Sign of Times: Hong Kong Stock Exchange Trading Floor Closed to Be Turned Into Museum

In a sign of the shift in financial marketplaces toward digital platforms, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. shuttered its physical office space this week, intending to turn some of the area into a museum for future generations to see how the exchange functioned in its glory days.

The move away from physical infrastructure has been long-coming, with the number of traders on the actual floor declining yearly to less than 200, from a high of over 900. As digital trading has become increasingly ubiquitous for markets around the world, the physical trading floor has become something of a dinosaur, with most traders enjoying the flexibility of digital freedom.

Sign of the times
The fact that physical trading floors have become essentially meaningless is a sign of the times, as the move away from traditional financial platforms toward new forms of digital currency transactions. The rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, however, is being seen as the next wave of change for finance.

Because cryptocurrencies combine the flexibility of digital financing systems with the security of hand to hand transactions, they represent the next stage in payment and agreement platforms.

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14 HOURS AGO
By Jon Buck
Man In Michigan Prosecuted For Selling Bitcoin

27895 Total views 501 Total shares
Man In Michigan Prosecuted For Selling Bitcoin REGULATIONS
According to local news media reports, a Michigan man named Bradley Anthony Stetkiw has been charged by local authorities for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. The charges have been filed in US District Court.

Per the report, Stetkiw had been brokering Bitcoin transactions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars without the proper licensing required for monetary brokering. He had been using the website LocalBitcoins, and would meet his would-be clients at Tim Horton’s restaurant, going by the moniker ‘SaltandPepper.’

As part of a sting operation, federal agents met the trader and purchased more than $55,000 in Bitcoin over the course of a number of meetings, with Stetkiw even brokering deals with out of state sellers. These activities are all licensed by state and federal agencies.

The operation highlights the reality that Bitcoin is still within a widespread ‘adoption curve’ as the power of the decentralized currency is mitigated with the dangers of illegal activities. Governments, while embracing the potential for growth, nevertheless continue to express concern over the risks associated with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.