Philip Stafford
@staffordphilip.bsky.social
Reporter at the Financial Times https://bsky.app/profile/financialtimes.com.
Bits of UK retail, markets, bits of market structure, bits of crypto or mix of all of them.
If you've been spammed in your DM with a crypto scam, it's not me.
Bits of UK retail, markets, bits of market structure, bits of crypto or mix of all of them.
If you've been spammed in your DM with a crypto scam, it's not me.
Pinned
Sadly I have a new impostor.
It's not me - note the double 'l' in Phillip.
If you've been contacted, pls ignore/delete the message and report them. Thanks.
It's not me - note the double 'l' in Phillip.
If you've been contacted, pls ignore/delete the message and report them. Thanks.
So there was specific news driving this fall: early investors cashing out.
If you're in but don't see where the exit liquidity is...
www.ft.com/content/18e3...
If you're in but don't see where the exit liquidity is...
www.ft.com/content/18e3...
December 3, 2025 at 7:35 AM
So there was specific news driving this fall: early investors cashing out.
If you're in but don't see where the exit liquidity is...
www.ft.com/content/18e3...
If you're in but don't see where the exit liquidity is...
www.ft.com/content/18e3...
Binance appoints long-term partner of main shareholder and the former, recently pardoned, CEO as its new co-CEO
www.reuters.com/technology/b...
www.reuters.com/technology/b...
Binance appoints Yi He as co-CEO
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has appointed co-founder Yi He as its co-chief executive, the company said on Wednesday alongside Richard Teng.
www.reuters.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Binance appoints long-term partner of main shareholder and the former, recently pardoned, CEO as its new co-CEO
www.reuters.com/technology/b...
www.reuters.com/technology/b...
Reposted by Philip Stafford
My @alphaville.ft.com post below.
BTW, if you haven’t seen the @financialtimes.com film narrated by @katie0martin.ft.com on $MSTR from last May, it is well worth a watch as (so far) a remarkably prescient work of video journalism
BTW, if you haven’t seen the @financialtimes.com film narrated by @katie0martin.ft.com on $MSTR from last May, it is well worth a watch as (so far) a remarkably prescient work of video journalism
@thekrazykobra.bsky.social just could not resist an update on the evolving.... situation... at Strategy. (FKA MicroStrategy)
on.ft.com/3Mb1EQa
on.ft.com/3Mb1EQa
In a crisis, Strategy stacks dollars
A $1.44bn dividend reserve raises new concerns for shareholders of the bitcoin treasury company
on.ft.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:28 PM
My @alphaville.ft.com post below.
BTW, if you haven’t seen the @financialtimes.com film narrated by @katie0martin.ft.com on $MSTR from last May, it is well worth a watch as (so far) a remarkably prescient work of video journalism
BTW, if you haven’t seen the @financialtimes.com film narrated by @katie0martin.ft.com on $MSTR from last May, it is well worth a watch as (so far) a remarkably prescient work of video journalism
Red flag (or maybe orange?) alert
MSTR’s 10Q says Saylor spent $27 million on a deposit for a new private jet
December 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Red flag (or maybe orange?) alert
How's it going at American Bitcoin, co-founded by Eric Trump to mine and hoard bitcoin?
The odder thing is that there's no specific news. Still Yolo eh
The odder thing is that there's no specific news. Still Yolo eh
December 2, 2025 at 4:19 PM
How's it going at American Bitcoin, co-founded by Eric Trump to mine and hoard bitcoin?
The odder thing is that there's no specific news. Still Yolo eh
The odder thing is that there's no specific news. Still Yolo eh
(Micro) Strategy's new strategy is out: "Well, we may need to sell some bitcoin to pay off the dividends we promised some of our shareholders"
December 1, 2025 at 3:42 PM
(Micro) Strategy's new strategy is out: "Well, we may need to sell some bitcoin to pay off the dividends we promised some of our shareholders"
The perils of sale and leaseback. CME sold its Aurora, Illinois site to CyrusOne back in 2016. Like most finserv data centres, it has redundant power and back up generation so this looks like a pretty big issue.
www.ft.com/content/3332...
www.ft.com/content/3332...
Trading on CME halted after exchange hit by data centre outage
Chicago-based exchange handles futures tied to interest rates, Treasuries, energy and equities
www.ft.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:07 AM
The perils of sale and leaseback. CME sold its Aurora, Illinois site to CyrusOne back in 2016. Like most finserv data centres, it has redundant power and back up generation so this looks like a pretty big issue.
www.ft.com/content/3332...
www.ft.com/content/3332...
Higher, Faster, Stronger, Yolo, Hodl and Rekt
www.ft.com/content/b813...
www.ft.com/content/b813...
‘Steroid Olympics’ organiser to go public in $1.2bn Spac deal
The Enhanced Games has been criticised for encouraging athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs.
www.ft.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Higher, Faster, Stronger, Yolo, Hodl and Rekt
www.ft.com/content/b813...
www.ft.com/content/b813...
