Industry WIKI

The environmental impact of bitcoin has been characterized in the literature as significant, particularly due to its energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and electronic waste. Bitcoin mining, the process by which bitcoins are created and transactions are finalized, is energy-consuming due to it requiring a large amount of compute and results in carbon emissions. According to the 2025 Ca

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.

Equihash is a memory-hard Proof-of-work algorithm introduced by the University of Luxembourg's Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the 2016 Network and Distributed System Security Symposium. The algorithm is based on a generalization of the Birthday problem which finds colliding hash values. It has severe time-space trade-offs but concedes vulnerability

In finance, equity is an ownership interest in property that may be subject to debts or other liabilities. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets owned. For example, if someone owns a car worth $24,000 and owes $10,000 on the loan used to buy the car, the difference of $14,000 is equity. Equity can apply to a single asset, such

In finance, an equity derivative is a class of derivatives whose value is at least partly derived from one or more underlying equity securities. Options and futures are by far the most common equity derivatives, however there are many other types of equity derivatives that are actively traded.

The equity premium puzzle refers to the inability of an important class of economic models to explain the average equity risk premium (ERP) provided by a diversified portfolio of equities over that of government bonds, which has been observed for more than 100 years. There is a significant disparity between returns produced by stocks compared to returns produced by government treasury bi

Equity risk is "the financial risk involved in holding equity in a particular investment." Equity risk is a type of market risk that applies to investing in shares. The market price of stocks fluctuates all the time, depending on supply and demand. The risk of losing money due to a reduction in the market price of shares is known as equity risk.

An equity-linked note (ELN) is a debt instrument, usually a bond issued by a financial institution such as an investment bank or a subsidiary of a commercial bank. ELNs are liabilities of the issuer, but the final payout to the investor is based on an unrelated company's stock price, a stock index or a group of stocks or stock indices. The underlying stocks typically have large market ca

Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether (abbreviation: ETH) is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capitalization. It is open-source software.

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

eToro Group Ltd. is an Israeli multinational company that operates an electronic trading platform and social trading system. The company is organized in the British Virgin Islands and headquartered in Bnei Brak, Israel.

Eurochange, stylised eurochange, is a British foreign exchange company based in Stevenage. As of 2023, the company operates over 190 physical branches throughout the United Kingdom and also offers home delivery.

The Eurocheque was a type of cheque used in Europe that was accepted across national borders and which could be written in a variety of currencies.

Euronet is an American provider of global electronic payment services with headquarters in Leawood, Kansas. It offers automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale (POS) services, credit/debit card services, currency exchange and other electronic financial services and payments software. Among others, it provides the prepaid subsidiaries Transact, PaySpot, epay, Movilcarga, TeleRecarga

Enterprise value/EBITDA (more commonly referred to by the acronym EV/EBITDA) is a popular valuation multiple used to determine the fair market value of a company. By contrast to the more widely available P/E ratio (price-earnings ratio) it includes debt as part of the value of the company in the numerator and excludes costs such as the need to replace depreciating plant, interest on debt

Event-driven investing or Event-driven trading is a broad term encompassing hedge fund investment strategies that seeks to exploit pricing inefficiencies that may occur before or after an event. Examples of such events could be an earnings call, bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, or spinoff. In more recent times market practitioners have expanded this definition to include additional event

An exchange, bourse (), trading exchange or trading venue is an organized market where people can buy and sell financial instruments, such as tradable securities, commodities, foreign exchange and derivative contracts.

In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of the euro.

