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On April 5th, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated in his blog that the average daily turnover of Hong Kong stocks in March exceeded HK$300 billion, an increase of over 8% compared to the same period last year. This reflects Hong Kongs status as a reliable safe haven for capital, coupled with the stable economic growth of mainland China and the large number of high-quality companies listing in Hong Kong, providing investors with abundant investment opportunities. Chan noted that as of March 27th, Hong Kongs IPO fundraising this year has exceeded HK$103 billion, ranking first globally. Including subsequent financing, the total fundraising scale is approximately HK$237 billion. More importantly, an increasing number of companies listing in Hong Kong are emerging industries, with over 500 applications currently in the queue. It can be said that more and more companies view Hong Kong as an important window for financing and overseas expansion.April 5th - According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, the total number of Israelis hospitalized due to the conflict since the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iraq conflict has risen to 6,833, with 138 still receiving treatment in hospitals.On April 5th, the Central Command of the Iranian Armed Forces, Hatem Anbia, announced that in response to the US actions to rescue its downed fighter pilot, Revolutionary Guard fighters, in conjunction with the Basij militia and with the cooperation of the Law Enforcement Commands commando unit, shot down and destroyed an enemy aircraft south of Isfahan. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also stated that, during the US pilot rescue mission, multiple departments of the Iranian armed forces collaborated to destroy an enemy aircraft. This information has not yet been confirmed by the US. On the same day, according to the New York Times website, two US military transport planes malfunctioned and became "stranded" while carrying out a pilot rescue mission in Iran. The US subsequently dispatched three new aircraft to continue the rescue mission and destroyed the two malfunctioning transport planes.April 5th - According to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., on April 4th, the national railway system transported 22.123 million passengers, setting a new record for single-day passenger volume during the Qingming Festival holiday. On April 5th, the national railway system is expected to transport 14.7 million passengers, with 768 additional passenger trains planned.Bahrains national oil and gas company confirmed that an incident occurred at one of its oil storage facilities on Sunday following an Iranian attack, resulting in a fire in the oil tanks. The fire has been completely extinguished, the situation is under control, and damage is currently being assessed. No casualties have been reported.

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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