Financial Times (April 9)
“Among the many consequences of the stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, it seems that we may look back on this as the week in which one of America’s most powerful geopolitical tools was shown to be a weakened stick. Threatening to limit access to the global dollar system now seems less fearsome.” US Treasury sanctions cover the entire country of Iran. “But not only does this not appear to have prevented it from selling oil while at war with the US, it has not seemed to stop it from charging ransom fees to international shipping seeking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Tags: Consequences, Fearsome, Geopolitical tools, Global dollar system, Iran, Oil, Ransom fees, Sanctions, Stand-off, Strait of Hormuz, Threatening, Treasury, U.S., Weakened
Market Watch (April 9)
“The U.S. government recently retired the penny after two centuries because it had become too expensive to mint. Some bitcoin miners are facing a similar existential threat. For many miners, it has cost more in recent months to produce a bitcoin than the coin can be sold for, leading them to stop operating some machines and to sell more bitcoin holdings to raise cash.”
Tags: Bitcoin miners, Cash, Existential threat, Expensive, Government, Holdings, MINT, Penny, Retired, Sell, U.S.
