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Digital assets and currencies

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

Assets

2016 Bitfinex hack

The Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange was hacked in August 2016. 119,756 bitcoins, worth about US$72 million at the time, were stolen.

Trading basics

Almshouse

An almshouse is a form of charitable housing that developed in medieval Europe to provide long-term accommodation for people unable to support themselves, most often the elderly or disabled. Originating from earlier hospital foundations associated with Christian charity, almshouses emerged as distinct institutions by the later medieval period, typically housing small numbers of residents

Banking

Bank transaction tax

A bank transaction tax is a tax levied on debit (and/or credit) entries on bank accounts. In 1989, at the Buenos Aires meetings of the International Institute of Public Finance, University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor of Economics Edgar L. Feige proposed extending the tax reform ideas of John Maynard Keynes, James Tobin and Lawrence Summers, to their logical conclusion, namely to tax a

Trading basics

Bareboat charter

A bareboat charter, or demise charter, is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat for which no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement. Instead, the renter of the vessel from the owner is responsible for taking care of whatever the agreement specifies – insurance, maintenance, repairs, etc.. The act is commonly known as bareboating or bareboat chart

Trading basics

Bill.com

BILL Holdings, Inc. is an American company based in San Jose, California, that provides automated, cloud-based software for financial operations for small businesses in the United States. A white-labeled, end-to-end payments automation platform, Bill.com Connect is offered to financial institutions as part of their single sign-on online business banking ecosystem.

Securities & exchanges

Bremen Exchange

The Bremen Exchange (German: Bremer Börse) in Bremen was one of the eight German Regional stock exchanges until 2007. In 2000 it ceased to use the Open outcry method and in 2007 the last operative units were closed. The property of exchange's holding company went to the newly established Foundation of the Bremen Stock Exchange (Stiftung Bremer Wertpapierbörse), a non-profit organisation

Securities & exchanges

Canadian Securities Administrators

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA; French: Autorités canadiennes en valeurs mobilières, ACVM) is an umbrella organization of Canada's provincial and territorial securities regulators whose objective is to improve, coordinate, and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets.

Banking

Chinese wall

A Chinese wall or ethical wall is an information barrier protocol within an organization designed to prevent exchange of information or communication that could lead to conflicts of interest. For example, a Chinese wall may be established to separate people who make investments from those who are privy to confidential information that could improperly influence the investment decisions.

Finance

Chūō-ku, Osaka

Chūō-ku (中央区; 'Central Ward') is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It has an area of 8.88 km2, and a population of 60,085. It houses Osaka's financial district, as well as the Osaka Prefecture offices and principal shopping and tourist areas.

Trading basics

CMC Markets

CMC Markets plc is a UK-based financial services company that offers online trading in shares, spread betting, contracts for difference (CFDs), and foreign exchange across global markets. The company is headquartered in London, with hubs in Sydney and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

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.

Finance

Currency transaction tax

A currency transaction tax is a tax placed on the use of currency for various types of transactions. The tax is associated with the financial sector and is a type of financial transaction tax, as opposed to a consumption tax paid by consumers, though the tax may be passed on by the financial institution to the customer.

Securities & exchanges

Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC; Greek: Επιτροπή Κεφαλαιαγοράς) is the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus. As an EU member state, CySEC's financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.

Trading basics

Dollar-cost averaging

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is an investment strategy which aims to apply value investing principles to regular investment. The term was coined by Benjamin Graham in his 1949 book The Intelligent Investor. Graham writes that dollar-cost averaging "means simply that the practitioner invests in common stocks the same number of dollars each month or each quarter. (The same nomenclature app

Trading basics

Double bottom line

Double bottom line (abbreviated as DBL or 2BL) seeks to extend the conventional bottom line, which measures fiscal performance—financial profit or loss—by adding a second bottom line to measure a for-profit business's performance in terms of positive social impact. There is controversy about how to measure the double bottom line, especially since the use of the term "bottom line" implies

Trading basics

Double taxation

Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same income (in the case of income taxes), asset (in the case of capital taxes), or financial transaction (in the case of sales taxes).

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.

