KTFA Members "News and Views" Monday Night 11-8-2021
KTFA:
MilitiaMan: More ships in an out mean they are trading, but, are they now starting to clear the trades digitially. The AMF has a report out of 33 pages that shows Iraq in the graphs regarding blockchain.. We will have to decipher the report.. The fact they Iraq is included shows progress that the region is about to be or is on a level playing field. ~ MM
Samson: Transportation: anchorage of three tankers and a container ship in the southern port of Umm Qasr
11/08/2021 17:27:21
The Ministry of Transport, the General Company for Ports of Iraq, received three oil tankers and a commercial ship with a container load that docked today on the berths of the southern port of Umm Qasr.
The Director General of Ports, Dr. Eng. Farhan Al-Fartousi, said that the southern port of Umm Qasr works to export and import oil derivatives and goods, referring to the directives of the Minister of Transport, Captain Nasser Hussein Bandar Al-Shibli, to increase the volume of handling in our ports and intensify transport operations.
The Director General added that the berths of the southern port of Umm Qasr received three oil tankers equipped with flankot and other oil derivatives, and a merchant ship loaded with more than (700) containers of multiple purposes and sizes.
#Inform_Ministry_of_Transport
port company notification
November 8, 2021 LINK
MilitiaMan:https://www.amf.org.ae/sites/default/files/research_and_publications/Economic%20Studies/2021/ar/الانعكاسات%20الاقتصادية%20لتقنية%20البلوكتشين%20والاستقرار%20المالي_أكتوبر_..2021.pdf
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Don961: The Iraqi banking floor is not eligible for Bitcoin trading, and the Central Bank warns against trading.
- 5 Days Ago Researcher Shatha Khalil*
“Bitcoin” is a decentralized digital currency based on blockchain technology or “Blockchain”, and this system is characterized by a limited number of its currencies and the absence of any manager for it. It is trading at levels as high as $146,000 if established as a safe investment asset.
“Bitcoin is a digital currency, a global payment system that can be compared to other currencies such as the dollar or the euro, but with several basic differences, the most prominent of which is that this currency is a completely electronic currency that only trades online,” and that it is “the first decentralized digital currency – it is A system that works without a central repository or a single manager, meaning that it differs from traditional currencies by not having a central regulatory body behind it as it operates on a peer-to-peer system.”
According to international reports, “the value of bitcoin has risen from 6 cents 11 years ago to nearly $33,000 so far, and the number of bitcoin units is 18,590,169 units, i.e. the market value of bitcoin is $630 billion. The value of bitcoin exceeds international companies such as Visa, Master and Pay.” Paypal, and it occupies the ninth place globally in terms of market value, and international companies have begun to invest in bitcoin, for example, the British Raffer Company, which invested $ 745 million, and other companies have allowed to deal with bitcoin such as PayPal, which makes the demand for it increases.
As for Iraq, the Central Bank expressed its fear of trading in this currency, which has no physical presence and is used for online purchases and supports payment using Bitcoin cards, or it may be converted to traditional currencies at times and therefore it involves several risks that may result from its circulation, especially with regard to electronic piracy And fraud, and despite its lack of popularity inside Iraq, the Central Bank of Iraq warned on its official website against dealing with virtual digital currencies (Bitcoin) because of the great risks, especially with regard to electronic piracy and fraud.
One of the central concerns is also that most of the official websites that sell this currency add Iraq to the ban list, so it is currently being purchased through some trust brokers from outside or inside Iraq, and the Iraqi investor in the coming period may be vulnerable to fraud and fraud by people or websites Fake".
Where the Central issued a circular to subject its dealers to the provisions of the Money Laundering Law No. (39) of 2015, and the relevant laws in this regard.
Bitcoin prices continued to rise to their highest levels since the beginning of last May, by about 55 thousand dollars, and it seems that the sharp rise wave reached all other digital currencies.
Cryptocurrency specialists oppose the decision of the Central Bank of Iraq; Because he did not put an alternative to encrypted digital dealing, since many Iraqis invest and trade in encrypted digital currencies, estimated at millions of dollars through global platforms - according to him - which have crossed governments and borders as a result of modern technology and economic globalization.
The specialists also called on the Central Bank of Iraq to plan to issue a digital currency called “the digital dinar” and not an encrypted digital currency, in order to get rid of the paper-cash bureaucracy, as well as to reduce currency counterfeiting instead of going to punish those trading the digital currency with the crime of money laundering.
Digital currencies are defined as currencies issued by the state through central banks, and they have a different security system than encrypted digital currencies, which are known as “non-state currencies”, issued by companies and individuals, and they are not ready to be obtained except through the mining process through which they are entered New currencies are in circulation, via sophisticated computers that solve very complex mathematical problems.
