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Digital assets and currencies

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

Banking

Asset–liability mismatch

In finance, an asset–liability mismatch occurs when the financial terms of an institution's assets and liabilities do not correspond. Several types of mismatches are possible. An asset-liability mismatch presents a material risk at institutions with significant debt exposure, such as banks or sovereign governments. A significant mismatch may lead to insolvency or illiquidity, which can c

Fiat currencies

Commodity currency

A commodity currency is a currency that co-moves with the world prices of primary commodity products, due to these countries' heavy dependency on the export of certain raw materials for income. Commodity currencies are most prevalent in developing countries (eg. Burundi, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea). In the foreign exchange market, commodity currencies generally refer to the New Zealand d

Securities & exchanges

Constant Maturity Mortgage

In the United States secondary mortgage market, the Constant Maturity Mortgage (CMM) rate is a financial index representing the theoretical yield of a par value agency residential mortgage-backed security (agency RMBS). Unlike the constant-maturity treasury (CMT) which reflects government borrowing costs, the CMM reflects the yield required by investors to transact agency RMBS (such as t

Fiat currencies

Crawling peg

In macroeconomics, crawling peg is an exchange rate regime that allows currency depreciation or appreciation to happen gradually. It is usually seen as a part of a fixed exchange rate regime.

Fiat currencies

Currency appreciation and depreciation

Currency depreciation is the loss of value of a country's currency with respect to one or more foreign reference currencies, typically in a floating exchange rate system in which no official currency value is maintained. Currency appreciation in the same context is an increase in the value of the currency. Short-term changes in the value of a currency are reflected in changes in the exch

Fiat currencies

Currency basket

A currency basket is a portfolio of selected currencies with different weightings. A currency basket is commonly used by investors to minimize the risk of currency fluctuations and also governments when setting the market value of a country's currency.

Fiat currencies

Currency board

In public finance, a currency board is a mechanism by which a monetary authority is required to maintain a fixed exchange rate with a foreign currency by fully backing the commitment with foreign holdings, or reserves. This policy objective requires the conventional objectives of a central bank to be subordinated to the exchange rate target.

Fiat currencies

Currency intervention

Currency intervention, also known as foreign exchange market intervention or currency manipulation, is a monetary policy operation. It occurs when a government or central bank buys or sells foreign currency in exchange for its own domestic currency, generally with the intention of influencing the exchange rate and trade policy.

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.

Fiat currencies

Dual exchange rate

In economics, a dual exchange rate is the occurrence of two different values of a currency for different sets of monetary transactions. One of the most common types consists of a government setting one exchange rate for specific transactions involving foreign exchange and another exchange rate governing other transactions.

Fiat currencies

Eurocurrency

Eurocurrency is currency held on deposit outside its home market, i.e., held in banks located outside of the country which issues the currency. For example, a deposit of US dollars held in a bank in London, would be considered eurocurrency, as the US dollar is deposited outside of its home market.

Fiat currencies

Exchange rate

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.

Fiat currencies

Exchange rate regime

An exchange rate regime is a way a monetary authority of a country or currency union manages the currency about other currencies and the foreign exchange market. It is closely related to monetary policy and the two are generally dependent on many of the same factors, such as economic scale and openness, inflation rate, the elasticity of the labor market, financial market development, and

Fiat currencies

Exchange-rate flexibility

In macroeconomics, a flexible exchange-rate system is a monetary system that allows the exchange rate to be determined by supply and demand.

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.