Assets

Elliptic (company)

Elliptic is a British blockchain analytics firm headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Singapore. The company was co-founded by Adam Joyce, Tom Robinson and James Smith in 2013. It is the first company to develop cryptoasset anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance tools based on blockchain analytics. Its clients are primarily financial institutions and crypto busine

Finance

Escrow

An escrow is a contractual arrangement in which a third party (the stakeholder or escrow agent) receives and disburses money or property for the primary transacting parties, with the disbursement dependent on conditions agreed to by the transacting parties. Examples include an account established by a broker for holding funds on behalf of the broker's principal or some other person until

Payments & settlement

Euronet Worldwide

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

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:

Finance

Genpact

Genpact Ltd. is an American information technology services, consulting, and outsourcing company headquartered in New York City, New York. Founded in Gurgaon, India, and legally domiciled in Bermuda, Genpact employs more than 125,000 people and provides services to clients in over 30 countries worldwide. Genpact is listed on the NYSE and generated revenues of US$5.08 billion in 2025.

Banking

Ghost (1990 film)

Ghost is a 1990 American supernatural romance film directed by Jerry Zucker, written by Bruce Joel Rubin, and starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tony Goldwyn. The film's plot follows Sam Wheat (Swayze), a banker who is murdered and returns as a ghost, unable to interact with the living world. With the help of psychic con artist Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg), Sam attempt

Payments & settlement

Gift card

A gift card, also known as a gift certificate in North America, or gift voucher or gift token in the UK, is a prepaid stored-value money card, usually issued by a retailer or bank, to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a particular store or related businesses. Gift cards are also given out by employers or organizations as rewards or gifts. They may also be distributed

Banking

Global Alliance for Banking on Values

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) is an independent association of 'values-based banks' with a shared mission to use finance to deliver environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) positive outcomes. The GABV consists of over 70 member banks, credit unions and microfinance institutions. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Finance

Green Dot Corporation

Green Dot Corporation is an American financial technology and bank holding company headquartered in Austin, Texas. It is the world's largest prepaid debit card company by market capitalization. Green Dot is also a payment platform company and is the technology platform used by Apple Cash, Uber, and Intuit. The company was founded in 1999 by Steve Streit as a prepaid debit card for teenag

Finance

Group of Thirty

The Group of Thirty, often abbreviated to G30, is an international body of financiers and academics which aims to deepen understanding of economic and financial issues and to examine consequences of decisions made in the public and private sectors. Areas within the interest of the group include: the foreign exchange market, international capital markets, international financial instituti

Trading basics

Headline inflation

Headline inflation is a statistical measure of aggregate price movement within an economy, usually expressed as percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (or other price indices) over a specific time period. It is typically measured using a comprehensive array of goods and services, including commercial products such as food and energy (e.g., oil and gas), which tend to be much more

Banking

Henry Hope

Henry Hope (1735–1811) was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Braintree, Province of Massachusetts Bay. He emigrated to the Netherlands to join the family business, the Dutch bank Hope & Co., at a young age. From 1779, Henry became the manager of Hope & Co. and participated in the firm for about a third from 1782. He is considered to be as great a genius as his uncle Thomas Hope who fo

Trading basics

History of the Indonesian rupiah

The currency of Indonesia, the rupiah, has a long history dating back to its colonial period. Due to periods of economic uncertainty and high inflation, the currency has been re-valued several times.

Trading basics

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX; Chinese: 香港交易及結算所有限公司; pinyin: Xiānggǎng jiāoyì jí jiésuàn suǒyǒu xiàn gōngsī) operates a range of equity, commodity, fixed income and currency markets through its wholly owned subsidiaries The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK), Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited (HKFE) and London Metal Exchange (LME).

Banking

Hope & Co.

Hope & Co. was a Dutch bank that existed for two and a half centuries. The bank was located in Amsterdam until 1795; originally it concentrated on Great Britain. In the second half of the 18th century, it was the most powerful merchant bank of Amsterdam, and thus Europe, as Amsterdam was at that time Europe's leading financial centre. From 1750 it played a major part in the finances of t

Trading basics

Inflationism

Inflationism is a heterodox economic, fiscal, or monetary policy, that predicts that a substantial level of inflation is harmless, desirable or even advantageous. Similarly, inflationist economists advocate for an inflationist policy.

