Interesting. It doesn't seem like there would be enough volume to support trading within the bitcoin economy(not sure if it would even be necessary) of depository receipts at this stage, but It would certainly be a huge help for those living in countries where governments use currency devaluations to take wealth away from their citizens or in situations where it is difficult to open a brokerage account.
Perhaps
there is some [edit: I am] misunderstanding here?
Take Baidu, for instance. It is a Chinese search engine company headquartered in Beijing, China.
Here in the U.S. we can buy and sell shares of Baidu on NASDAQ as there is an ADR issue for Baidu
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https://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:BIDUSo if there was a broker that were to allow its customers to fund a brokerage account with bitcoins to trade on the NYSE or on Nasdaq (including any ADRs which trade there) then that would be good for bitcoin as that is another way that bitcoins can be used as a currency.
But that doesn't help someone in Canada, or China even. That broker must still follow AML/KYC and I presume the broker is not able to serve customers (facilitate their investment) when the the customer is not from the U.S.
As (if) bitcoin evolves as an international store of value in countries with monetary instability, it will be fascinating to see how it assists the poor with investing.
I see. That's a different question. You might be asking how bitcoin can be used to increase the investment options available to those who don't currently have many options for accessing capital markets. For instance, even in the U.S. I cannot invest in options and futures contracts as my online brokerage requires that I sign some extra paperwork and maintain a large balance with my brokerage account. But let's say I simply want to lock in today's price for crude oil, as I plan to buy a several hundred dollars worth of gas over each of the next few months and I fear the price of crude will go way up. With my broker account, there is no way I can "lock in" to today's crude oil exchange rate (well, technically there are ETFs and other things that give me roughly the same thing, but let's just assume these are not available).
Instead, I can put in $1,000 worth of bitcoins and buy nearly a dozen CLG3 contracts on ICBIT (each CLG3 contract is a future contract for a barrel of oil):
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https://icbit.se/CLG3ICBIT operates without the requirement that I sign any paperwork or maintain a large balance. In fact, I could even buy a thousand dollars worth of these contracts with much less than a thousand dollars worth of bitcoins, thanks to ICBIT offering margin accounts. Buying on margin is risky though (as might be investing in unregulated exchanges like this), but the point I am making is for the first time ever, I technically have the ability to invest in oil futures by simply going to the convenience store and paying for bitcoins, and minutes later I can hold an investment in crude oil. If the price of oil skyrockets, I'm covered because my investment will increase in value as well.
How significant are the transaction volumes at these two firms compared to Mt. Gox? Can anyone give their take on the experience with VenetFX/Bit4X or "First National Innovation Brokers"?
I've no idea. Both have had their skirmishes here on the forum. (actually, so has ICBIT, and nearly every other securities- or investment-related instrument involving bitcoins).
But because bitcoins are simply used to transfer value, it doesn't matter if bitcoins represent just a little bit of or a lot of the trading at these forex firms. You aren't speculating on the bitcoin exchange rate, you are simply using bitcoins to transfer value into (and out of) an account at the brokerage. From there, the speculation is on whatever investment instrument is purchased.