Fiat currencies

Floating exchange rate

In macroeconomics and economic policy, a floating exchange rate (also known as a fluctuating or flexible exchange rate) is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is allowed to fluctuate in response to international events affecting exchange rates. A currency that uses a floating exchange rate is known as a floating currency. In contrast, a fixed currency is one where

Fiat currencies

Foreign exchange controls

Foreign exchange controls are various forms of controls imposed by a government on the purchase/sale of foreign currencies by residents, on the purchase/sale of local currency by nonresidents, or the transfers of any currency across national borders. These controls allow countries to better manage their economies by controlling the inflow and outflow of currency, which may otherwise crea

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

Finance

Hot money

In economics, hot money is the flow of funds (or capital) from one country to another in order to earn a short-term profit on interest rate differences and/or anticipated exchange rate shifts. These speculative capital flows are called "hot money" because they can move very quickly in and out of markets, potentially leading to market instability.

Fiat currencies

Impossible trinity

In international economics and international political economy, the impossible trinity (also known as the trilemma, the monetary trilemma or the Unholy Trinity) is the view that it is impossible to have all three of the following at the same time:

Fiat currencies

Interbank foreign exchange market

The interbank market is the top-level foreign exchange market where banks exchange different currencies. The banks can either deal with one another directly, or through electronic brokering platforms. The Electronic Broking Services (EBS) and Thomson Reuters Dealing are the two competitors in the electronic brokering platform business and together connect over 1000 banks. The currencies

Fiat currencies

Linked exchange rate system in Hong Kong

A linked exchange rate system is a type of exchange rate regime that pegs the exchange rate of one currency to another. It is the exchange rate system implemented in Hong Kong to stabilise the exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) and the United States dollar (USD). The Macao pataca (MOP) is similarly linked to the Hong Kong dollar.

Fiat currencies

Managed float regime

A managed float regime, also known as a dirty float, is a type of exchange rate regime where a currency's value is allowed to fluctuate in response to foreign-exchange market mechanisms (i.e., supply and demand), but the central bank or monetary authority of the country intervenes occasionally to stabilize or steer the currency's value in a particular direction. This is in contrast to a

Fiat currencies

Non-deliverable forward

In finance, a non-deliverable forward (NDF) is an outright forward contract or futures contract in which counterparties settle the difference between the contracted NDF price or rate and the prevailing spot price or rate on an agreed notional amount. It is used in various markets such as foreign exchange and commodities. NDFs are also known as forward contracts for differences (FCD).

Finance

Original sin (economics)

Original sin is a term in economics literature, proposed by Barry Eichengreen, Ricardo Hausmann, and Ugo Panizza in a series of papers to refer to a situation in which "most countries are not able to borrow abroad in their domestic currency."

Fiat currencies

Plaza Accord

The Plaza Accord was a joint agreement signed on September 22, 1985, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, between France, West Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, to depreciate the U.S. dollar in relation to the French franc, the German Deutsche Mark, the Japanese yen and the British pound sterling by intervening in currency markets. The U.S. dollar depreciated sig

Finance

Retail foreign exchange trading

Retail foreign exchange trading is a small segment of the larger foreign exchange market where individuals speculate on the exchange rate between different currencies. This segment has developed with the advent of dedicated electronic trading platforms and the internet, which allows individuals to access the global currency markets. As of 2016, it was reported that retail foreign exchang

Finance

Self-fulfilling crisis

Self-fulfilling crisis refers to a situation that a financial crisis is not directly caused by the unhealthy economic fundamental conditions or improper government policies, but a consequence of pessimistic expectations of investors. In other words, investors' fear of the crisis makes the crisis inevitable, which justified their initial expectations.

Fiat currencies

Special drawing rights

Special drawing rights (SDRs, code XDR) are a supplementary foreign exchange reserve asset defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). SDRs are the units of account for the IMF, and not a currency; rather, SDR value is based on a basket of currencies, the specific composition of which is reviewed every five years. SDRs represent a claim to currency held by IMF member

Fiat currencies

Trade-weighted US dollar index

The trade-weighted US dollar index, also known as the broad index, was a measure of the value of the United States dollar relative to other world currencies. It was a trade weighted index that improved on the older U.S. Dollar Index by incorporating more currencies and yearly rebalancing. The base index value was 100 in January 2006.