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| {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} | |||
| {{POV}} | |||
| {{Use Australian English|date=August 2011}} | |||
| {{Infobox company | |||
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| | key_people = ] | | key_people = ] | ||
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| type = ] | ||
| | foundation = |
| foundation = 2007 | ||
| | location = |
| location = ], ] | ||
| | industry = ] | |||
| | slogan = Creating a Society based on Vision and Virtues | |||
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| genre = ], ] | ||
| | genre = ], ] | |||
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| The '''World Stock Exchange''' (WSE) was a virtual ] created by Hope Capital Pty. Ltd. of ], ] and managed by CEO, Luke Connell. | |||
| The '''World Stock Exchange''' (WSE), is a ] ] and ] ] developed, owned and operated by Hope Capital Pty. Ltd. of ], ]. The WSE has been developed using ]. The WSE enables listed companies to raise capital, it then steals the capital, and gain brand awareness by participating in the ] while providing users with an ability to trade securities and earn interest in a simulated gaming environment using the World Internet Currency (WIC) with a license issued by ] that has the potential to be purchased and sold for real US Dollars. The value of the WIC license is determined by an ] set by ], the rate is then applied to the total amount of ] assigned to that license at the time of the transaction. | |||
| The game opened on 5 March 2007 and first appeared in the ] of ].<ref name="vse-opens">{{cite news| title =Virtual Stock Exchange Opens in Second Life | publisher =Wall Street and Technology| date =16 March 2007| url =http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2007/03/virtual_stock_e.html| accessdate =2009-09-02}}</ref> Transactions occurred outside of Second Life on the WSE website.<ref name="betting">*{{cite news| title =Betting on Second Life Stock Exchanges | publisher =Tech Crunch| date =20 August 2007| url =https://techcrunch.com/2007/08/20/betting-on-second-life-stock-exchanges/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }}</ref> The game initially used the ] ] from Second Life and in July 2007 integrated a new ] called the World Internet Currency (WIC, WICS, W$). The WIC currency, similar to the ], could be converted to/from ]. In its first 25 days, the WSE generated $200,000 in trading volume.<ref name="another-life">{{cite news| title =Another life | publisher =Australian IT| date =3 April 2007| url =http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,21477652-16681,00.html| accessdate =2007-10-20 }}</ref> Players of the game were not legally protected as with a real stock exchange, instead trading was governed by the Linden Labs terms of service and the listing rules created by Connell.<ref name="another-life"/> | |||
| The World Stock Exchange began normal operations on March 7th 2007 and to date has achieved 27,000 user accounts, raised virtual businesses over L$145 million Linden Dollars and total Exchange ] exceeded WIC$500 million. | |||
| In July 2007, an avatar with inside information hacked the WSE computers and made off with 3.2 million LD (or about $12,000US).<ref name="money-trouble">{{cite news|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/19193/|work=Technology Review|publisher=MIT|date=8 August 2007|author=Naone, Erica|title=Money Trouble in Second Life|accessdate=2009-09-02}}</ref> The WSE shut down temporarily to investigate and perform system upgrades. As a result, WSE software development and upgrades were moved in house and positions were no longer available to anonymous Second Life avatars. The incident sparked debate over the WSE's classification as a game since the virtual currency, Linden Dollars, were able to be exchanged for real money.<ref name="money-trouble"/> Connell maintained that no crime had occurred since all transactions and companies involved in the game were fictional. He blamed the backlash against the WSE on a few disenchanted companies whose initial stock offerings failed to perform to their expectations.<ref name="jitters">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/10/1186530581488.html|title=Jitters in Second Life as bank shuts doors|author=Hutcheon, Stephen|date=10 August 2007|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=2009-09-02}}</ref> Shania Stewart, whose avatar first reported the theft had her company delisted from the WSE shortly thereafter. She later told BusinessWeek that the delisting occurred because "she believed the exchange had no intention of disclosing what happened". Linden Labs declined to comment on the incident.<ref name="virtual-exchange-real">{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2007/tc2007089_873900.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113095630/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2007/tc2007089_873900.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2009|work=Business Week|title=Virtual Exchanges Get Real|author=Di Meglio, Francesca|date=10 August 2007|accessdate=2009-09-02}}</ref> | |||
