Top cryptocurrency exchange Binance is launching an open blockchain project "Venus" focused on developing localized stablecoins worldwide.

In an announcement published today, Aug. 19, the exchange argues it is well-positioned to launch such a currency ecosystem in light of its existing public chain technology, Binance Chain, wide user base and already established global compliance measures.

Leveraging existing know-how
The exchange says it is seeking partnerships with governments, corporations, technology firms, and other cryptocurrency and blockchain projects in order to develop a new currency ecosystem that will empower both developed and developing countries

The exchange's vision for the project, per the announcement, is to "build a new open alliance and sustainable community" that enlists partners who wield influence on a global scale.

Binance Chain, as the announcement notes, has already been running several native asset-pegged stablecoins, including a Bitcoin (BTC)-pegged stablecoin (BTCB) and the Binance BGBP Stable Coin (BGBP) pegged to the British Pound.

Binance says it will leverage its existing infrastructure and experience with various regulatory regimes to consolidate a compliance risk control system and build a multi-dimensional cooperation network for the Venus project.

Vying with Libra
Binance's ambitious new venture appears to compete directly with plans from social media titan Facebook to launch a fiat-pegged stablecoin, Libra, that would power a global crypto payments network embedded into the company's three wholly-owned apps: WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram.

With its choice of name, "Venus," Binance is also stepping into the astrological waters of both Facebook's Libra project and the Winklevoss Twins' Gemini exchange and Gemini dollar.

There are many reasons why the Philippines is becoming increasingly crypto-friendly. Not only has its central bank registered more crypto exchanges recently, but the Securities and Exchange Commission has also been actively finalizing crypto guidelines. The country has an active crypto community, and one of its largest banks has engaged in multiple crypto projects.

Rising Number of Crypto Exchanges
The number of approved crypto exchanges has been increasing in the Philippines. The country's central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has registered 13 of them so far: Betur Inc. dba Coins.ph, Rebittance Inc., Bloomsolutions Inc., Virtual Currency Philippines Inc., Etranss Remittance International Corp., Fyntegrate Inc., Zybi Tech Inc., Bexpress Inc., Coinville Phils Inc., Aba Global Philippines Inc., Bitan Moneytech Co. Ltd., Telcoin Corp., and Atomtrans Tech Corp. The latter two were added to the BSP's list of approved exchanges last month.

The central bank adopted a formal regulatory approach to cryptocurrency through the issuance of Circular No. 944 back in 2017. It requires businesses engaged in the exchange of cryptocurrencies for fiat money in the Philippines to register with the central bank as remittance and transfer companies.

Among the registered companies is Rebittance Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Satoshi Citadel Industries (SCI), a fintech company building a blockchain ecosystem in the Philippines. Co-founder Miguel Cuneta told news.Bitcoin.com that, besides the 13 registrants, many others are in "in the process of applying."

In addition, the Philippines has a special economic zone where many overseas crypto exchanges have been licensed to operate. The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) revealed in June that it had licensed 37 crypto exchange operators. In collaboration with property developer Northern Star Gaming and Resorts, the authority has been building "Crypto Valley of Asia" for companies operating in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport. However, CEZA's licenses do not entitle licensees to "sell securities to Filipinos or to exchange tokens into fiat currency," the authority clarified, noting that a BSP license is needed for such purpose.

Growing More Crypto-Friendly
Cuneta further shared with news.Bitcoin.com that he believes "The Philippines has always been one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world," highlighting several factors.

Firstly, he emphasized that the Philippines is "one of the first in the whole world" where the central bank registers companies wanting to provide services using cryptocurrency. The BSP started registering them in 2017, the same year Japan's top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), began registering Japanese crypto exchanges. The FSA has registered 19 operators to legally operate crypto exchanges in Japan so far. Moreover, Cuneta elaborated:

We also now have new draft guidelines from our own SEC on ICO fundraising and order-book exchange regulations, paving the way for a more mature ecosystem with our own crypto marketplace for local price discovery.