Securities & exchanges

Insider trading

Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In many countries, trading based on insider information is illegal. The rationale for this prohibition of insider trading differs between countries and regions. Some view it as unfair to other investors in the market w

Payments & settlement

JPay

JPay is a privately held information technology and financial services provider focused on serving the United States prison system. With headquarters in Miramar, Florida, the company contracts with state, county, and federal prisons and jails to provide technologies and services including money transfer, email, video visitation and parole and probation payments to approximately 1.5 mill

Trading basics

Klöckner & Co

Klöckner & Co SE (also known as Klöckner, KlöCo, or KCO) is a producer-independent processor of steel and metal products. With a network of 110 warehousing and processing locations, Klöckner & Co supplies over 60,000 customers, mainly in Europe and North America.

Trading basics

Knife money

Knife money (Chinese: 刀币) is the name of large, cast, bronze, knife-shaped commodity money produced by various governments and kingdoms in what is now China, approximately 2,500 years ago. Knife money circulated in China between 600 and 200 BCE during the Zhou dynasty.

Finance

KOSPI

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI; Korean: 한국종합주가지수) is the index of all common stocks traded on the Stock Market Division—previously, Korea Stock Exchange—of the Korea Exchange. It is the representative stock market index of South Korea, analogous to the S&P 500 in the United States.

Trading basics

KSE 100 Index

The KSE-100 Index is a total return stock index acting as a benchmark to compare prices on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) over a period.

Finance

LandlordInvest

LandlordInvest is a peer-to-peer lending platform that enables people to invest in residential, commercial, and semi-commercial bridging and development loans. The platform's target audiences are professional property investors and landlords. It was the first residential property-backed Innovative Finance ISA made available to UK savers.

Trading basics

Lat money

Lat money (Lao: ເງິນລາດ) refers to the bar-shaped coinage minted and used as currency in the kingdom of Lan Xang and its successor kingdoms of Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Champasak. "Lat" is a Lao abbreviation for "talat" or "market," referring to the small denomination currency which may also be referred to as "boat money" or "Ngern Heua." The bar-shaped coinage of Lan Xang could be d

Trading basics

List of taxes

This page, a companion page to tax, lists different taxes by economic design. For different taxes by country, see Tax rates around the world.

Trading basics

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014 (2014/65/EU, commonly known as MiFID 2) is a directive of the European Union (EU). Together with Regulation No 600/2014 it provides a legal framework for securities markets, investment intermediaries, in addition to trading venues. The directive provides harmonised regulation for investment services of the member states of the European Econ

Banking

Merck family

The Merck family is a German noble family of industrialists and bankers, known for establishing the world's oldest pharmaceutical company Merck, its American former subsidiary Merck & Co. (MSD), which is now an independent company, as well as the Hamburg merchant bank H. J. Merck & Co. The family still owns the majority of the pharmaceutical company Merck, making them one of the richest

Fiat currencies

Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury

Mervyn Allister King, Baron King of Lothbury, (born 30 March 1948) is a British economist and public servant who was governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013. Emeritus Professor of the London School of Economics and chairman of the Philharmonia since 2020, Lord King served as president of Marylebone Cricket Club for 2024/25.

Trading basics

MicroStrategy

Strategy Inc., stylized as Strategy₿ and formerly known as MicroStrategy, is an American company that provides business intelligence (BI) and mobile software. Founded in 1989 by Michael J. Saylor, Sanju Bansal, and Thomas Spahr, the firm develops software to analyze internal and external data in order to make business decisions and to develop mobile apps. It is a public company headquart

Payments & settlement

Money order

A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.

Securities & exchanges

Multilateral trading facility

A multilateral trading facility (MTF) is a European Union regulatory term for a self-regulated financial trading venue. These are alternatives to the traditional stock exchanges where a market is made in securities, typically using electronic systems. The concept was introduced within the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), a European Directive designed to harmonise re

Trading basics

Nutraceutical

Nutraceutical is a marketing term used to imply a pharmaceutical effect from plant extracts, compounds, or food products that are claimed to influence health outcomes, typically as dietary supplements.

Finance

Oki Electric Industry

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (沖電気工業株式会社, Oki Denki Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha), commonly referred to as OKI (), is a Japanese information and communications technology company, headquartered in Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo and operating in over 120 countries around the world.

Payments & settlement

Online wallet

An online wallet is a software or web service that allows users to store and control their online shopping information, such as logins, passwords, shipping address and credit card details. It also provides a method for consumers to purchase products from online retailers.