| The WSE first appeared in the ] of ] and initially used the ] ] in ]. In July 2007, the WSE completed the integration of a new ] independent of ] called the ] (WIC, WICS, W$). | |||
| ==Halting of operations== | |||
| The WSE suspended operations in January 4, 2008 until August 3, 2008 under for required updates and the rollout a new platform called WSE 4.0. | |||
| ==Regulation of listed companies== | |||
| '''Self-regulation''' | |||
| Initially, the WSE was regulated by listing rules and the WSE Constitution. At the start of 2007, the WSE believed in market self-regulation. | |||
| Because of that, the WSE companies listed on the WSE had a relatively high failure rate and most participants were day traders, resulting in very high trading volume and a bubble when virtual stock traders saw their stock decline in value en masse for the first time. | |||
| '''Increased regulation''' | |||
| Because of the failure rate and the desire to operate a more serious market, the WSE's CEO, Luke Connell, decided to tighten the regulation. The WSE introduced guidelines for companies to inform investors and the WSE also heavily edited the - already existing - WSE Constitution, and added a Terms of Service. From June 2007 on, it has also increasingly done at-random and monthly checks on companies to ensure compliance. | |||
| The actions taken by the WSE dramatically reduced the failure rate. | |||
| Upon resuming its services to users on the 3rd of August 2008, WSE had updated the Listing rules and Terms of Service and replaced the Constitution with detailed Market Rules. | |||
| ==Development of the WSE Platform== | |||
| '''Initial platform(WSE 1.0)''' | |||
| The WSE initially used a stock trading system operating within Second Life, but that system was discontinued because of the limits of the ](LSL), the scripting language used within Second Life. | |||
| '''Second trading platform: A web-based trading platform(WSE 2.x)''' | |||
| In March 2007, the WSE, in cooperation with an existing stock exchange in SL, the Metaverse Stock Exchange(MSE) - which was merged into the WSE - developed a completely new, primarily web-based trading platform, called WSE 2.0. WSE 2.0 introduced better portfolio management features and more options for listed companies. The developer of WSE 2.0, Second Life Solutions ] Shaun Altman, a Second Life avatar, has been criticized because of the errors in essential parts of the WSE 2.0 system, which was, like all WSE platforms after WSE 1.0, based on the ] web application framework. Because of WSE 2.0, Hope Capital decided to hire a real-world software developers to develop the WSE applications instead of a Second Life avatar reduce their risk exposure to errors and to increase the quality of the platform. It took a time to remove inefficiencies and bugs of WSE 2.0, but, after the fixing of bugs, WSE 2.0 was regarded as the first stable virtual stock exchange platform to be used by users in the virtual world of Second Life. | |||
| ''Final 2.x'' | |||
| The final WSE Trading Platform, version 2, included automatic charting by using ] technology. It is still being used as of the start of December 2007 as the WSE's charting system. | |||
| '''The 3.x family of trading platforms: More security, a new currency''' | |||
| The WSE 3.x trading platform family introduced features developed by a real-world Australian software firm and included security enhancements, a new currency, new data for investors and better market data management. | |||
| ''WSE 3.0'' | |||
| WSE 3.0, which was implemented after a Second Life avatar had stolen L$3.2 million from the WSE. Version 3.0 of the WSE trading platform included 256-bit SSL-encryption, bug fixes and an RSS-powered news feed. The WSE 3.0 platform also introduced a new currency: The World Internet Currency, commonly shortened as the "WIC". | |||
| ''WSE 3.1'' | |||
| WSE 3.1 included better data management features to enable better management of the WSE's financial and regulational operations and bug fixes. This version of the World Stock Exchange platform also included the introduction of financial reports. | |||
| ''WSE 3.2: The current version of the WSE's platform'' | |||
| The third 3.x family member, WSE 3.2, included live TV via the WSE website and additional news feeds on the WSE's homepage at its website. Several bugs were also fixed. The website's layout was also slightly changed. | |||
| ''WSE 4.0: First Phase/Second Phase(Currently implemented into WSE 3.2)'' | |||
| The first phase of WSE 4.0 includes extended data, such as P/E and cash-on-hand data. It also includes an integrated application for analysts. Analysts can post their analysis of listings on the WSE website via this system. | |||
| WSE 4.0 was successfully re-launched on the 3rd of August, 2008. A new application on the ] Platform was added, opening up the WSE service to a new market within Facebook, similar to operations in Second Life. The main WSE website was also relaunched. | |||
| New features include an invitation system where users are paid for successful invites, meaning that the people they invite trade virtual securities on the WSE. Advanced orders, like stop and trailing orders, were also introduced. The Facebook Application includes a ranking system. | |||
