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Free banking theory, as developed in Adam Smith’s 1776 treatise, “The Wealth of Nations” is a useful tool in determining the extent to which the “invisible hand of the market” should prevail in regulatory policy. The purpose of this study is to provide a timely review of the literature, evaluating the theory’s relevance to regulation of financial technology generally and cryptocurrencies (cryptos) specifically.

The methodology is qualitative, applying free banking theory as developed in the literature to technology-defined environments. Recent legislative developments in the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the UK, European Union and the USA, are drawn upon.

Participants in volatile cryptocurrency markets should bear the consequences of inadvisable investments in accordance with free banking theory. The decentralised nature of cryptocurrencies and the exchanges on which these are traded militate against coordinated oversight by central banks, supporting a qualified free banking approach. Differences regarding statutory definitions of cryptos as units of exchange, tokens or investment securities and the propensity of these to transition between categories across the business cycle render attempts at concerted classification at the international level problematic. Prevention of criminality through extension of Suspicious Activity Reporting to exchanges and intermediaries should be the principal objective of policymakers, rather than definitions of evolving products that risk stifling technological innovation.

The study proposes that instead of a traditional regulatory approach to cryptos, which emphasises holders’ safety and compensation, a free banking approach combined with a focus on criminality would be a more effective and pragmatic way forward.

The existing literature offers various perspectives on integrating cryptocurrencies into investment portfolios; yet, there is a gap in understanding the behaviours, attitudes and cross-investment links of individual investors. This study, grounded in the modern portfolio theory and the random walk theory, aims to add empirical insights that are specific to the UK context. It explores four hypotheses related to the influence of socio-demographics, digital adoption, cross-investment behaviours and financial attitudes on cryptocurrency owners.

This study uses a logistic regression model with secondary data from the Financial Lives Survey 2020 to assess the factors impacting cryptocurrency ownership. A total of 29 variables are used, categorized into four groups aligned with the hypotheses. Additionally, hierarchical clustering analysis was conducted to further explore the cross-investment links.

The study reveals a significant lack of diversification among UK cryptocurrency investors, a pronounced inclination towards high-risk investments such as peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding, and parallels with gambling behaviours, including financial dissatisfaction and a propensity for risk-taking. It highlights the influence of demographic traits, risk tolerance, technological literacy and emotional attitudes on cryptocurrency investment decisions.

This study provides valuable insights into cryptocurrency regulation and retail investor protection, underscoring the necessity for tailored financial education and a holistic regulatory approach for investment products with comparable risk levels, with the aim of minimizing regulatory arbitrage. It significantly enhances our understanding of the unique dynamics of cryptocurrency investments within the evolving financial landscape.

This paper aims to examine the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) and hedging ratios between Dow Jones markets and oil, gold and bitcoin. Using daily data, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine war. We employ the DCC-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and asymmetric DCC (ADCC)-GARCH models.

DCC-GARCH and ADCC-GARCH models.

The most of DCCs among market pairs are positive during COVID-19 period, implying the existence of volatility spillovers (Contagion-effects). This implies the lack of additional economic gains of diversification. So, COVID-19 represents a systematic risk that resists diversification. However, during the Russia–Ukraine war the DCCs are negative for most pairs that include Oil and Gold, implying investors may benefit from portfolio-diversification. Our hedging analysis carries significant implications for investors seeking higher returns while hedging their Dow Jones portfolios: keeping their portfolios unhedged is better than hedging them. This is because Islamic stocks have the ability to mitigate risks.

Our paper may make a valuable contribution to the existing literature by examining the hedging of financial assets, including both conventional and Islamic assets, during periods of stability and crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine war.

This study examines herd behavior in the cryptocurrency market at the aggregate level and the determinants of herd behavior, such as asymmetric market returns, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, 2021 cryptocurrency's bear market and the network effect.

