hello. this is the business briefing. i'm victoria fritz. cryptocurrency crackdown. europe weighs in on tougher rules on the likes of bitcoin and ethereum, as their value continues to plunge. plus, hacked off. another it fail for british airways, as thousands of customers have their card details stolen. hello. we start with the volatile world of cryptocurrencies. you'll have heard of bitcoin, possibly even ethereum or ripple, but would you believe there are now over 1600 different virtual currencies in use around the world? to some they're the future of money, to others little more than a scam. later today, european finance ministers begin talks in the austrian capital of vienna to start discussing

whether or not — and how — to regulate cryptocurrencies. and that's just the problem, how do you regulate them? because they aren't issued by any central bank and are untraceable, they have become associated with tax evasion and money laundering. in some parts of the world, there have been crackdowns on cryptocurrency trading and exchanges — like in china, or even outright bans — like in india. it's all added to the volatility. many investors bought bitcoins in the hope of getting rich quick. and it stoked a bubble, but it's lost almost two thirds of its value this year alone. in fact, the total market value of all cryptocurrencies has plummeted from $800 billion in january this year to just $200 billion last month. and late on wednesday, a report that goldman sachs was abandoning plans to start trading cryptocurrencies saw another selloff. samira hussain in new york has more. is perhaps a sign of the volatility

of cryptocurrencies are just one report from one newsagency can cause such dramatic falls. —— it is. goldman sachs is a giant in the world of investment trading and the fa ct world of investment trading and the fact that they were planning on the opening of trading desk in the world of cryptocurrencies lent that world a great deal of credibility, but one business insider has reported the bank is now backing away from those plans. at a tech conference in san francisco, the chief a natural office of the goldman sachs called that report fake news. nonetheless, the values of those currencies have been taking a nosedive, falling between ten and 20% over the last two days. dr stephanie hare, independent technology expert joins me now. good morning to you. stephanie, what problem does cryptocurrency solve?

we have got lots of currencies of our there, why do we need a whole other basket of currencies?” our there, why do we need a whole other basket of currencies? i think it is probably worth going back to the origin, the history of cryptocurrencies. 0ne the origin, the history of cryptocurrencies. one of the unique selling points of this cryptocurrency, one is the very fact that it cryptocurrency, one is the very fact thatitis cryptocurrency, one is the very fact that it is not issued by a national government appeals to people who just want to be off the books, not how to deal with governments at all. also, you do not have to give your personal information when you are setting up your monetary trading and indeed that appeals to all sorts of people. some of those people are legitimate but it also appeals to criminals, terrorists, drug dealers, people who do not want to be traced and you won't be able to exchange currency payments. so it solves a problem for those people. the question is really, doesn't solve any problems of the rest of the world ? any problems of the rest of the world? that any problems of the rest of the world ? that is any problems of the rest of the world? that is what is so interesting. so often in business, we hear people say they do not like regulation, it is onerous. but here

there is a really great counter example of where the lack of regulation is preventing us making a market, you need regulation, rules and certainty so people know the shape of the market and how to play without and expand at. if you say it one of the benefits is its own traceability, then if you are to regulate it, you legitimise it, surely it loses its value because it loses the reason why it exists in the first place? that demographic that time that quality appealing, yes. that would frustrate them and they would no doubt innovate and they would no doubt innovate and they would no doubt innovate and they would go and create something else. would attract a new constituency of people who perhaps are turned off by the very high levels of volatility, the swings? why on earth would use bitcoin to pay for anything right now when it can go up or pay for anything right now when it can go up or down by 10%just in a day ) is can go up or down by 10%just in a day) is $20,000 in december and now is around seven is, does a massive swings. —— just in a day. it was

$20,000 in december. it is now grown so huge as the currency basket, we are going to have to talk about regulating in some way because there isa regulating in some way because there is a lot of money going into this, so this is going to change. yeah, thatis so this is going to change. yeah, that is a great question. if we do not find a way to regulate it, the central bankers and investment bankers cannot find a way to solve this problem, what does that mean for us as human beings? we have an entire group of people that are trading ina entire group of people that are trading in a currency that is highly volatile, whose production is not controlled, and whose production has environmental cost is, because you mind bitcoin to create this currency. each problem gets progressively harder to solve, requiring more computing power, which requires a huge drain of energy, so it is actually creating a second problem. fascinating stuff. thank you so much for coming in and taking us through that. british airways says it's

investigating "as a matter of urgency" the theft of customer data from its website and mobile app. it says that the personal and financial details of customers making bookings was compromised beween august 21st and wednesday night. it's just the latest it related problem to hit the reputation of british airways — as lebo diseko reports. "a sophisticated attack", is how british airways describes the theft of customer data from its website and mobile app. around 380,000 credit cards were compromised in the two weeks between the 21st of august and the fifth of september. the personal and financial details were stolen as people made bookings online and through the app. when asked why it took so long to detect, the airline said it took action as soon as it realised there was a problem. we found out the extent of the damage and that's why we immediately began to communicate with our customers. it is most imperative that we tell our customers to please contact their credit card