The SCI co-founder additionally remarked that his country has "an active community and active meetup groups established since 2014." He also acknowledged that CEZA "allows overseas crypto companies to register and cater to offshore customers." After conveying various reasons for the crypto savvy image of the country, he concluded that "Definitely, the Philippines is becoming more and more crypto-friendly."

Luis Buenaventura, founder and chief strategy officer at Bloomsolutions Inc., shares a similar sentiment. Describing his country as "one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world," he told news.Bitcoin.com: "Not only do we have an actual regulatory framework for crypto exchanges, but we're also a predominantly English-speaking population that can use all the same tools and apps as North American or European audiences with minimal localization. Thus we tend to be a launchpad for U.S. startups looking to expand in the region."

As an example, he mentioned popular mobile bitcoin wallet and investing app Abra. The startup has been offering its crypto-to-fiat conversion network in the Philippines since 2016, trialing it in the country first, before expanding to others. Many Filipinos are also trading bitcoin cash on Bitcoin.com's peer-to-peer marketplace.

Crypto Adoption Advancing
Buenaventura estimates that there are approximately two million people in the Philippines who have had some exposure to crypto; some were "caught up in the buying frenzy of late 2017."

We have a fairly sizable expat population, mostly Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese so there's a lot of cross-pollination when it comes to financial technologies and payment systems.

Cuneta also believes that crypto adoption is growing in the Philippines, "at least in terms of the number of on-ramps and off-ramps we have for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the country," he explained to news.Bitcoin.com. "You can send money, pay bills, buy phone credits, and exchange crypto to fiat using several central-bank licensed exchanges and service providers."

Another factor recognized by the SCI co-founder was that "Banks and other business are also more comfortable working with companies that are licensed by the central bank, unlike when we were starting out in 2014 and banks would just shut down our accounts as soon as they found out we are dealing with bitcoin." He continued, "In terms of user adoption, we see more sophisticated and knowledgeable users, traders, and enthusiasts as compared to the speculative mania of 2017."

While asserting that "Bitcoin-as-retail-payment has never caught on here," Buenaventura opined:
Less than 2% of payments in the Philippines happens digitally so the importance of creating cash-to-crypto bridges can't be overstated.

Stressing the growing number of places where "people can actively exchange physical cash for crypto," he disclosed that his company "powers about a dozen physical locations, and they're all licensed FX outlets, and we're aiming to be in 50 by the end of the year."

Unionbank's Crypto Initiatives
The Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank), one of the largest banks in the country, has engaged in a couple of crypto projects. Following the installation of a bitcoin ATM at its branch in Makati called The Ark, the bank has reportedly launched a stablecoin.

The Philippine Star reported on July 26 that Unionbank had issued "a stablecoin dubbed PHX and became the first bank in the country to conduct transactions using the blockchain technology." This stablecoin is not to be confused with the Red Pulse Phoenix coin which uses the same symbol. Unionbank backs the value of its coin, which is guaranteed to be at parity with the Philippine peso at all times, the publication conveyed.

A senior vice president and head of the fintech business group at Unionbank, Arvie de Vera, revealed that live PHX transactions were implemented on the bank's i2i platform. Project i2i, which stands for island-to-island, institution-to-institution, and individual-to-individual, is the bank's clearing system that connects rural banks through blockchain technology. Three banks participated: Summit Rural Bank in Luzon, Progressive Bank in Visayas and Cantilan Bank in Mindanao. Each performed buy, transfer, redemption transactions and domestic remittances using the stablecoin. Initially available only to i2i participants, the coin can be purchased and redeemed by debiting from and crediting directly to their Unionbank accounts. According to de Vera:

PHX is a stable store of value, medium of exchange and is a programmable token with self-executing logic. It enables transparent and automatic execution of payments.

SEC's Digital Asset Exchange Rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has published a document entitled Rules on Digital Asset Exchange, which primarily governs the registration and operations of digital asset exchanges accessible in or from the Philippines.

