When China closed its local cryptocurrency exchanges late last year, an underground ecosystem of bitcoin “mules” and peer-to-peer platforms sprung up to allow bitcoin trading to thrive, away from regulators’ watchful eyes.
Mr Li, a Canada-based Chinese banker in his 20s, is one of these underground traders. He buys cryptocurrencies in other markets and sells them at a premium to investors in China, who cannot otherwise get them.
At the height of the frenzied demand for bitcoins in January, when prices of the digital currency were hovering close to $20,000 after a 20-fold jump during 2017, Mr Li and other traders were able to sell bitcoins in China for 30 to 40 per cent more than they cost elsewhere.
But in a matter of months, the premium for bitcoins in China has fallen to around 7 per cent or less as a flood of bitcoin mules, who physically carry cash across borders for the trades, has swamped the arbitrage business. Cryptocurrency funds and individual computer-assisted traders have also piled into the market.
The boom has eaten away the spreads and shown how fast the galloping cryptocurrency markets can change course.
“The market’s kind of taken a downturn; there is less general appetite in this space,” said John DeCleene, an assistant fund manager running the fintech and cryptocurrency investments at Overseas Chinese Investment Management.
“It is too many players entering this market, but also less of the hype we saw in December-January, when people were paying a 30 per cent premium because they expected 10 times gains overnight.”
Mr DeCleene launched a $5 million Singapore-based global fund in November to invest in cryptocurrencies, blockchain-related equities and some exploratory arbitrage trading. He said it has generated a 58 per cent return so far.
Bitcoin arbitrage thrived last year as the cryptocurrency grew more volatile and some governments stepped in with rules to curtail trading.
The simplest geographical arbitrage involved buying bitcoin in unregulated markets such as Thailand, or ones that have legalised bitcoin trading such as Japan, and selling them in banned markets such as South Korea, China or India.
A second form occurred between exchanges, when nimble-footed traders bought cryptocurrencies cheaply on lesser-known exchanges and sold them for a profit on more liquid and widely used platforms.
There were huge price differences to exploit.
In early January, when the price of bitcoin was $17,600 on Bitstamp, the Luxembourg-based digital currency exchange, it was being quoted at $23,630 in South Korea, implying a 34 per cent “kimchi premium”.
As China’s ban expanded from an initial prohibition on issuing new cryptocurrency to a shutdown of exchanges, premiums rose and traders quickly found new ways of doing business.
At first, it was limited to closed groups on the popular messaging platform WeChat and meetings at bars, where potential bitcoin buyers could meet sellers.
Then peer-to-peer platforms such as CoinCola, websites belonging to former Chinese exchanges Huobi and OKCoin, and even the retail platform Taobao became hubs for “over-the-counter” (OTC) cryptocurrency trading, conducted outside of formal exchanges and far more difficult for regulators to police.
“The big Chinese traders are all using CoinCola or going direct to each other through other OTC platforms,” like WeChat or AliPay, said Christian Grewell, a professor of business and interactive media arts at NYU in Shanghai who has lectured extensively on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
AliPay is China’s leading online payment platform.
_______________
Read more:
WhatsApp rival Telegram raises $1.7 billion in coin offer
How the world’s governments are handling cryptocurrencies
_______________
Another option, bank transfers between buyers and sellers, is “almost untraceable”, Prof Grewell added, as it is difficult to prove that a transfer is related to a cryptocurrency transaction.
A trader in her 20s in Shanghai said she buys bitcoins in the United States to sell over the counter in China. On each trip to the US, she illegally carries $30,000 to $40,000 in cash, she added.
“Selling and buying bitcoins on those OTC websites is the same as shopping on Taobao,” said the trader.
Hedge funds that can execute arbitrage trades quickly and at a fraction of the cost are squeezing individual traders, said Ramani Ramachandran, the chief executive of digital exchange Zenprivex.
Peter Kim of KIT Trading, part of Vulpes Investment Management, manages a $10 million cryptocurrency arbitrage operation.
“In the beginning, when there is 30 per cent arbitrage, obviously you can travel to Thailand, buy bitcoins, send them to China, Japan, Korea and sell them. That’s easy,” said Mr Kim, who was formerly an options arbitrage trader.
“But that opportunity is not going to last very long. And even though it is not as blatantly there, there are still many ways to profit from it, especially for someone like me who is used to making 3 basis points on a trade,” he added.
The arbitrage funds operate much like retail traders, buying and selling cryptocurrencies simultaneously on two different platforms, but on a much larger scale. That allows them to profit from smaller spreads.
Some retail traders, including Mr Li, have turned to lesser-known cryptocurrencies such as Tether, which bills itself as being pegged to the US dollar.
Tether is popular with Chinese seeking to move their cash discreetly overseas, as it is not volatile. That demand means it trades at a 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent premium in China, although the number was as high as 10 per cent in January.
Mr Li said his arbitrage activity nets him about $18,000 a month on a trading volume of about half a million dollars.
Although that is a tidy sum, it is far less than what frantic traders made late last year.
“The easy arbitrage is going to be much less prevalent now than it used to be,” Mr Kim said.
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Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
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SPECS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Company%20Profile
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Results
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions Dh90,000 2,200m
Winner: Mudaarab, Jim Crowley (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer).
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Hassan Al Hammadi.
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Salima Al Reef, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Bainoona, Ricardo Iacopini, Eric Lemartinel.
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: Assyad, Victoria Larsen, Eric Lemartinel.
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1 Dh5,000,000 1,600m
Winner: Mashhur Al Khalediah, Jean-Bernard Eyquem, Phillip Collington.
'Midnights'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Taylor%20Swift%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Republic%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
The biog
Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb
Age: 57
From: Kalba
Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge
Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