issuers and their bank, to make sure that they can proceed and follow the recommendations with regards to their credit card details. this is the latest in a series of customer relations issues the airline's had recently. in may last year, 75,000 passengers around the world were left stranded for days after an it failure. the airline was criticised for its handling of the problem, with some people blaming the outsourcing of its it staff. and injuly this year, it issues meant dozens of flights in and out of heathrow airport had to be cancelled. ba has apologised for the latest problems, saying it takes the protection of customers' data very seriously, but it might take more than an apology to restore customer confidence. lebo diseko, bbc news. let's turn out to the trade war

between the two biggest economies in the world, the us and china, because president trump has of course that to escalate that war via slapping import tariffs on a further $2 billion of chinese goods. there have been dire warnings about what they might do to the rest of the world's economy. let's not talk to sharanjit leyl, who has been watching these developments from singapore. so, belief? well, we have heard lots from some american's biggest firms, in fact the big technology companies, they all this last—minute push to try convince the president not impose those tariffs. 0f push to try convince the president not impose those tariffs. of course, that they had just enjoyed short time ago. that deadline has passed. you have got firms like cisco

systems, hewlett—packa rd, they you have got firms like cisco systems, hewlett—packard, they sent a letter to the us trade representative urging the administration to avoid imposing more tariffs. interestingly, the chief executive of hewlett—packard enterprise, was in the studio just a few hours ago and i asked about how the trade towers were hitting his firm. he said he is making contingency plans based on how long the trade war drag on, and that would entail looking at the implications and costs and potentially moving their manufacturing base. interesting, of course, we have heard from a coalition of retailers as well. they are saying they have not had enough time to react to these tariffs, so it could impact those businesses and we also heard from the chinese. they continue to respond to this ongoing tension. we heard from a ministry of commerce spokesperson saying essentially, china will be forced to retaliate if the us ignores

resista nce retaliate if the us ignores resistance in these public hearings and goes ahead and imposes those tariffs, which could come any minute now. interesting. sharanjit leyl, we are going to leave it there now, but interesting story. now let's brief you on some other business stories. lots of businesses have been trying to get the word of trump before we hear any more about those tariffs. the financial times: credit suisse chief denies he will run in ivory coast election. tidjane thiam speaks out as media speculation mounts of presidency bid. and on quartz, developed nations are outsourcing emissions to india. in 2015, nearly 20% of india's emissions apparently were linked to the production of goods for exports, primarily to the us, according to a recent report. let us know what you are spotting online. at the moment, we have been talking about british airways and that it failure. what do you make of that?

do you feel comfortable adding your personal and financial information online? use the hashtag, #bbcthebriefing. a quick look at the markets. across asia, we have seen a little bit of weakness. this is how the dowjones ended up in the us. we are expecting a bit ofa ended up in the us. we are expecting a bit of a mixed picture when new york opens in a couple of our‘s time. —— hours's time. up next, newsbriefing. we'll take you through ther stories making headlines in the global news media today. the head of gchq, jeremy fleming, has told a us audience that russia poses a real and active threat following the salisbury novichok attack. lucina adams reports. releasing the identities of the

salisbury suspects, the details of where they went, and how they attempted to murder the skripals was designed to name and shame rush of using a chemical weapon on european soil. in a bid to increase international pressure on moscow, the british government laid out its allegations to the united nations allies. they tried to murder the skripals. they play dice with the lives of the people of salisbury. they work in a parallel universe, where the normal rules of international affairs are in burton. that prompted a furious response from the russian ambassador, rejecting the british accusations as unfounded lies. —— inverted. rejecting the british accusations as unfounded lies. -- inverted. london needs the story for just unfounded lies. -- inverted. london needs the story forjust one purpose, to unleash a disgusting anti russian hysteria. that the us, france, germany and canada all agreed that the russian government will most certainly approve the poisoning of x by sergei skripal and

his daughter. today, our british friends and colleagues are providing us friends and colleagues are providing us with a masterclass in how to stop the spread of chemical weapons. -- of former spy. last night, the uk's gchq said the threat from russia is reckless, real and active. jeremy fleming said the novichok attack was evidence of the kremlin's brazen determination to undermine international rules. he said the debt would be countered with the full range of tools for national security. russia denies its national intelligence service had anything to do with the attack, but the regime known for its intense secrecy has been dragged under an international spotlight. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: back on the road — president trump rallies his base as critics claim his leadership and policy making in the white house is out of control. syrian troops are preparing

to attack rebel fighters in idlib province. iran is hosting talks with russia and turkey. and support for an anti—migrant, nationalist party grows in sweden and the ruling party faces a significant challenge as the country goes to the polls. it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. 0n front of the telegraph, the head of gchq, the uk's intelligence, security and cyber agency, has promised to retaliate against the "brazen kremlin" for russia's alleged nerve agent attack in salisbury. jeremy fleming said the agency would "deploy the full range of tools" to counter the threat posed by vladimir putin's regime. the picture on front of the ft shows supporters of lgbt rights dancing with joy after india's supreme court decriminalised homosexual acts.

the ruling overturns a 2013 judgement that upheld a colonial—era law, known as section 377, under which gay sex is categorised as an "unnatural offence." the huff post 0nline focuses on british airways who say police are investigating the online theft of customer data that compromised around 380,000 payment cards. ba said the stolen data did not include travel or passport details. the independent says bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies are crashing in a sudden and dramatic market collapse.