The document has 10 main sections covering areas such as registration requirements, anti-money laundering measures, as well as the powers and responsibilities of digital asset exchanges, including capitalization maintenance requirements. "The digital asset exchange shall maintain the unimpaired paid-up capital of one hundred million pesos (Php 100,000,000.00 [~$1,912,450]) at all times … in a form, and amount as the Commission determines is sufficient to ensure the financial integrity of the digital asset exchange and its operations," the SEC document reads.

Stakeholders, exchanges, broker-dealers, investment houses, the investing public, and other interested parties had until Aug. 14 to submit their input regarding the proposed rules.

Cryptocurrency exchange, Poloniex, has announced a scheme to reimburse users affected by a flash crash in May, which led to total losses of around 1,800 Bitcoin (BTC). In an Aug. 13 blog post, the company pledged to repay daily trading fees (in BTC) to impacted lenders until their losses are fully recovered.

Payments will begin later in August and the first credit will include all trading fees incurred since the generalized losses were first recognized on June 6, 2019.

Margin trading multiplies effects of flash crash
Poloniex has a peer-to-peer margin trading system. Users can receive interest for sending their BTC to a lending pool, from which other users borrow to trade. Borrowers must maintain collateral.

In late May, a little-known token named Clams (CLAM) crashed almost 80% in less than an hour. The unprecedented speed of the crash caused safety measures to fail in the automated liquidation system, designed to protect lenders' capital.

The 1,800 BTC subsequently lost amounted to around $13.5 million at the time.

An ongoing commitment to reimbursement and winning back trust
This is the second step by Poloniex in its reimbursement of the lost funds. The first occurred shortly after the incident, on June 14, when around 10% of the losses (180.736 BTC) were distributed proportionally amongst impacted lenders.

In its blog post, Poloniex stresses that its work to "make customers whole" is not limited to these two steps. It is also actively pursuing other strategies, with more information to follow.

Over the last two years, cryptocurrency scamming on social media has been prevalent. In January 2019, it was reported that crypto impersonation scams on Twitter raked in millions in cryptocurrencies from people pretending to be well known blockchain personalities. Now a new form of deception can be seen on the platform, as scammers are using photoshopped pictures of tech personalities and businesses like Coinbase to further another crypto con game.

There's a New Crypto Scam on Twitter
There's a new swindle on crypto Twitter where scammers are sharing screenshots of well known cryptocurrency and tech luminaries promoting supposed BTC giveaways. Typically these fraudsters will use a very popular post with hundreds or thousands of likes and type the phrase "Great News." Underneath the user's text is a photoshopped picture of an announcement from Coinbase saying that it's offering a BTC giveaway. The tweets are a blatant scam in order to con a person into believing they can "double" their coins. For instance, on August 12, Morgan Creek cofounder Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano tweeted his usual weekly investors' letter where people can sign up and get regular emails from Pomp. Just below Pomp's tweet is a Twitter account called "Adam[BTC/HODL]" who states: "Thanks Coinbase I just received 1.90680 BTC — Anyone can join, not much left." Below that statement is a photoshopped picture of a faked Coinbase account stating:

To celebrate 50 million users, we decided to host a 5,000 BTC giveaway event — You can use any wallet or exchange to participate. Visit our promotion site — If you are late, your BTC will be sent back, thank you for your support, Coinbase team.

Below the tweet, another scam Twitter account adds to the con game by saying they got some coins from the giveaway. "OMG — Just got 2 BTC, thanks for sharing this," the user "Sierra" exclaims while 59 people have liked her tweet. Another fake account dubbed "Charrlees Hooskiinson" can be seen tweeting the same scam in a real Twitter thread started by Cardano's Charles Hoskinson. The picture shared, in this case, is a photo of a phony Elon Musk account which says: "Our marketing department here at Tesla HQ came up with an idea — to hold a special BTC and ETH giveaway event for all the crypto fans out there." Just like the bogus Coinbase account picture, the fake Musk account shows a website to visit where people can allegedly double their coins.

Impersonating Prominent Crypto and Tech Influencers and a Phony Block Explorer
While investigating the first fraudulent website tied to these scams, visitors can see a Coinbase logo and a message geared toward new guests. The site says that if a person sends 0.1 to 10 BTC to the address they will receive a whopping 1-100 BTC in return. Below that is a BTC address the person can send funds to, which has also changed regularly since news.Bitcoin.com started this investigation.

