Currency

Saudi Arabia’s move towards a cash less economy propelled by COVID-19

Let us look at the usage of cash in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the GCC. The question is whether usage of cash is going up or going down, are people moving towards a cash less economy as is being talked about by some of the influential thinkers who believe in the digital economy. Digital technologies have brought about great ease of investing in financial securities and quick conversion to cash of such assets. With such technological developments, it...

بيتكوين – ما هي القصة الآن؟

Last year we had published a report (Disruptive التكنولوجيا: Bitcoins) on the emerging technology of bitcoins. At the time of writing that report, the value of one bitcoin had reached an all-time high of $979 against the US dollar and was touted as an important tool in the future of finance. However, one year down the line, things are not looking bright for bitcoins. It started with the closure of Mt.Gox; one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges and  was followed...

الآثار المترتبة على إلغاء ربط سعر صرف العملة لدول مجلس التعاون الخليجي

Key Questions What is currency pegging? Why do countries opt for it? When a country fixes the exchange rate of its currency to another country’s currency to control the value of a currency, it is known as currency pegging or "fixed exchange rate" or "pegged exchange rate". For example, if a country pegs its currency to the U.S. dollar, the value of its currency will be controlled so that it rises and falls with the dollar. The reason why countries...