Is Bitcoin rally a sign that crypto is growing up?

Bitcoin soared over the weekend, briefly climbing over $7,500—its highest level since September. Jan Brzezek, CEO and co-founder of Crypto Finance, says prices are likely to continue their upward trend as more financial institutions move into cryptocurrencies, with Swiss firms already leading the way.

U.S. currency traders have built a large position in Swiss franc futures, betting the money will remain relatively weak against the dollar and the euro. The franc’s reaction to the U.S.-China trade dispute shows the dangers of that strategy, says Thomas Stucki, chief investment officer at St. Galler Kantonalbank.

Europe is holding its breath as the U.S. and China slug it out, mindful that its own trade battle with the Trump administration is about to begin. The trans-Atlantic negotiations will probably be a ‘’fairer fight,” says economist Cornelia Meyer. Alastair McCaig, head of investment management at Fern Wealth, agrees that the European negotiations will be more of a ”two-way street.”

Cornelia Meyer, economist and energy expert, and Alastair McCaig, head of investment management at Fern Wealth, have some doubts about Uber. The U.S. ride-hailing company went public on Friday. It is worth close to $80 billion but has never made a profit. Uber will have to change its business model to monetize its popularity, McCaig says.

Thomas Rutz, fund manager emerging markets at MainFirst, explains why he needs to understand all the strategy details of the companies he invests in. One of the elements he pays attention to is what could happen if the country where those companies are based faces a currency crisis.

After the emerging markets come the frontier markets. These small but fast-growing economies like Georgia, Moldova, and Vietnam may be appealing for investors, but they can be risky, too. Thomas Rutz, fund manager emerging markets at MainFirst, discusses how he deals with this.

Mourtaza Asad-Syed, chief investment officer at Landolt & Cie, explains why the 2000-plus tweets by U.S. President Trump last year have created noise around the markets and how they impacted investors in Switzerland, too. But first, Asad-Syed reviews the monetary policy by the Fed and the SNB.

WANTED: A team player and an experienced central banker who performs well under pressure from politicians. The search for a successor to ECB President Mario Draghi has begun and, according to Stefan Gerlach, chief economist at EFG Bank, there are a few credentials that are essential. 

As U.S.-China trade tensions continue to weigh on market sentiment, including Switzerland’s SMI, Costa Vayenas, senior investment consultant at Wellershoff & Partners, argues that the U.S. deficit woes go beyond China and tell a bigger story.

Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra warned on Tuesday that the EU faces “the smoldering threat of implosion” with the UK preparing to leave and countries like Switzerland rejecting the common currency. Dan Scott, Vontobel’s deputy CIO, explains why the eurozone is facing an “existential crisis” and its impact on Switzerland.

Central banks piled into gold in the first quarter of the year, but the SNB stayed put. Brian Blackstone, Switzerland bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal, wonders whether the SNB is playing it too safe. But first, he starts by discussing the increasing role of activist investors in Swiss companies.

Tony Campione, investment advisor at Julius Baer in Geneva, was surprised by President Trump’s latest plans to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods at the end of the week. Markets took a big hit—in Switzerland, too—but Campione argues that the train supporting stocks still has steam. And both parties, the U.S. and China, do in fact need a deal.

Pictet Asset Management’s GDP growth forecast for Switzerland is a cautious 1.1 percent, but the firm’s chief economist, Patrick Zweifel, is optimistic that it could upgrade its forecast as China and Eurozone data continues to improve.