Finance

Panama as a tax haven

The Republic of Panama is one of the oldest and best-known tax havens in the Caribbean, as well as one of the most established in the region. Panama has had a reputation for tax avoidance since the early 20th century, and Panama has been cited repeatedly in recent years as a jurisdiction which does not cooperate with international tax transparency initiatives.

Trading basics

Panasonic

Panasonic Holdings Corporation, colloquially known as Panasonic, is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. It produces a wide range of products and services, including consumer electronics, rechargeable batteries, automotive and avionic systems, industrial equipment, as well as home renovation and construction. The company is listed on t

Finance

Pax-Bank

Pax-Bank eG is a German bank that focuses on Christian finance headquartered in Cologne. The bank states that it is a German: Bank für Kirche und Caritas (Bank for the Church and Charities), a cooperative Catholic universal bank. Its members consist of institutions of the Catholic Church and private individuals from the clerical field. The bank was founded as a self-help organization by

Payments & settlement

Payment Services Directive

The Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2, Directive (EU) 2015/2366, which replaced the Payment Services Directive (PSD), Directive 2007/64/EC) is an EU Directive, administered by the European Commission (Directorate General Internal Market) to regulate payment services and payment service providers throughout the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). The PSD's purpose

Payments & settlement

PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders. The company operates as a payment processor for online vendors, auction sites and many other commercial and

Payments & settlement

Paytm

PayTM (short for Pay Through Mobile) is an Indian multinational financial technology company, that specializes in digital payments and financial services, based in Noida. PayTM was founded in 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma under One97 Communications. The company offers mobile payment services to consumers and enables merchants to receive payments through QR code payment, Soundbox, Android-

Trading basics

PharmEasy

PharmEasy is an Indian e-pharmacy company that sells medicines, diagnostics and telehealth online.

Trading basics

Plus500

Plus500 is a global multi-asset financial technology company headquartered in Haifa, Israel, that provides online trading services in contracts for difference (CFDs), share dealing, futures trading, prediction markets and options on futures. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index and the STOXX Europe 600.

Fiat currencies

Price stability

Price stability occurs when average consumer prices for goods and services are constant over time, or when they are rising at a low and predictable rate. It is a goal of monetary and fiscal policy aiming to support sustainable rates of economic activity. Policy is set to maintain a very low rate of inflation or deflation. For example, the European Central Bank (ECB) describes price s

Finance

Royalty fund

A royalty fund (also known as royalty funding) is a category of private equity fund that specializes in purchasing consistent revenue streams deriving from the payment of royalties. Royalties are a usage-based payment from one individual or entity to another individual or entity, giving the right to use an asset, product, service or idea.

Trading basics

Securities Transaction Tax

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is a tax payable in India on the value of securities (excluding commodities and currency) transacted through a recognised stock exchange. As of 2016, it is 0.1% for delivery based equity trading.

Trading basics

Sharp Corporation

Sharp Corporation (シャープ株式会社, Shāpu Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese electronics company. It is headquartered in Sakai, Osaka, and was founded by Tokuji Hayakawa in 1912 in Honjō, Tokyō, and established as the Hayakawa Metal Works Institute in Abeno-ku, Osaka, in 1924. Since 2016, it is majority owned by the Taiwan-based manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., better known as Fo

Payments & settlement

Shift4

Shift4 Payments, Inc. is an American payment processing company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company, founded in 1999 by the then 16-year-old Jared Isaacman, processes payments for over 200,000 businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure, and restaurant industries. Shift4 specializes in commerce technology such as mobile payment software and hardware. The company was publicly

Trading basics

Shopify

Shopify Inc. is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, that operates a cloud e-commerce management platform (CEMP) for retail point-of-sale systems. The company has over five million customers and processed US$292.3 billion in transactions in 2024, of which 57% was in the United States. Major customers include Tesla, LVMH, Nestlé, PepsiCo, AB InBev,

Fiat currencies

Spahn tax

A Spahn tax is a type of currency transaction tax that is meant to be used for the purpose of controlling exchange-rate volatility. This idea was proposed by Paul Bernd Spahn in 1995.

