Drugs 2 : EI Weekend 3279
If you missed Drugs 1: EI Weekend 3273, you can read it here.
Another look at the world of drug dealing, this week with a Mexican centric focus but there’s a touch of Irish GPS in there too…
Exchange Invest is a unique information resource combining the day’s stories in a newsletter for investors in exchanges/financial markets infrastructure.
Exchange Invest was founded by former exchange CEO and author of the first bestselling book of fintech (“Capital Market Revolution!” FT 1999) Patrick Young. Monday through Friday our daily paid subscriber email discusses the business of bourses of all kinds across the world.
On this day in 2018, Stacey Cunningham became the first female president of NYSE.
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MACRO THOUGHTS
Mexican drugs cartels have been responsible for over 460,000 homicides in Mexico since 2006, before we count the cost of drug taking itself. The homicide rate in Mexico has been around 30,000 or more per annum since at least 2018. The cost of drug related violence in Mexico in 2023 alone amounted to around 4.94 trillion Mexican Pesos — which is about $240 billion or more in real money.
ConFEAS 2025
A week to go and look at that Keynote line up, led by somebody you might recognise…
We’re under 10 days away from ConFEAS 2025 (May 30–31, 2025), hosted by the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX), organized by the Federation of Euro-Asian Capital Markets (FEAS).
This year’s conference marks a major milestone — FEAS 30th anniversary — and it’s set to gather 200+ participants from across 20+ countries.
The venue is the spectacular National Gallery of Armenia, in the heart of Yerevan.
Exchange Invest is delighted to be a media partner to this event alongside PLY being a Keynote speaker.
Register here
IN BIGWORLD
From Exchange Invest 3274:
Fascinating fact, the US Great Plains is the biggest single tract of arable land in the world. The Great Plains amount to roughly one third of the US territory (NB before any Trumpian expansionism) while the USA has the greatest arable land of any nation on earth amounting to about 3/4s of the nation — 1.7 billion acres — of which forestry covers around 40% of the area.
BITCARNAGE
This Time It’s Different?
While it is news that COIN will join the S&P500, the big gabfest of the week was at the SEC’s latest Crypto Task Force Roundtable and the results were… interesting.
First up much as I admire Chairman Atkins, I think he is simply wrong. His opening remarks note “This movement of securities from off-chain to on-chain systems is akin to the transition of audio recordings from analog vinyl records to cassette tapes to digital software decades ago.”
The tricky part was — each of those steps worked because it was more efficient. There is nothing more efficient about having what we now have — which is a concept of Blockchain which is actually like having 8 track and open reel tape and compact cassette amongst other formats all competing. The trouble with blockchain is that DLT is Betamax — an arguably better standard but guess what, VHS works and folks like buying it… Plus there’s already a better network on there to start with. This is where tokenisation is something I have argued for for decades but I am left behind at the notion it has to be on a blockchain, except in the case of very unique product sets, AKA not actually homogeneous groups of shares for example.
The Commissioner to watch once again was Caroline Crenshaw, whose questions were apposite — and who knows the bros may be able to answer them all but… why haven’t they already?
The token roundtables at SEC are a worrying development as we have a kind of smugocratic feel of ‘this is the future and we get it ‘cos we’re modern’ theme around the bureaucrats / Commissioners and frankly the blob never gets ahead of technology…
Or as crypto media elegantly headlines the wisdom of Commissioner Crenshaw: SEC’s Crypto Embrace Seems Like ‘Government Picking Winners And Losers’, Says Crenshaw (Decrypt).
Hmmm, “this time it’s different?”
If you enjoyed this excerpt, you may be interested to know that you can read Bitcarnage every day in Exchange Invest.
Alternatively, if you want to follow Bitcarnage — the daily update on happenings in the world of crypto and digital assets, then you can find Bitcarnage as a standalone on Substack.
IPO-VID LIVESTREAM: NOW ONLINE
“The Evolution of Trading”
Guest: Mark Beddis
May 20th, 2025
1700 UK, 1800 CET, 1200 EST
Mark Beddis began in tech in Hong Kong and evolved to key roles shaping the future of markets, including developing the Hong Kong stock options market (first in the region) and then honing the business of block trading with the BIDS platform. His achievements are many in between, and he brings a fascinating perspective to markets from his 4 decades of frontline experience around the world.
EXCHANGE INVEST WEEKLY PODCAST
ASX Cutting Staff,
NASDAQ Gains A Tie Extension as Thoma Bravo Sells Out of their Stock,
RMB Curve Tweaks Help Hong Kong Exchanges,
And That All Comes During Our 12th Birthday Week Here at Exchange Invest.
The Exchange Invest Weekly Podcast 296
OF INTEREST
As always, a review of interesting reading to provoke thoughts and consideration… Not sure we agree with much of it….but it’s thought-provoking!
Mexico’s Long War: Drugs, Crime, And The Cartels
CFR
The Shadowy ‘Brokers’ Smuggling Fentanyl Chemicals For Mexican Cartels
Reuters
Economics Of Narcotrafficking And The Rise Of Mexican Cartels
Lou Dobbs
Kinahan Cartel: Wanted Narco Boss Exposes Whereabouts By Posting Google Reviews
Bellingcat
The Most Dangerous Cartels To Ever Exist
Grunge
The Expansion And Diversification Of Mexican Cartels: Dynamic New Actors And Markets
IISS
Books worth reading:
Finance Book Of The Week
“The Power of Capitalism” by Rainer Zitelmann explores the achievements of capitalism across five continents, and demonstrates its success in providing a true platform for economic growth and development.
Get the book here.
*Paid link, as an Amazon Associate, Exchange Invest earns from qualifying purchases.
Suggestions welcome if you would like to nominate a book for us to cover!
Our next Book of the week will be unveiled Saturday in the EI Weekend Edition.
& don’t forget if you want all the news on the bourse business sent daily to your Inbox subscribe to Exchange Invest — via Exchange Invest.com — it’s only $499 per annum to join “The Exchange of Information.
Capital Market Revolution
First published in 1999, “Capital Market Revolution!” offered a clear, concise roadmap for navigating the financial revolution fueled by technology. And 25 years later, as the world of fintech continues to evolve, the core principles laid out in the book remain surprisingly sharp
This new edition was produced to celebrate PLY ringing the NYSE Closing Bell July 5th, 2024. There are several new sections of PLY pith to add 10,000 more words of context and the original book which is remarkably prescient and elegantly dated all at once! It’s only $9.99 on Kindle, a fraction of the original price in 1999 to encourage revolutionaries with any budget!
Get the book here.
*Paid link, as an Amazon Associate, Exchange Invest earns from qualifying purchases.
IPO-VID LIVESTREAM PODCAST
New episode out now! This week on the IPO-VID podcast: The Future of Research. Professor Matthew Ringgenberg joins us to discuss the evolving role of institutional investors and the dynamics shaping today’s markets. From short sellers to ETFs, his research dives deep into how these players influence asset prices and economic activity.
LAST WORD
The future continues in the water cooler of the bourse business.
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