LOOSE CHANGE: FEBRUARY 1, 2026

 

It is known to researchers and hobbyists alike that early U.S. dollars (Flowing Hair and Draped Bust) were employed in the China trade. Such coins, however, were secondary in comparison to the massive amount of Spanish-American dollars exported by U.S. merchants to the Celestial Empire to purchase goods like tea, silk, porcelain, nankeens, and spices. Nonetheless, the vast majority of U.S. silver dollars dated 1794 to 1803 were indeed sent to China in trade.

However, the export of American silver dollars became a problem—a big problem. Very few, if any, dollars were circulating domestically. Bullion dealers and merchants brought Spanish-American dollars to the Philadelphia Mint to turn them into new U.S. dollars—without any seigniorage charge. That was because merchants were trading U.S. dollars in the West Indies for heavier Spanish-American dollars at par. The U.S. dollars had 371.25 grains of fine silver, while the foreign dollars had 373.5 to 374 grains, and even up to 377.25 grains. Then, after having the new U.S. dollars struck, they brought them to the West Indies to trade for more of the Spanish-American dollars. This process resulted in merchants realizing a profit via arbitrage, which drained the U.S. of domestic silver dollars.

The United States silver dollar was a failure. The drain of dollars—due to export and arbitrage in the West Indies—was so extensive that the U.S. Mint suspended their production. That was in 1804 after the completion of striking the 1803 issue. This change was brought about by the presidential administration to halt the export of dollar coins. This new policy was not authorized by any law; mint officers simply stopped minting Draped Bust dollars. The official deathblow of the silver dollar was in 1806, when President Thomas Jefferson formally ended their production.

One would assume that the silver arbitrage in the West Indies would end, now that the production of silver dollars was over. However, that was not the case. Writes economist J. Laurence Laughlin, "[A]lthough the coinage of the United States silver dollar was discontinued… a profit was still realized by importing Spanish[-American] dollars, because two half-dollars served the same purpose as a dollar piece did before, containing, as they did, as much pure silver as the dollar piece. And our silver continued to be coined and exported."

To read the complete article, see:
No Dollars? Capped Bust Half Dollars in the China Trade (https://www.greysheet.com/news/story/no-dollars-capped-bust-half-dollars-in-the-china-trade)

For years, the prevailing assumption among policymakers and market observers was that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), especially China's digital yuan (e-CNY), would struggle to gain traction. Slow adoption, limited use cases, and public skepticism were expected to constrain their impact. New data from China, however, tell a different story.

 

Five years after its first pilot, the e-CNY remains the world's largest live central bank digital currency experiment. By the end of November 2025, it had processed more than 3.4 billion transactions worth roughly 16.7 trillion renminbi (about $2.3 trillion). That represents a more than 800 percent increase from 2023, according to new data released by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) at the end of December.

• China's digital yuan (the e-CNY) has grown over 800 percent since 2023, becoming the world's largest live central bank digital currency experiment, with cumulative transaction value exceeding $2.3 trillion by late 2025.
• To increase domestic adoption of the e-CNY, China has adopted a strategy of combining interest-bearing features and stablecoin-like functionality—while keeping the digital yuan sovereign and regulated.

To read the complete article, see:
What to watch as China prepares its digital yuan for prime time (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/what-to-watch-as-china-prepares-its-digital-yuan-for-prime-time/)

Cryptocurrency is now firmly in the mainstream, and as a result, our traditional understanding of physical threat and robbery needs to evolve accordingly.

It's difficult to determine exactly how prevalent "wrench attacks" are as few are publicly reported. But it appears as though these types of thefts are a small part of the growing issue of personal crypto thefts.

And many criminals rely on tried and trusted hacking or scam techniques that are becoming easier thanks to the abundance of data stolen in massive cyber attacks on companies.

Data is a common problem as Bitcoin millionaires are becoming so frequent, and there are stolen databases that are enriching the target list all the time," says Matthew Jones, founder of Haven, a crypto security firm.

A data breach at Kering, the parent company of luxury brands including Gucci and Balenciaga, is a case in point, according to one hacker interviewed by the BBC.

To read the complete article, see:
How crypto criminals stole $700 million from people - often using age-old tricks (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93w30gl5jno)

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