Trading basics

Super app

A super app or super-app (also known as an everything app) is a mobile or web application that can provide multiple services including payment and instant messaging services, effectively becoming an all-encompassing, self-contained, commerce and communication online platform that embraces many aspects of personal and commercial life. Notable examples of super apps include Tencent's WeCha

Finance

Systemic risk

In finance, systemic risk is the risk of collapse of an entire financial system or entire market, as opposed to the risk associated with any one individual entity, group or component of a system, that can be contained therein without harming the entire system. It can be defined as "financial system instability, potentially catastrophic, caused or exacerbated by idiosyncratic events or co

Finance

Tax burden

The tax burden is the level of effective taxation represented as the distribution of tax rates across people, households, sectors, or forms of income by the amount of their income. Tax burdens are commonly summarized as the tax revenue as a share of gross domestic product for different groups; usually as the effective tax rates paid by different income groups as a share of their income o

Trading basics

Tax competition

Tax competition, a form of regulatory competition, exists when governments use reductions in fiscal burdens to encourage the inflow of productive resources or to discourage the exodus of those resources. Often, this means a governmental strategy of attracting foreign direct investment, foreign indirect investment (financial investment), and high value human resources by minimizing the ov

Finance

Tax compliance software

Tax compliance software is software that assists tax compliance, and may cover income tax, corporate tax, VAT, service tax, customs, sales tax, use tax, or other taxes its users may be required to pay. The software automatically calculates a user's tax liabilities to the government, keeps track of all transactions (in case of indirect taxes), keeps track of eligible tax credits, etc. The

Trading basics

Tax shield

A tax shield is the reduction in income taxes that results from taking an allowable deduction from taxable income. For example, because interest on debt is a tax-deductible expense, taking on debt creates a tax shield. Since a tax shield is a way to save cash flows, it increases the value of the business, and it is an important aspect of business valuation.

Finance

Taxation in Algeria

In Algeria, the most important sources of government revenue have been oil and gas royalties.

Finance

Taxation in Argentina

Due to the absence of the tax code in Argentina, the tax regulation takes place in accordance with separate laws, which, in turn, are supplemented by provisions of normative acts adopted by the executive authorities. The powers of the executive authority include levying a tax on profits, property and added value throughout the national territory. In Argentina, the tax policy is implemen

Finance

Taxation in Cyprus

Taxes in Cyprus are levied by both the central and local governments. Tax revenue stood at 39.2% of GDP in 2012. The most important revenue sources are the income tax, social security, value-added tax and corporate tax, and are all collected by the central government.

Finance

Taxation in Estonia

Taxation in Estonia consists of state and local taxes. A relatively high proportion of government revenue comes from consumption taxes whilst revenue from capital taxes is one of the lowest in the European Union.

Finance

Taxation in Iceland

Taxes in Iceland are levied by the state and the municipalities. Property rights are strong and Iceland is one of the few countries where they are applied to fishery management. Taxpayers pay various subsidies to each other, similar to European countries that are welfare states, but the spending is less than in most European countries. Despite low tax rates in relation to European welfar

Payments & settlement

Toast, Inc.

Toast, Inc. is an American cloud-based restaurant management software company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company provides an all-in-one point of sale (POS) system built on the Android operating system.

Trading basics

TP ICAP

TP ICAP Group plc is a financial services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its stock is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Trading basics

Treasury Select Committee

The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee is responsible for examining and scrutinizing the expenditure, administration and policy of HM Treasury. This includes its agencies and associated bodies, including HM Revenue and Customs, the Ba

Trading basics

Types of e-commerce

There are many types of e-commerce models, based on market segmentation, that can be used to conduct business online. The 6 types of business models that can be used in e-commerce include: Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Consumer-to-Business (C2B), Business-to-Business (B2B), Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C), Business-to-Administration (B2A), and Consumer-to-Administration

Securities & exchanges

UNIDROIT

UNIDROIT (formally, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law; French: Institut international pour l'unification du droit privé) is an intergovernmental organization whose objective is to harmonize private international law across countries through uniform rules, international conventions, and the production of model laws, sets of principles, guides and guidelines. E

Finance

United States as a tax haven

In 2010, the United States implemented the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act; the law required financial firms around the world to report accounts held by US citizens to the Internal Revenue Service.

Banking

Warburg family

The Warburg family is a prominent German and American banking family. They are noted for their varied accomplishments in biochemistry, botany, political activism, economics, investment banking, law, physics, classical music, art history, pharmacology, physiology, finance, private equity and philanthropy.