Major economies such as the United States, China and the European Union soon began studying the issuance of their own digital currencies by central banks, and dealing with them.
The Central Bank of Iraq’s issuance of such a circular or “decision” makes the trader or dealer in the virtual currency illegal in the country due to fears of electronic piracy and fraud, and despite the lack of popularity of it inside Iraq as it is a currency of issuance, or in a more correct sense, currency mining needs advanced computers and electricity Continuous 24 hours and to the use of advanced technology and to continuous updating, and we know the many crises that Iraq is going through, which are accumulated crises and constitute an obstacle to any development. Where digital transactions depend entirely on a sophisticated electronic system subject to the highest standards of cybersecurity, at a time when the Iraqi banking system needs continuous technological update.
Among the companies that are currently trading are international and Iraqi forex companies, but trading is more difficult than storing currency, which needs to study and learn, and then start dealing with forex platforms.
Bitcoin has risen about 200% since last year 2020, buoyed by demand from large investors, who were attracted by the currency in the hope of quick gains, and thanks to expectations that it will become a dominant payment method in the world.
Some specialists in Iraq say that more than 80 governmental and private banks (commercial and Islamic), in addition to branches of foreign banks, have an undeveloped electronic system, at the same level as the world has reached in the banking sector.
And the largest cash flow, which amounts to 80%, is limited to the two government banks, “Al-Rafidain and Al-Rasheed”, who so far deal with paper records in documenting their banking transactions, so how can they deal with digital currencies whose value moved days to reach 50 thousand dollars for one digital currency, and observers confirm.
There is a weakness in some Iraqi banks in terms of non-compliance with international rules and standards, which need development and follow-up due to continuous updating of requirements and development in international standards, but this will not affect the work of the Iraqi banking sector.
The Iraqi economy in general suffers from the negative effects of money laundering crimes and the financing of armed and outlawed groups; The Central Bank of Iraq, according to specialists in Iraqi banking affairs, has sought to take many deterrent measures and implement the relevant laws to combat money laundering crimes that threaten financial stability in Iraq.
Economic Studies Unit
North America office
Rawbet Center for Research and Strategic Studies
Ross: I can just visualize playing poker with these. "I'll see your Zero and raise you 3 Zeros" Lol
Now if Iraq would just raise their 3 Zeros
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Samson: The Arab Monetary Fund issues a study on "The Economic Implications of Blockchain Technology and Financial Stability in Arab Financial Markets"
8th November, 2021
The rise in the global blockchain technology index has a positive impact on the change in the level of stock returns for the Arab financial markets
The study recommends expanding the uses of blockchain technology in electronic payment systems, accelerating the development of legal and regulatory frameworks for the safe use of blockchain technology, qualifying human cadres in this field, and allocating operational budgets for blockchain technology.
As part of its keenness to develop its research activities in line with the priorities of its member states, the Arab Monetary Fund has issued a study on “The Economic Implications of Blockchain Technology and Financial Stability in Arab Financial Markets.” This study aims to analyze the economic repercussions of blockchain technology on Arab economies, and understand the level of financial stability in Arab financial markets during the period (2016-2021).
The study followed the quantitative approach using regression models with heterogeneous conditional variance to analyze the relationship between the time series of returns for the global blockchain technology index, and the returns of performance indicators of Arab financial markets. The results of the study showed that the rise in the global blockchain technology index has a positive impact on the size of the change in the level of stock returns for the Arab financial markets, with an important statistical significance at the level of 1%. This is due to the fact that the use of blockchain technology effectively contributes to reducing operational costs, improving the level of transparency, increasing the levels of security and reducing risks, and raising the efficiency, accuracy and speed of the operational and financial operations of institutions and companies, and achieving financial inclusion in Arab economies.
The results of the analysis of financial stability in the Arab financial markets also indicate that there is a discrepancy in the pattern of response of the returns of the performance indicators of the Arab financial markets to economic shocks, the degree of their continuity and fading, and the quality of negative and positive information affecting them. This disparity creates a lot of investment opportunities and contributes to the establishment of low-risk and more stable investment portfolios.
According to these results, the study proposes some recommendations, the most important of which are expanding the uses of blockchain technology in electronic payment systems, accelerating the development of legal and regulatory frameworks for the safe use of blockchain technology, working to qualify human cadres in this field, allocating operational budgets for blockchain technology, and supporting educational institutions to adopt programs Blockchain technology in the Arab region, and holding scientific conferences and seminars to raise awareness of the importance of these technologies in order to achieve financial inclusion and improve economic performance and competitiveness.