The current address displayed on the scam giveaway site today has zero BTC and no transactions tied to the address have ever been recorded. But the website's visitors get a different look as there's a dummy block explorer shown on the website aiming to bolster the claim that people are really doubling their money. Watching the fake explorer shows someone just deposited 8 BTC and got 88 BTC sent back to the original address, but on a real block explorer, these transactions don't exist.

The scam Twitter posts have a phony photo with a URL address that leads people to a fake Coinbase 'doubler' site.
Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, is also targeted in the fraudulent Twitter act as photoshopped pictures show another BTC doubling scam. The con is done in the same way as the Coinbase example. Some random Twitter account shares a fake picture and underneath another phony account someone says they were just awarded a couple of BTC. The website in the photo leads to a fake Tesla page too that is almost exactly the same as the Coinbase version, but it's red with a Tesla logo. Just like the last one, there's another deceptive block explorer showing fictitious BTC transactions. There's also a progress bar showing how much BTC is left in the so-called doubling pot and the longer you stay on the website it makes it seem like you're missing out on a lot of BTC.

The fake block explorer shown on the web page.
Twitter Scammers Continue to Make Millions of Dollars From Crypto Newbs
It's uncertain whether Twitter is aware of the latest scam revolving around the crypto Twitter space. Last year, researchers uncovered empirical data which confirmed 15,000 cryptocurrency scam accounts were strewn across the Twittersphere. In February, social media cryptocurrency community member impersonators were making $5,000 a day in ethereum on Twitter. One particular person sent $18,000 to a fake Erik Voorhees account. In March 2018, the well known crypto influencer Emin Gun Sirer told Twitter owner Jack Dorsey that the scams were getting out of hand, adding that if he "can't detect this kind of brazen scam, what hope do you have of improving your platform?" Dorsey did respond to Sirer's post that day and said: "We are on it."

But the scam tweets have continued relentlessly and people are still complaining to Twitter every day about this obvious con. "People do not tweet out that they are giving away money for free — That is a complete scam — The old saying is true 'if it seems too good to be true it probably is.' There is a Bill Pulte investor in the cryptocurrency space that is promising to give away money — Twitter needs to investigate," one person wrote on Monday. Another person tweeted: "This person has been creating accounts all over Twitter, trying to scam people out of crypto. Accounts keep cropping up replying to tweets from prominent people in the community — It's a scam." By the look of some of crypto Twitter's most popular posts today, it seems the company still hasn't received the message.

Dozens of countries all over the world have used the same trick called redenomination to hide how they have stolen their own citizens' money through inflation or hyperinflation. The next nation to try this economic sleight of hand is the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran Cuts Four Zeros From Hyperinflated Rial
According to recent media reports from Iran, the government in Tehran last week approved a major change to the country's fiat currency presented by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) back in January. Four zeros will be cut from the Iranian rial and it will also be completely replaced, gradually and over a two-year period, by a new currency going by an ancient name, the toman.

"The council of ministers, at a meeting presided by President Hassan Rouhani this morning, approved the central bank's proposed bill to change the national currency from the rial to the toman and delete four zeros," the Fars news agency reported on Wednesday. This decision was made "to maintain the efficiency of the national currency and facilitate and restore the role of cash instruments in domestic monetary transactions," Fars added.

The Persian toman was used in the country until 1932 when it was replaced by the rial as the official currency. Out of habit, the people of Iran still use it as a monetary unit to this day to mean 10 rials, exactly at the rate it was replaced at almost 90 years ago. However, the new toman will be worth 100 rials, creating in effect another tenfold redenomination of the Iranian currency.

The real reason for the Iranian government's move is that the rial has been suffering from severe inflation in the last couple of years, dropping to exchange rates as low as 190,000 rials per US dollar last September. During 2018 alone it has lost about 60% of its purchasing power, wiping out most of the value of people's savings and earnings.