Reposted by Philip Stafford
So currencies. Much medium of exchange. Very store of value.
Stablecoins are no more a replacement for dollars than Mexican or Argentine pesos were a replacement for dollars in the 1980s or 1990s. They're the equivalent of a fixed exchange rate peg with ever-present credibility/reserves questions.
Stablecoins are no more a replacement for dollars than Mexican or Argentine pesos were a replacement for dollars in the 1980s or 1990s. They're the equivalent of a fixed exchange rate peg with ever-present credibility/reserves questions.
November 26, 2025 at 3:45 PM
So currencies. Much medium of exchange. Very store of value.
Stablecoins are no more a replacement for dollars than Mexican or Argentine pesos were a replacement for dollars in the 1980s or 1990s. They're the equivalent of a fixed exchange rate peg with ever-present credibility/reserves questions.
Stablecoins are no more a replacement for dollars than Mexican or Argentine pesos were a replacement for dollars in the 1980s or 1990s. They're the equivalent of a fixed exchange rate peg with ever-present credibility/reserves questions.
Assuming they make $15bn. Because stashing away $115bn at even 5% p.a. doesn't get you anywhere close to it.
www.ft.com/content/086f...
www.ft.com/content/086f...
November 26, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Assuming they make $15bn. Because stashing away $115bn at even 5% p.a. doesn't get you anywhere close to it.
www.ft.com/content/086f...
www.ft.com/content/086f...
This came out late overnight. Less about about setting up a derivatives exchange, more about getting directly into prediction markets.
www.thetradenews.com/robinhood-ma...
www.thetradenews.com/robinhood-ma...
Robinhood Markets picks up 90% stake in MIAX derivatives exchange - The TRADE
The move comes as MIAX “continues to focus on strategic growth opportunities within its core exchanges,” and looks to facilitate its entry to the prediction markets to benefit both institutional and r...
www.thetradenews.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:03 PM
This came out late overnight. Less about about setting up a derivatives exchange, more about getting directly into prediction markets.
www.thetradenews.com/robinhood-ma...
www.thetradenews.com/robinhood-ma...
As a former PM once said: "There are no disasters, just opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters."
Err it went wrong but in a new way
Crazy scenes as OBR numbers leak early
"We’re just shouting to each other like, ‘Is this it?,” said one investor
And they are still plugging away with PMQs?!
www.ft.com/content/d0a5...
Crazy scenes as OBR numbers leak early
"We’re just shouting to each other like, ‘Is this it?,” said one investor
And they are still plugging away with PMQs?!
www.ft.com/content/d0a5...
UK Budget 2025: OBR says Reeves to lift headroom to £22bn
Investors taken by surprise as fiscal watchdog publishes data prematurely
www.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
As a former PM once said: "There are no disasters, just opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters."
"This leaves the company structurally positioned to accumulate bitcoin near peaks while missing the very dips that savvy investors prize."
www.ft.com/content/1f63...
www.ft.com/content/1f63...
‘Infinite money glitch’; meet arithmetic
Micro Strategy, major strife
www.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:50 AM
"This leaves the company structurally positioned to accumulate bitcoin near peaks while missing the very dips that savvy investors prize."
www.ft.com/content/1f63...
www.ft.com/content/1f63...
If anyone was going to see Kalshi as a gaming site, it would be the Nevada regulator
www.ft.com/content/2f07...
www.ft.com/content/2f07...
Kalshi hit as Nevada judge deems platform is subject to gambling laws
Setback for prediction markets start-up as ruling that blocked enforcement by state regulators is overturned
www.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:19 AM
If anyone was going to see Kalshi as a gaming site, it would be the Nevada regulator
www.ft.com/content/2f07...
www.ft.com/content/2f07...
Reposted by Philip Stafford
The boom in sports gambling and prediction markets is creating “emerging credit risks,” per Bank of America sherwood.news/markets/the-...
November 24, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The boom in sports gambling and prediction markets is creating “emerging credit risks,” per Bank of America sherwood.news/markets/the-...
Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao accused of facilitating payments to Hamas, just weeks after CZ's pardon by Trump.
www.ft.com/content/0aea...
www.ft.com/content/0aea...
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao accused of facilitating payments to Hamas
Crypto tycoon pardoned by Donald Trump faces US court complaint from families of victims of October 7 attack
www.ft.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao accused of facilitating payments to Hamas, just weeks after CZ's pardon by Trump.
www.ft.com/content/0aea...
www.ft.com/content/0aea...
Music to the ears of @smtuffy.bsky.social
The outcome is like to marry the budget of the CFTC with the SEC's knowledge of derivatives.
www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
The outcome is like to marry the budget of the CFTC with the SEC's knowledge of derivatives.
www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
The best way to regulate digital assets: Merge the SEC and CFTC | Brookings
Former CFTC Chairman Timothy G. Massad makes the case for merging the SEC and CFTC to regulate cryptocurrencies
www.brookings.edu
November 21, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Music to the ears of @smtuffy.bsky.social
The outcome is like to marry the budget of the CFTC with the SEC's knowledge of derivatives.
www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
The outcome is like to marry the budget of the CFTC with the SEC's knowledge of derivatives.
www.brookings.edu/articles/the...