The owner of an option contract has the right to exercise it, and thus require that the financial transaction specified by the contract is to be carried out immediately between the two parties, whereupon the option contract is terminated. When exercising a call option, the owner of the option purchases the underlying shares (or commodities, fixed interest securities, etc.) at the strike

An exit scam or rug pull is a confidence trick or fraud, perpetrated under the guise of a legitimate business, that ends when the originator absconds with the funds contributed by participants. When a business entity pulls the rug and stops shipping orders while receiving payment for new orders, it could take some time before it is widely recognized that orders are not shipping. The enti

The term exorbitant privilege refers to the benefits that the United States, as the world's supplier of safe assets, derives from its own currency (the US dollar) being the international reserve currency. These safe assets, primarily government debt, tend to be sold at higher prices than the debt of other governments. Exorbitant privilege enables the United States (and other states in a

In finance, an exotic option is an option which has features making it more complex than commonly traded vanilla options. Like the more general exotic derivatives they may have several triggers relating to determination of payoff. An exotic option may also include a non-standard underlying instrument, developed for a particular client or for a particular market. Exotic options are mor

The expected return (or expected gain) on a financial investment is the expected value of its return (of the profit on the investment). It is a measure of the center of the distribution of the random variable that is the return. It is calculated by using the following formula:

In finance, the expiration date of an option contract (represented by Greek letter tau, τ) is the last date on which the holder of the option may exercise it according to its terms. In the case of options with "automatic exercise", the net value of the option is credited to the long and debited to the short position holders.

Expressnet is an interbank network connecting the ATM networks of seven major banks in the Philippines. It has the second-largest number of ATMs (largely due to the vast nationwide presence of Bank of the Philippine Islands Express Teller ATMs) and the smallest number of customers and member banks. However, its strength among the interbank networks and the ubiquity of BPI ATMs have giv

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

Fare capping is a feature of public transport fare collection systems, which allows passengers to earn an unlimited-ride pass by paying single-ride fares. Typically, passengers pay a single-ride fare each time they use public transport, using a smart card or, in some cases, their own credit or debit card. An automated fare collection system tracks the payments, and awards the passenger a

Faster Payment System (FPS; Chinese: 快速支付系統, more commonly known as 轉數快) is a real-time gross settlement payment system in Hong Kong that connects traditional banks and electronic payment and digital wallet operators. Users are able to perform instant money transfer or make payment to merchants by using the recipient's phone number, e-mail or QR code that contains the user's numeric iden

Filecoin (⨎) is a cryptocurrency intended to be a blockchain-based cooperative digital storage and data retrieval method. It was developed by Protocol Labs and shares some ideas from InterPlanetary File System allowing users to rent unused hard drive space. Filecoin is an open protocol and uses a blockchain to record participation in the network. Transactions are made using the blockchai

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes.

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.

Financial cryptography is the use of cryptography in applications in which financial loss could result from subversion of the message system. Financial cryptography is distinguished from traditional cryptography in that for most of recorded history, cryptography has been used almost entirely for military and diplomatic purposes.

Financial econometrics is the application of statistical methods to financial data. Financial econometrics is a branch of financial economics, in the field of economics. Areas of study include capital markets, financial institutions, corporate finance and corporate governance. Topics often revolve around asset valuation of individual stocks, bonds, derivatives, currencies and other fina

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) as well as to the member regulation, enforcement, and arbitration operations of the New York Stock Exchange.

Financial innovation is the act of creating new financial instruments as well as new financial technologies, institutions, and markets. Recent financial innovations include hedge funds, private equity, weather derivatives, retail-structured products, exchange-traded funds, multi-family offices, and Islamic bonds (Sukuk). The shadow banking system has spawned an array of financial innovat

Financial law is the law and regulation of the commercial banking, capital markets, insurance, derivatives and investment management sectors. Understanding financial law is crucial to appreciating the creation and formation of banking and financial regulation, as well as the legal framework for finance generally.

A financial market is a marketplace where the pricing and trade of securities, commodities, currency, derivatives, or other financial products takes place. The term may refer to a specific stock or commodity exchange, or to the general process by which relevant economic activity is organized and carried out.

There are several concepts of efficiency for a financial market. The most widely discussed is informational or price efficiency, which is a measure of how quickly and completely the price of a single asset reflects available information about the asset's value. Other concepts include functional/operational efficiency, which is inversely related to the costs that investors bear for maki

There are two basic financial market participant distinctions, investors versus speculators and institutional versus retail. Action in financial markets by central banks is usually regarded as intervention rather than participation.