The authors applied the Google Search Volume Index (GSVI) as a proxy for the network effect. Since investors who are interested in a particular issue have a common interest, they tend to perform searches using the same keywords in Google and are on the same network. The authors also investigated the daily returns of cryptocurrencies, which are in the top 100 market capitalizations from 2017 to 2022. The authors also examine the association between return dispersion and portfolio return based on aggregate market herding model and employ interactions between herding determinants such as, market direction, market trend, COVID-19 and network effect.

The empirical results indicate that herding behavior in the cryptocurrency market is significantly captured when the market returns of cryptocurrency tend to decline and when the network effect of investors tends to expand (e.g. such as during the COVID-19 pandemic or 2021 Bitcoin crash). However, the results confirm anti-herd behavior in cryptocurrency during the COVID-19 pandemic or 2021 Bitcoin crash, regardless of the network effect.

These findings help investors in the cryptocurrency market make more rational decisions based on their determinants since cryptocurrency is an alternative investment for investors' asset allocation. As imitating trades lead to return comovement, herd behavior in the cryptocurrency has a direct impact on the effectiveness of portfolio diversification. Hence, market participants or investors should consider herd behavior and its underlying factors to fully maximize the benefits of asset allocation, especially during the period of market uncertainty.

Most previous studies have focused on herd behavior in the stock market. Although some researchers have recently begun studying herd behavior in the cryptocurrency market, the empirical results are inconclusive due to an incorrectly specified model or unclear determinants.

The purpose of this study is to examine the behaviour of retail investors while making an investment decision and how it gets affected by the behavioural biases of the investors using a moderated-mediation framework.

A mixed method approach has been used to fulfil the objectives of the study. In the first study, a qualitative analysis of the interviews with 15 retail investors was conducted. As part of the quantitative study, a total of 201 responses from Indian retail investors were collected using systematic sampling and analysed using structural equation modelling and Process Macro.

The results indicate that anchoring bias, availability bias, herding bias, switching cost, sunk cost, regret avoidance and perceived threat have a significant effect on retail investors’ investing intention. The attitude of the investors towards investing decisions mediates the effects of behavioural bias and the status quo on investment intention. The results of the moderated-mediation analysis indicate that mediating effect of attitude varied at the low and high-risk aversion of investors.

The findings of this study will help regulators and retail investors to understand the critical behavioural biases which affect the investors’ investing intention.

The paper contributes to the literature on investors’ behaviour, status quo bias theory (SQB) and behavioural bias. This study uniquely proposes a moderated-mediation framework to understand the effects of biases on retail investors’ investment intention.

The rise of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets has triggered concerns about regulation and security. Governments and regulatory bodies are challenged to create frameworks that protect consumers, combat money laundering and address risks linked to digital assets. Conventional approaches to confiscation and anti-money laundering are deemed insufficient in this evolving landscape. The absence of a central authority and the use of encryption hinder the identification of asset owners and the tracking of illicit activities. Moreover, the international and cross-border nature of digital assets complicates matters, demanding global coordination. The purpose of this study is to highlight that the effective combat of money laundering, legislative action, innovative investigative techniques and public–private partnerships are crucial.

The focal point of this paper is Australia’s approach to law enforcement in the realm of digital assets. It underscores the pivotal role of robust confiscation mechanisms in disrupting criminal networks operating through digital means. The paper firmly asserts that staying ahead of the curve and maintaining an agile stance is paramount. Criminals are quick to embrace emerging technologies, necessitating proactive measures from policymakers and law enforcement agencies.

It is argued that an agile and comprehensive approach is vital in countering money laundering, as criminals adapt to new technologies. Policymakers and law enforcement agencies must remain proactively ahead of these developments to efficiently identify, trace and seize digital assets involved in illicit activities, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the global financial system.

