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On May 27, Liu Guixiang, a deputy ministerial-level full-time member of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme Peoples Court and a second-level grand justice, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that the peoples courts will make every effort to safeguard national security and social stability. They will punish crimes that endanger national security and public safety, and disrupt the socialist market economy order, in accordance with the law. Adhering to the principles of marketization and the rule of law, they will comprehensively perform their functions of administrative, civil, and criminal adjudication, and prevent and resolve risks in key areas such as finance and real estate.On May 27, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the theme of "Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan" to introduce the relevant situation of "Promoting the Rule of Law in All Aspects." At the press conference, Miao Shengming, Deputy Procurator-General and Second-Level Senior Procurator of the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate, stated that the procuratorate will severely punish crimes that have drawn strong public condemnation, such as serious violence, gun and explosives-related crimes, organized crime, crimes endangering production safety, and telecommunications and internet fraud, in accordance with the law. Those who should be arrested will be arrested, and those who should be prosecuted will be prosecuted. In particular, the procuratorate will swiftly arrest and prosecute individuals who commit serious and heinous crimes, and severely punish them, thereby more effectively deterring crime and stabilizing public sentiment.On May 27th, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) announced on May 26th that it had recently co-hosted an online international roadshow event, "Focus on SSE: Brazil Special," with the Brazilian Securities and Futures Exchange. The event attracted over 40 institutions from Brazil, including asset management companies, financial intermediaries, pension funds, and banks. Going forward, under the overall guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the SSE will explore cross-border cooperation with more overseas markets, continuously enrich cross-border investment products, facilitate the allocation of overseas medium- and long-term funds to Chinese assets, and promote greater international investor understanding and investment in China through diverse themed events, enabling them to share in the high-quality development of Chinas capital market.On May 27th, according to the latest data released by the China Index Academy, in April, the total bond financing amount in the real estate industry reached 61.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.8% and a month-on-month increase of 18.5%. Among them, real estate corporate bond financing amounted to 37.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.6% and a month-on-month decrease of 9.1%, accounting for 61%; overseas bond financing amounted to 3.43 billion yuan, accounting for 5.6%; and ABS financing amounted to 20.57 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 83.9% and a month-on-month increase of 93.1%, accounting for 33.5%.Goldman Sachs raised its year-end 2026 target for the S&P 500 to 8,000, up from 7,600 previously.

Bitcoin Lightning Network-Based Strike Can Rival Visa – MS

Cory Russell

Apr 25, 2022 09:49

Morgan Stanley is optimistic about the bitcoin Lightning Network's potential as a consumer payment option.


They believe Strike, a Lightning Network-based payment technology, can compete with or even outperform Visa in the digital payments market.


Strike has partnered with Shopify and NCR, the world's leading supplier of point-of-sale payment solutions.


Morgan Stanley published a new analysis on the Lightning Network, bitcoin's Layer 2 fast payment system, and its potential to enable a "long-term move towards payments and settlements utilizing digital and cryptocurrencies rather than fiat currencies like the US dollar."


Morgan Stanley's positive analysis on the Lightning Network's potential for broader adoption comes after Strike, a US-based digital payments platform built on top of bitcoin's Lightning Network, announced earlier this month a new integration agreement with e-commerce giant Shopify.


Customers who paid in bitcoin will now be able to receive payments in US dollars from US Shopify businesses. Strike has announced collaborations with NCR, the world's leading supplier of point-of-sale (PoS) payment services.

Morgan Stanley Believes That Lightning Network Will Be Able to Compete With Visa

Morgan Stanley outlined why it believes Strike, a Lightning Network-based digital payment network, can compete with or perhaps exceed Visa in its recent study.


Morgan Stanley observes that "in essence, Strike is directly competing with Visa Direct, which provides real-time settlement," adding that "the primary distinction for merchants will be paid a significantly lower transaction cost."


"The customer advantage is that they may, if they choose, host their bitcoin on a private, secure network, enabling an element of secrecy connected with their transaction," the bank says.


Morgan Stanley emphasizes the importance of Strike's cooperation with NCR. "NCR software is used by one in every six PoS devices worldwide," the bank says, "so this news is important even if just a tiny percentage of retail businesses opt to add crypto capabilities."

Cons of Making Bitcoin Payments

The Morgan Stanley analysis points out some of the disadvantages of utilizing a bitcoin-based payment system, such as the cryptocurrency's underlying volatility on a day-to-day basis, which makes forecasting future buying power problematic.


Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley says that existing tax regulations, which require users to pay capital gains taxes on cryptocurrencies they sell, are a barrier to greater acceptance of bitcoin as a widely used means of exchange.


The bank, on the other hand, mentions the Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act, which has been introduced in the US Congress. If passed, the law would exclude personal bitcoin transactions from taxation as long as the profits are less than $200.


Morgan Stanley, on the other hand, cautions that this plan may meet criticism, particularly from anti-crypto members of Congress, since it serves to establish bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) as credible alternatives to the US currency.


The Morgan Stanley analysis "suggests we are at the beginning of an age when more and more people may opt to pay for items using Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies over time," according to Alex Gladstein, who summarized it on Twitter.

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