This process started in December 2017 when the Iranian government decided to cut interest rates on savings accounts in an effort to boost exports. It was kicked into high gear with the help of another round of U.S. financial sanctions over the country's nuclear program.

The Iranian government later tried to correct course but its actions have been mostly futile and some have even backfired. For example, setting the official exchange rate at about 45,000 rials to USD caused a new online black market to spring up where people now use instant messaging apps to trade at real prices outside the control of the government and its approved money changers.

A Long History of Hiding Failure
Iran did not invent the idea of cutting zeros off its currency to hide its diminishing worth, of course, and it is just the latest in a long line of countries that have done the same over the years. In fact, fiat redenominations have being going on for over a century now, with some countries doing it over and over again whenever inflation pops up such as Brazil and Argentina. Sometimes it has coincided with an improvement of the local economy but often it has merely hastened its approaching collapse. In recent years this has been most notable in the case of countries suffering from hyperinflation such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

In February 2009 the government of Zimbabwe decided to cut 12 zeros from its currency, after the Zimbabwe dollar set a new world record in hyperinflation estimated to be in the billions of percent. This meant that 1 trillion in old Zimbabwe dollars was at once made equivalent to just one new Zimbabwe dollar. The step was taken after the old currency became basically useless as money, with even the highest notes of 100 trillion dollars not worth enough to buy a single loaf of bread. Just the year before, Zimbabwe already cut 10 zeros off its currency.

In August 2018 the Venezuelan government removed five zeros off its fiat as President Nicolas Maduro decided that the new "sovereign bolivar" would officially be worth 100,000 times the older bolivar. Just 10 years prior, Venezuela cut three zeros off its currency. Maduro also claims that the sovereign bolivar is backed by the dubious petro cryptocurrency he created.

Why Redenomination Fails to Make an Impact
Governments and central banks present several reasons for making such drastic redenominations. Some are practical, such as saving people the trouble of having to use a wheelbarrow full of paper money just to get a loaf of bread to feed their family.

Others are purely psychological, such as restoring ordinary people's confidence in the national economy by making the currency look like it's worth more in international terms. These appear to be more honest, as the real purpose is after all to hide the fact that the people in power have wiped out national savings through disastrous policies such as endless money printing.

According to economic research, redenomination has a long term impact on an economy only when it is accompanied by strong anti-inflationary financial steps and the removal of the economic policies causing the problem to begin with. Otherwise, the practice can backfire as people will see that the government can just remove as many zeros as it wants but inflation will keep biting, causing the populace to lose confidence and flee to more stable monetary options, further depressing the value of the local currency.

In the long term, the only foreseeable solution to preventing hyperinflation is to take the power to print money away from the state by transitioning to an inflation-resistant cryptocurrency-based monetary system.

Australia is now moving forward with its proposed legislation to ban cash purchases over 10,000 AUD ($6,900) for business purposes. According to the treasury website: "The Black Economy Taskforce recommended this action to tackle tax evasion and other criminal activities." While many Aussies are celebrating Bitcoin's exclusion from this clause, others find the move away from hard cash somewhat chilling. After all, if this finally goes through, banks and the state will be given sole power to deny or approve any and all purchases above this limit. Crypto is not yet affected, but when cash is erased, and the control grid is tightened, be sure that centralized shitcoins are not going to save anyone, either.


Never Mind the Hype Parade
There's always been a lot of zealous hype in crypto circles. Search "bitcoin" on Twitter and you'll be overwhelmed with an avalanche of largely meaningless noise. "Feeling really bullish right now thanks to X, Y, Z!" "If you don't have any Bitcoin by now, you're doing it wrong." "Crypto #Revolution." These hyped-up voices flash in the pan like cheap sparklers, and tend go quiet when the markets tank. They talk about being "unbanked" and the revolution of all things "powered by blockchain."

But at the end of the day, what the hell does all this really mean? A lot of people seem to think that freedom in finance can come easily, without a fight or intentional action. That the dynasty of powers that be are just going to roll over and accept a money they cannot control. For all the shouts of "ditch fiat!" and "why are people still using statist play money?" very few seem to understand the real score, which is this: there's no war being waged on your technology, but on its ability to provide you with financial autonomy, self-sufficiency, and privacy.