This paper provides a distinctive perspective by examining Australia’s legal anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing framework, along with its law enforcement strategies within the realm of the digital asset landscape. While there is a plethora of literature on both asset confiscation and digital assets, there is a noticeable absence of exploration into their interplay, especially within the Australian context.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the adoption of waqf technology (Waqftech) using blockchain smart contracts for corporate waqf crowdfunding. Despite the growing interest in Waqftech, Malaysian enterprises have not fully embraced this emerging technology because of uncertainty regarding the benefits it offers to contributors. The research incorporates two theoretical frameworks: the electronic data interchange (EDI) model for firms’ technology adoption, and the triple bottom line theory (TBL) for corporate social responsibility.

A quantitative method using a cross-sectional survey design with a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used. Data was collected from 210 decision-makers representing small and medium-sized enterprises and analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling.

The findings from this research suggest that Malaysian enterprises are influenced by both corporate and social predictive benefits when using blockchain crowdfunding, but not by environmental benefits. The adoption of blockchain smart contracts does not correlate with predictive environmental benefits because of misconceptions about the disruptive technology’s impact on biological and digital environmental preservation.

This research focuses on organizational behavior rather than individual users of waqf crowdfunding, and it is limited, primarily focusing within Malaysia and regions with similar waqf structures.

The Waqftech framework allows innovative mechanisms for executing corporate waqf investment returns to the intended beneficiaries through the smart contracts’ platform. In addition, this study supports relevant corporate social responsibility and creating shared value technology adoption theories, including EDI and TBL. Aside from this, the study provides empirical implications for waqf management using fintech platforms.

This groundbreaking study focuses on creating a Waqftech model for corporate waqf crowdfunding. The results of this study are important for the development of government policies that support the use of Waqftech in charitable fundraising. More research on biological and digital environmental perspectives is proposed to foster investors’ confidence in the visibility of digital tracking and lead to swift investments in future metaverse fundraising platforms.

This study aims to, firstly, develop a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes and, secondly, to test this red flag checklist against publicly available marketing material for Mirror Trading International (MTI). The red flag checklist test seeks to establish if MTI’s marketing material posted on YouTube^® (in the form of a live video presentation) exhibits any of the red flags from the checklist.

The study uses a structured literature review and qualitative analysis of red flags for Ponzi and cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes.

A research lacuna was discovered with regard to cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme red flags. By means of a structured literature review, journal papers were identified that listed and discussed Ponzi scheme red flags. The red flags from the identified journal papers were subsequently used in a qualitative analysis. The analyses and syntheses resulted in the development of a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes, with five red flag categories, containing 18 associated red flags. The red flag checklist was then tested against MTI’s marketing material (a transcription of a live YouTube presentation). The test resulted in MTI’s marketing material exhibiting 88% of the red flags contained within the checklist.

The inherent limitations in the design of using a structured literature review and the lack of research regarding the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme red flags.

The study provides a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes. The red flag checklist can be applied to a cryptocurrency investment scheme’s marketing material to establish if it exhibits any of these red flags.

The red flag checklist can be applied to a cryptocurrency investment scheme’s marketing material to establish if it exhibits any of these red flags.

The study provides a red flag checklist for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) favorable attitude toward the financial sector’s digital transformation and the development of FinTech due to the rise of financial technology. FinTech blends innovation and technology to provide financial inclusion to stakeholders through various new products and services such metaverse and artificial intelligence.

A quantitative research approach was used to empirically validate the suggested research model by using 260 Emirates-based banking authorities and administrators’ data.

The findings indicate that FinTech adoption had a substantial impact on the competitiveness and performance of the UAE banking industry during COVID-19 times. The research indicates that adequate FinTech implementation and alignment with technology management directly influence the performance of the UAE’s banking sector in difficult times.

This study is critical because the UAE banking sector serves diverse nationalities, and its success is contingent on FinTech and its competitive edge.

The case describes a hypothetical hedge fund manager who is examining whether to invest in bitcoin. The case discusses potential risks and rewards of investing in bitcoin, the role of bitcoin and digital currencies more broadly, and financial innovation in the space, such as ICOs. It can be taught as part of a second-year MBA elective course in investments, financial institutions/capital markets, or fintech.