A financial ratio or accounting ratio states the relative magnitude of two selected numerical values taken from an enterprise's financial statements. Often used in accounting, there are many standard ratios used to try to evaluate the overall financial condition of a corporation or other organization. Financial ratios may be used by managers within a firm, by current and potential shareh

Financial regulation is a broad set of policies that apply to the financial sector in most jurisdictions, justified by two main features of finance: systemic risk, which implies that the failure of financial firms involves public interest considerations; and information asymmetry, which justifies curbs on freedom of contract in selected areas of financial services, particularly those tha

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.

Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financial loss and uncertainty about its extent.

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

Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of new technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological tools in financial services, including mobile banking, online lending platforms, digital payment systems, robo-advisors, and blockchain-based applications such as cryptocurrencies. Financi

A financial transaction is an agreement, or communication, between a buyer and seller to exchange goods, services, or assets for payment. Any transaction involves a change in the status of the finances of two or more businesses or individuals. A financial transaction always involves one or more financial asset, most commonly money or another valuable item such as gold or silver.

A financial transaction tax (FTT) is a levy on a specific type of financial transaction for a particular purpose. The tax has been most commonly associated with the financial sector for transactions involving intangible property rather than real property. It is not usually considered to include consumption taxes paid by consumers.

Finite difference methods for option pricing are numerical methods used in mathematical finance for the valuation of options. Finite difference methods were first applied to option pricing by Eduardo Schwartz in 1977.

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.

First Data Corporation was an American financial services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The company's STAR Network provided nationwide domestic debit acceptance at more than 2 million retail POS, ATM, and at online outlets for nearly a third of all U.S. debit cards.

Fiserv, Inc. ( fy-SURV) is an American multinational financial technology company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company processes debit and credit card transactions, loyalty programs, loans, electronic bill pay, wires and ACH transfers, check deposits, and ATM transactions on behalf of banking institutions. The company also produces debit and credit cards and point of sale t

Fixed income is a type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the principal amount on maturity. Fixed-income securities (more commonly known as bonds) can be contrasted with equity securities (often referred to as stocks and

Fixed-income arbitrage is a group of market-neutral-investment strategies that are designed to take advantage of differences in interest rates between varying fixed-income securities or contracts (Jefferson, 2007). Arbitrage in terms of investment strategy, involves buying securities on one market for immediate resale on another market in order to profit from a price discrepancy.

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

Flattr was a Swedish-based microdonation subscription service, where subscribers opted in to pay a monthly patronage to help fund their favourite websites and creators. It shut down in November 2023.

A flight-to-quality, or flight-to-safety, is a financial market phenomenon occurring when investors sell what they perceive to be higher-risk investments and purchase safer investments, such as gold and government bonds. This is considered a sign of fear in the marketplace, as investors seek less risk in exchange for lower profits.

A floor trader is a member of a stock or commodities exchange who trades on the floor of that exchange for their own account. The floor trader must abide by trading rules similar to those of the exchange specialists who trade on behalf of others. The term should not be confused with floor broker.

Forbes Bank was a bank in the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man, providing private and business banking services to the local population. The bank operated from 1826 until it crashed spectacularly in 1843 resulting in hardship, unemployment, bankruptcy and destitution for many of the inhabitants of the Island.

A foreign exchange derivative is a financial contract whose value changes depending on currency exchange rates.

Foreign exchange fraud is any trading scheme used to defraud traders by convincing them that they can expect to gain a high profit by trading in the foreign exchange market. Currency trading became a common form of fraud in early 2008, according to Michael Dunn of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. By trading volume, it is by far the largest market in the world, followed by the credit market.

In finance, a foreign exchange option (commonly shortened to just FX option or currency option) is a derivative financial instrument that gives the right but not the obligation to exchange money denominated in one currency into another currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate on a specified date. See Foreign exchange derivative.

Foreign exchange risk (also known as FX risk, exchange rate risk or currency risk) is a financial risk that exists when a financial transaction is denominated in a currency other than the domestic currency of the company. The exchange risk arises when there is a risk of an unfavourable change in exchange rate between the domestic currency and the denominated currency before the date when

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.