The really bad news for these folks, though, is that if Australia pushes through this ban on cash purchases, and they are forced to use only digital assets and credit, it doesn't matter how much of whatever centralized crypto shitcoin anyone holds. At that point, the state is in control, and fiat cash–as evil as it is–would be a lot more friendly.

Five Eyes On Privacy
The alliance of Five Eyes nations (FVEY) really seems to have chosen Australia as a testing ground for implementing Orwellian, anti-privacy measures. Aussies are no longer allowed to be secure in their communications thanks to a controversial new law outlawing encrypted devices and chat applications. Now they are moving away from the privacy of paper money as well. This ostensibly to combat drug trafficking and terrorism via almost completely state-supervised monetary transactions for everyone.

It likely won't be long until similar laws make their way into other FVEY countries like the United States, the U.K., Canada, and New Zealand. If that happens, the only cryptocurrencies that will be able to help secure value are those that are open source, private, secure and decentralized. Not surprisingly, these are the very coins now being specifically targeted by these nations, and slandered as "tools for criminals."

The Survival of Sound Money
If sound money is to survive this financial tyranny, it seems there might be some kind of battle. Many believe technological innovation can make this struggle a more or less peaceful one. When dealing with groups that do not respect the individual, inalienable rights of human beings to their bodies, minds, and property, however, there always comes a point where "no" must be uttered.

Whether it be boldly proclaimed from a stage in the spotlight or silently through a private action or transaction, it still must happen. There is no change without conscious, human action. Bitcoin allows for this by being decentralized. No state has control over the network. "No" is still an option. "No" is still somewhat of an option with fiat paper as well, as much as sensationalists might hate to hear it, or fear to say it.

Cash Is Better Than State-Controlled Shitcoins
These aforementioned hypesters don't get that the propagandized fiat money they rail against (and indeed they are correct in their criticisms) is still much more private and useful than a centralized, government-regulated digital money could or ever would be. The Ripple crowd, for example, brags about how realistic and adoption-friendly they are, the company itself writing a saccharine, syrupy letter to Congress on July 29. They speak about wanting to comply with whatever regulations must be put in place:

We don't take for granted the vital role of central banks in issuing currencies and setting monetary policy in concert with the complex dynamics of economies around the world. For centuries, governments have been well suited for the job because paramount to the acceptance of any currency is trust.

Well-suited? For what job? Is debasing and devaluing people's money, letting terrorists and violent traffickers off the hook, and losing trillions, spending trillions to finance the death and destruction of hundreds of thousands in war and democide "well-suited"? They've lost their minds.

If crypto is to be useful, it has to resemble the models of gold and cash, as far as privacy and user autonomy is concerned, and improve upon them immensely–not make a mealy-mouthed return to state-sponsored, central bank-controlled play money irrelevancy. Imagine being an Australian business owner and trying to buy something, but it's too expensive to pay for with cash. For whatever reason, your bank cannot approve the purchase. Your account is frozen, or their servers are down. You're stuck. This issue doesn't exist with physical money. But it already does with bank accounts and centralized crypto exchanges.

Dignity for the Win
The moment someone tells you in your private life that you're "not allowed" to have something that is rightfully yours, and they try to steal it, you cease trusting them, and cut off the relationship. Why, when it comes to the state, should things be any different?

Like a patient off his head on painkillers, these people talk about pie-in-the-sky crypto utopias to be brought about by "blockchain revolutions" controlled by the very people who oppress them the most. Writing letters to Congress. Laughing at the "idealists" who wish to retain the keys to their holdings.

When cash is out, erased, kaput, if blockchain is going to save people, it's going to be secure money, and not state shitcoins or digital, bank-regulated credit and debt. What the poor Twitter zealots have missed is that this peaceful resistance for non-violent money called the "crypto revolution" is not about just "getting rich," but at its root is about preserving the dignity of precious, individual human life everywhere.

