Episode #196 - Vince Lanci and the mBridge Two-Step
Nov 2, 2024
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Vince Lanci, a finance expert known for his insights into crypto and Bitcoin mining, returns to discuss the recent BRICS summit. He dives into the impact of BRICS Pay, exploring its role in reducing U.S. dollar dependency and its implications for international trade. The conversation highlights the tension between traditional banks and new financial technologies. Lanci also examines the shifting landscape of currency dynamics and options markets, along with the challenges posed by emerging digital currencies and geopolitical influences.
The introduction of BRICS Pay aims to revolutionize foreign exchange by allowing transactions in local currencies, reducing reliance on the dollar.
Enbridge's initiative promotes trade equality among BRICS nations through a token system based on a gold-backed currency model for transaction settlements.
BRICS faces challenges in de-dollarization due to internal conflicts and the entrenched power of banks, which resist disintermediation in currency exchanges.
Deep dives
Overview of BRICS Pay
BRICS Pay is introduced as a new concept aimed at facilitating currency exchange among BRICS nations, allowing users to transact in multiple currencies without the need for traditional dollars. Essentially, this service functions as a foreign exchange card, enabling users to pay in the local currency of any participating country. This approach aims to disintermediate banks, which have traditionally dominated the foreign exchange sector, minimizing the need for expensive currency conversion kiosks. The marketing strategy highlights its benefits, such as a free initial balance, to entice users and promote the service.
The Enbridge Initiative
The Enbridge initiative is crafted to support a new system of international trade among BRICS members, focusing on transactions made with local currencies instead of relying on the US dollar. It aims to foster trade equality by creating a basket of commodities and currencies that simplifies payments and reduces reliance on the dollar. Notably, Enbridge's structure entails settling transactions through a token system based on a gold-backed currency model, ensuring stability and mutual agreement among member nations. Recent successful transactions using Enbridge signify its operational viability, indicating a promising step toward de-dollarization.
Challenges and Opportunities in De-dollarization
The discussion underscores significant challenges BRICS faces in its mission to de-dollarize and establish a new trading framework. The reliance on the dollar presents a traditional barrier, as many member countries still conduct essential trade in dollars, complicating the transition. Moreover, internal conflicts regarding currency valuation and allocation within the proposed new system could lead to disputes among members. Nevertheless, establishing a successful alternative trading framework could democratize economic interactions and diminish the West's influence on global finance.
Bank Intermediation and Its Impact
The conversation highlights banks' role as intermediaries in foreign exchange transactions, emphasizing their financial dominance and the complexities they introduce. Since banks profit off the spread in currency trading, there's significant resistance to changes that would disintermediate their operations. The podcast elaborates on the opaque nature of the foreign exchange market, where banks control liquidity and transaction rates, thus perpetuating their own market share. With the introduction of BRICS Pay and Enbridge, banks face existential threats to their traditional business models, catalyzing a potential paradigm shift in financial transactions.
The Geopolitical Landscape and BRICS' Future
The geopolitical discussion acknowledges that the emergence of BRICS and its initiatives like BRICS Pay and Enbridge can be partially attributed to the perceived aggression from Western powers, particularly the US. This dynamic has united BRICS nations against a common adversary, fueling their collaboration to seek alternatives to the dollar. The notion of cartelization among BRICS countries becomes evident as they work collectively to redefine their economic relationships and reduce dependency on the West. Ultimately, the success of these efforts hinges on the nations' ability to navigate complexities within their partnerships and maintain cohesion against external pressures.
Vince Lanci (GoldFix) returns to the show to discuss the BRICS Summit, what they achieved and why BIS pulled out of mBridge. Vince breaks down a number of important concepts and market dynamics that we don't always talk about but are vitally important to understanding how things actually work in the real world.