK Bank plc based in the United Kingdom. First Direct has headquarters in Leeds, England, and in 2024, had 1.9 million customers. On its launch, it was the UK's first telephone-only bank.

Fiat currencies

Fixed exchange rate

A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate or pegging, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed, or pegged, by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another measure of value, such as gold or silver.

Trading basics

Fixed-income relative-value investing

Fixed-Income Relative-Value Investing (FI-RV) is a hedge fund investment strategy made popular by the failed hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.

Finance

Flag of convenience

Flag of convenience (FOC) refers to a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state. The term is often used pejoratively, and although common, the practice is sometimes regarded as contentious.

Finance

Flat rate (finance)

In accounting and finance, flat interest rate mortgages and loans calculate interest based on the amount of money a borrower receives at the beginning of the loan. However, if repayment is scheduled to occur at regular intervals throughout the term, the average amount to which the borrower has access is lower and so the effective or true rate of interest is higher. Only if the principa

Trading basics

Fobaproa

Fobaproa (from the Spanish: Fondo Bancario de Protección al Ahorro, lit. 'Savings Protection Banking Fund') was a contingencies fund created in 1990 by the Mexican government, led by then dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), to attempt to resolve liquidity problems of the banking system. The contingencies fund was applied in 1995 during the Mexican peso crisis to protect Mex

Trading basics

Food inflation

Food inflation is a type of inflation that affects food items. It is often the most noticeable form of inflation, and tends to impact lower income individuals the hardest. Common causes include poor harvest, war, increasing energy prices, and food being unharvested. Food inflation almost always leads to currency inflation, as food is a requirement for survival.

Trading basics

Foreign direct investment in China

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been an important part of the economy of the People's Republic of China since the 1980s. During the Mao period, most foreign companies halted their operations in China, though China remained connected to the world economy through a limited scale of international trade. Since 1978, China was again open to foreign investment and within two decades it bec

Trading basics

Foreign direct investment in Romania

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Romania has increased dramatically. As of 2022, Romania's foreign direct investment (FDI) stock reached nearly €108 billion, marking its highest value to date. Cheap and skilled labor force, low taxes, a 16% flat tax for corporations and individuals, no dividend taxes, liberal labor code and a favorable geographical location are Romania's main advantage

Fiat currencies

Foreign exchange hedge

A foreign exchange hedge (also called a FOREX hedge) is a method used by companies to eliminate or "hedge" their foreign exchange risk resulting from transactions in foreign currencies (see foreign exchange derivative). This is done using either the cash flow hedge or the fair value method. The accounting rules for this are addressed by both the International Financial Reporting Standard

Fiat currencies

Foreign exchange reserves

Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold and silver held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence the foreign exchange rate of its currency, and to maintain confidence in financial markets. Reserves are held in one or more reserve cur

Fiat currencies

Foreign exchange spot

A foreign exchange spot transaction (FX spot) is an agreement between two parties to buy one currency against selling another currency at an agreed price for settlement on the spot date. The exchange rate at which the transaction is done is called the spot exchange rate. As of 2010, the average daily turnover of global FX spot transactions reached nearly US$1.5 trillion, counting 37.4% o

Trading basics

Foreign ownership of companies of Canada

Foreign ownership of companies of Canada pertains to the majority-ownership of Canadian-based assets (including businesses and subsidiaries) by non-Canadian individuals or companies, as well as to companies that are effectively owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by non-Canadians. "Non-Canadian," for all intents and purposes, refers to entities based outside Canada and to those

Trading basics

Foreign-exchange reserves of China

The foreign exchange reserves of China are the state of foreign exchange reserves held by the People's Republic of China, comprising cash, bank deposits, bonds, and other financial assets denominated in currencies other than China's national currency (the renminbi). As of August 2026, China's foreign exchange reserves totaled US$3.438 trillion, which is the highest foreign exchange reser

Securities & exchanges

Forex.com

Forex.com is a foreign exchange (FX) and contracts for difference (CFD) trading brand owned by StoneX Group. In the United States, it is operated by GAIN Capital Group LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of StoneX Group Inc.. The brand offers leveraged trading in currencies, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.