German financial services giant Deutsche Bank AG is one of the largest and most important economic institutions in the world. Mainly due to self-imposed scandals, the bank is now having to take drastic measures to stay afloat. Investors everywhere should note that if such a critical piece of the too-big-to-fail banking system falters, it could trigger another global financial crisis.

Deutsche Bank Struggles to Survive
Deutsche Bank AG, the largest banking services group in Germany with well over a trillion dollars worth of assets, has been a major source of concern for international investors, economists and policy makers for more than a couple of years now. In fact, the International Monetary Fund called the bank in 2016 "the most important net contributor to systemic risks" to the global financial system. That same year, various financial publications around the world also started warning that Deutsche might be the "next Lehman Brothers," referring to the investment bank whose collapse is considered to be a major part of starting the 2008 global financial crisis.

Now the German bank appears to be struggling again, with some commentators fearing it will not be able to survive. Just this month it was announced that Deutsche will undergo a major reorganization in order to stop the bleeding. As was widely reported, the restructuring process of the company will include downsizing about a fifth of its employees around the world, approximately 18,000-20,000 people. Additionally it was revealed that Deutsche will cut its investment in information technology by over a billion dollars per year, a move that will hinder it from catching up with competitors or being able to face new challengers in the fintech domain. Moreover, there are also reports in the market that some institutional investment funds are pulling out their assets from the bank, which might signal a lack of trust in the success of the reorganization efforts.

Costly Scandals and Billions in Fines
Before we ponder how the situation might unfold, let's review how Deutsche Bank got to its current state. Over the last few years it has been involved in a number of scandals such as facilitating money laundering which cost the bank a fortune in legal expenses, reputational damage and massive fines. Its stock is now trading at a 30-year low, having lost over 70% in value since 2007. The bank also suffered frequent changes at the top because of this, replacing CEOs and other top executives at an alarming rate for a company of its kind in its industry. In November 2018, its headquarters were even raided by law enforcement officers and representatives of the German tax authority.

The myriad of legal troubles it's faced have cost Deutsche Bank an incredible amount of money in the last few years. For example, in April 2015 it had to agree to pay a combined $2.5 billion in fines to American and British authorities for its involvement in the Libor scandal, where several banks were accused of colluding to fix interest rates widely used around the world. And in January 2017, Deutsche reached a $7.2 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over its sale and pooling of toxic mortgage securities. In total, Deutsche Bank has paid more than $13 billion for litigation since 2012.

What Happens When Too-Big-to-Fail Fails?
So what will happen if Deutsche Bank does not succeed with its reorganization efforts and can no longer survive on its own? If it was operating in an economy governed by real free market principles, the bank would just go out of business the same way other companies do all the time. However, it is more than possible that politicians and bureaucrats will feel a need to intervene to prevent that from happening.

Bodies such as the German government and the European Central Bank (ECB) can say that the failure of the largest commercial banking institution in the economic heart of Europe would have disastrous ramifications for the continent and the world as a lack of investor trust will send an economic shockwave from Germany outward. For this reason they may claim to have no choice but to rescue Deutsche Bank with other people's money. This can be done by several ways, including forcing other banks to buy out Deutsche (there were attempts to merge it with Commerzbank AG in the past), printing more fiat money and giving it away to Deutsche or even outright nationalizing the bank.

Whatever the case may be, it will have lasting implications on the global economy. Besides the knock-on effect on other financial institutions, a collapse of Deutsche Bank, as well as a rescue of it with European citizens' money, could create serious political fallback. As we have seen with the last global crisis financial, disillusioned voters might feel that those in power are sacrificing their savings in order to help rich bankers from too-big-to-fail institutions, fueling a drift to populism in extreme right and left parties, further destabilizing the established order.

A new financial crisis triggered by a collapse of Deutsche Bank can also drive more people to discover cryptocurrency as an alternative to fiat, as the faults of the old system become obvious to understand. A costly and unfair rescue of the failing system will also have such an effect, evoking the Times headline "Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks" from January 3, 2009, enshrined by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin genesis block for a reason.