Reposted by Philip Stafford
The Trump family has been bragging that Trump's energy policy has enabled their Bitcoin-mining bonanza.
Turns out they're running part of their mining operations in Canada. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Turns out they're running part of their mining operations in Canada. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Justin Ling: The Trumps’ latest money-making scheme has a little-known Canadian connection. Can we do anything about it?
It's a refuge for criminals and a cash cow for the man who wants to annex us, yet bitcoin is still being mined in Canada.
www.thestar.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:52 AM
The Trump family has been bragging that Trump's energy policy has enabled their Bitcoin-mining bonanza.
Turns out they're running part of their mining operations in Canada. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Turns out they're running part of their mining operations in Canada. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Oof.
Prepare for another wave of nonsensical AI images.
I've seen a fair few BTC market drops but this sustained sell-off is a biggie, as it lacks a standout catalyst.
Prepare for another wave of nonsensical AI images.
I've seen a fair few BTC market drops but this sustained sell-off is a biggie, as it lacks a standout catalyst.
November 21, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Oof.
Prepare for another wave of nonsensical AI images.
I've seen a fair few BTC market drops but this sustained sell-off is a biggie, as it lacks a standout catalyst.
Prepare for another wave of nonsensical AI images.
I've seen a fair few BTC market drops but this sustained sell-off is a biggie, as it lacks a standout catalyst.
Reposted by Philip Stafford
(Barron’s) - MSCI is reviewing whether to exclude digital asset treasury companies, including Strategy, from its indexes, with a decision expected by mid-January.
@barrons.com $MSTR
www.barrons.com/articles/str...
@barrons.com $MSTR
www.barrons.com/articles/str...
November 20, 2025 at 5:16 PM
(Barron’s) - MSCI is reviewing whether to exclude digital asset treasury companies, including Strategy, from its indexes, with a decision expected by mid-January.
@barrons.com $MSTR
www.barrons.com/articles/str...
@barrons.com $MSTR
www.barrons.com/articles/str...
Reposted by Philip Stafford
I don’t want to seem out of touch but I don’t actually understand the economy anymore.
November 18, 2025 at 3:23 AM
I don’t want to seem out of touch but I don’t actually understand the economy anymore.
Reposted by Philip Stafford
One of the biggest downsides of social media is that it made a rake of deeply unimpressive young US journalists (using that term loosely) brands that people took/take way too seriously and now we’re just stuck with them
November 17, 2025 at 4:57 PM
One of the biggest downsides of social media is that it made a rake of deeply unimpressive young US journalists (using that term loosely) brands that people took/take way too seriously and now we’re just stuck with them
What's the etiquette when you've been pardoned from a crime you admitted to, by a man who said he doesn't know you?
One option: float a possible refund (from the US govt) of the $4.3bn settlement to invest in America, "to show our appreciation".
decrypt.co/348905/binan...
One option: float a possible refund (from the US govt) of the $4.3bn settlement to invest in America, "to show our appreciation".
decrypt.co/348905/binan...
Binance Founder CZ Addresses 'Delicate Question' of $4.3B Fine Following Trump Pardon - Decrypt
Changpeng Zhao, who no longer holds an executive role at Binance, said any refund would be invested in America "to show our appreciation."
decrypt.co
November 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
What's the etiquette when you've been pardoned from a crime you admitted to, by a man who said he doesn't know you?
One option: float a possible refund (from the US govt) of the $4.3bn settlement to invest in America, "to show our appreciation".
decrypt.co/348905/binan...
One option: float a possible refund (from the US govt) of the $4.3bn settlement to invest in America, "to show our appreciation".
decrypt.co/348905/binan...
Big investigation from the ICIJ, which finds - surprise, surprise- crypto exchanges at the centre of moving illict money around.
www.icij.org/investigatio...
www.icij.org/investigatio...
Crypto giants moved billions linked to money launderers, drug traffickers and North Korean hackers - ICIJ
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists traced tens of thousands of transactions and found major crypto trading platforms awash with dirty money.
www.icij.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Big investigation from the ICIJ, which finds - surprise, surprise- crypto exchanges at the centre of moving illict money around.
www.icij.org/investigatio...
www.icij.org/investigatio...
Reposted by Philip Stafford
Governments and voters are both reacting to algorithm-shaped “public opinion,” not grounded priorities. Immigration feels urgent because platforms amplify fear, pulling parties into hollow performances of toughness. The far right reads that drift as confirmation it’s winning.
Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics
November 16, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Governments and voters are both reacting to algorithm-shaped “public opinion,” not grounded priorities. Immigration feels urgent because platforms amplify fear, pulling parties into hollow performances of toughness. The far right reads that drift as confirmation it’s winning.