In blockchain, a fork is defined variously as:

Fortumo was an Estonian company which developed a platform for digital service providers for user growth and monetization.

In finance, a forward contract, or simply a forward, is a non-standardized contract between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed on in the contract, making it a type of derivative instrument. The party agreeing to buy the underlying asset in the future assumes a long position, and the party agreeing to sell the asset in the future assumes a sh

The forward exchange rate (also sometimes referred to as forward rate or forward price) is the exchange rate at which two counterparties (such as a bank and an investor) agree to exchange one currency for another at a future date when they enter into a forward contract. Multinational corporations, banks, and other financial institutions enter into forward contracts to take advantage of t

The Forward Markets Commission (FMC) was the regulatory body for the commodity market and futures market in India. It was under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. In July 2014, it regulated Rs 17 trillion worth of commodity trades in India. It was headquartered in Mumbai. The Commission allowed commodity trading in 22 exchanges in India, of which 6 are national.

The forward price (or sometimes forward rate) is the agreed upon price of an asset in a forward contract. Using the rational pricing assumption, for a forward contract on an underlying asset that is tradeable, the forward price can be expressed in terms of the spot price and any dividends. For forwards on non-tradeables, pricing the forward may be a complex task.

In finance, a forward rate agreement (FRA) is an interest rate derivative (IRD). In particular, it is a linear IRD with strong associations with interest rate swaps (IRSs).

The Four Corners model, often referred to as the Four Party Scheme is the most used card scheme in card payment systems worldwide. This model was introduced in the 1990s. It is a user-friendly card payment system based on an interbank clearing system and economic model established on multilateral interchange fees (MIF) paid between banks or other payment institutions.

Front running, also known as tailgating, is the practice of entering into an equity (stock) trade, option, futures contract, derivative, or security-based swap to capitalize on advance, nonpublic knowledge of a large ("block") pending transaction that will influence the price of the underlying security. In essence, it means the use of knowledge of an impending trade to engage in a person

The FTSE MTIRS Indices are designed to accurately move in direct correlation to OTC Interest Rate Swaps market with a total of 45 indices covering the USD curve from 2 years to 30 years including spreads and butterflies. FTSE MTIRS Indices account for changes to both fixed and floating rates and are rebalanced daily.

FTX Trading Ltd., trading as FTX (Futures Exchange), is a bankrupt company that formerly operated a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund. The exchange was founded in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang and collapsed in 2022.

Full-reserve banking (also known as 100% reserve banking) is a system of banking where banks do not lend demand deposits and instead only lend from time deposits. It differs from fractional-reserve banking, in which banks may lend funds on deposit, while fully reserved banks would be required to keep the full amount of each customer's demand deposits in cash, available for immediate with

A fund derivative (see also derivative) is a financial structured product related to a fund, normally using the underlying fund to determine the payoff. This may be a private equity fund, mutual fund or hedge fund. Purchasers obtain exposure to the underlying fund (or funds) whilst improving their risk profile over a direct investment.

Fund governance refers to a system of checks and balances and work performed by the governing body (board) of an investment fund to ensure that the fund is operated not only in accordance with law, but also in the best interests of the fund and its investors. The objective of fund governance is to uphold the regulatory principles commonly known as the four pillars of investor protection

Fundamental analysis, in accounting and finance, is the analysis of a business's financial statements (usually to analyze the business's assets, liabilities, and earnings); health; competitors and markets. It also considers the overall state of the economy and factors including interest rates, production, earnings, employment, GDP, housing, manufacturing and management. There are two bas

In finance, a futures contract (often just called a future) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The item transacted is usually a commodity or financial instrument. The predetermined price of the contract is known as the forward price or delivery pric

Galaxy Digital Inc., doing business as Galaxy, is an American financial services and infrastructure company headquartered in New York City. The company focuses on digital assets, cryptocurrency, blockchain infrastructure, and artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data center infrastructure. Its digital asset businesses include over-the-counter trading, lending, investmen

Garantex was a Russian cryptocurrency exchange. The company provided an exchange of Russian rubles to cryptocurrencies and international money transfers. It was tied to sanctioned individuals following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the Russian government, criminal organizations, and terrorist groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, among other illicit actors. It was co-fou

GCash is a Philippine mobile payments service owned by Mynt, Inc. (formerly known as Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. until 2026), and operated by its wholly owned subsidiary, G-Xchange, Inc.

Gemini Space Station Inc. (Gemini) is an American cryptocurrency exchange and custodian bank. It was founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Genesis is a cryptocurrency intermediary for institutional investors, with Digital Currency Group (DCG) as its parent company.

George Soros (born Schwartz György; August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian and American investor and philanthropist. As of September 2026, he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion. Soros has donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations. In 2020, Forbes called Soros the "most generous giver" in terms of percentage of net worth.

The German Banking Industry Committee (GBIC) (German: Die Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft / DK), known until 2011 as the Central Credit Committee (German: Zentraler Kreditausschuss / ZKA) is an industry association of the German banking industry. Its decisions are held normative for the national banking sector – either directly by interbank treaties or indirectly by preparing a corresponding m

The Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) was a stock exchange based in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory. until its closure in 2023.

The GIFT International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC) is a financial centre and special economic zone in GIFT City, India. It was established in 2015 as a financial hub to provide world-class infrastructure and services for financial institutions and companies operating in areas such as banking, insurance, capital markets, and asset management. GIFT IFSC is regulated by the Intern

A giro transfer, often shortened to giro (), is a payment transfer between current bank accounts and initiated by the payer, not the payee. The debit card has a similar model. Giros are primarily used in Europe; although electronic payment systems exist in the United States (e.g., the Automated Clearing House), it is not possible to perform third-party transfers with them. In the Europea

girocard is an interbank network and debit card service in Germany connecting virtually all automated teller machines (ATMs) and banks. It is based on standards and agreements developed by the German Banking Industry Committee.

Giropay was an Internet payment system in Germany, based on online banking. Introduced in February 2006, this payment method allowed customers to buy securely on the Internet using direct online transfers from their bank account. The system was similar to the Dutch iDEAL payment system, MyBank payment system, the Interac online service in Canada, pagomiscuentas payment service in Argenti

The Global ATM Alliance is a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of their banks to use their automated teller machine (ATM) card or debit card at another bank within the alliance with no international ATM access fees. Other fees, such as an international transaction or foreign currency fee, may still apply for some account holders. Participating banks

Global labor arbitrage is an economic phenomenon where, as a result of the removal of or disintegration of barriers to international trade, jobs move to nations where labor and the cost of doing business (such as environmental regulations) are inexpensive and/or impoverished labor moves to nations with higher paying jobs.

Global Payments Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company that provides payment technology to merchants, issuers and consumers. In June 2021, the company was named to the Fortune 500. The company processes payments made through credit cards, debit cards, and digital and contactless payments.

Google Pay is a mobile payment application developed by Google. It allows users to make payments via smartphones using methods such as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India and PayNow in Singapore. The app supports peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, in-store payments via NFC, online purchases, and bill payments.

Google Wallet (or simply Wallet) is a digital wallet platform developed by Google. It is available for the Android, Wear OS, and Fitbit OS operating systems, and was announced on May 11, 2022, at the 2022 Google I/O keynote. It began rolling out on Android smartphones on July 18, 2022.

Grams was a search engine for Tor based darknet markets launched in April 2014, and closed in December 2017. The service allowed users to search multiple darknet markets for products like drugs and guns from a simple search interface, and also provided the capability for its users to hide their transactions through its bitcoin tumbler Helix.

In mathematical finance, the Greeks are the quantities (known in calculus as partial derivatives; first-order or higher) representing the sensitivity of the price of a derivative instrument, such as an option or future, to changes in one or more underlying parameters on which the value of an instrument or portfolio of financial instruments is dependent. The name is used because the most

The Greenspan put was a monetary policy that Alan Greenspan, during his tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve, exercised in response to financial crises. It was used for the first time with the crash of 1987. Though it was successful in addressing various crises, it became controversial as it led to periods of extreme speculation led by Wall Street investment banks overusing the put's r