| The WSE halted trading on 9 November 2008, pending an announcement.<ref>. World Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2008-10-10.</ref> According to the 30 November 2008 announcement, the WSE planned to delist any remaining ]-based companies and would not reopen until late January 2009.<ref>. World Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2008-12-09.</ref> In August 2009, WSE released a new announcement indicating that delays in the development process prevented meeting the earlier launch dates and the game was tentatively set to re-launch on 1 September 2009.<ref name="lauch-date-extended">{{cite web|url=https://www.wselive.com/welcome/detail/3605|author=Connell, Luke|title=Launch Date Extended|work=WSE Website|date=12 August 2009|accessdate=2009-09-02}}</ref> The exchange never re-opened. | |||
| While the site still claims that a new version of the exchange will be "coming soon", the main site still shows the same 24 April 2010 announcement as of September 2013.<ref name="last-message-main-site">{{cite web|url=http://www.wselive.com/|author=Connell, Luke|title=Dear Market Participants|work=WSE Website|date=24 April 2010|accessdate=2013-05-08}}</ref> Some of the ] investors who still held a balance in the WSE at the time it ceased operations were unable to withdraw their ] or WICS balances. | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Hope Capital launches rival to Metaverse Stock Exchange| work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Reuters| date =]| url =http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/01/12/hope-capital-launches-rival-to-metaverse-stock-exchange/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Rival Second Life stock exchanges merge| work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Reuters| date =]| url =http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/02/13/rival-second-life-stock-exchanges-merge/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Hope Capital shares plunge amid Altman sell-off | work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Reuters| date =]| url =http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/03/19/hope-capital-shares-plunge-amid-altman-sell-off/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Virtual Stock Exchange Opens in Second Life | work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Wall Street and Technology| date =]| url =http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/blog/archives/2007/03/virtual_stock_e.html| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Another life | work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Australian IT| date =]| url =http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,21477652-16681,00.html| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =World Stock Exchange hit by L$3.2 million theft| work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Reuters| date =]| url =http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/07/25/world-stock-exchange-hit-by-l32-million-theft/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =You Only Live Twice| work =Four Corners| pages =| language =| publisher =ABC| date =]| url =http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20070319/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Interview - LukeConnell Vandeverre, World Stock Exchange|work =| pages =| language =| publisher =SLOZ| date =]| url =http://www.sloz.info/2007/04/20/interview-lukeconnell-vandeverre-world-stock-exchange/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Interview Two - LukeConnell Vandeverre, World Stock Exchange |work =| pages =| language =| publisher =SLOZ| date =]| url =http://www.sloz.info/2007/08/05/interview-two-lukeconnell-vandeverre-world-stock-exchange/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Betting On Second Life Stock Exchanges |work =| pages =| language =| publisher =Tech Crunch| date =]| url =http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/08/20/betting-on-second-life-stock-exchanges/| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Welcome To The World Stock Exchange (virtual) |work =| pages =| language =| publisher =American Chronicle| date =]| url =http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=36212| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last =| first =| coauthors =| title =Virtual Exchanges Get Real |work =| pages =| language =| publisher =BusinessWeek| date =]| url =http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2007/tc2007089_873900.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories| accessdate =2007-10-20 }} | |||
| *{{cite news| last=| first=| coauthors =|title =Invitation to the opening of WSE version 2.0|work =| pages =| language =| publisher =SLNewspaper, JamesT Juno| date=]| url=http://bp2.blogger.com/_IK6baWxMgnU/Re6dnELyvAI/AAAAAAAAAWo/wqnUvSOm4lw/s1600-h/wse_invitation.jpg| | |||
| accessdate =2007-11-16 }} | |||
| ⚫ | ==External links== | ||
| ⚫ | *{{cite web |
||
| ⚫ | == External links == | ||
| ] | |||
| ⚫ | * {{cite web| title =World Stock Exchange| work =Official website | url=http://www.wselive.com/}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Latest revision as of 09:05, 12 April 2024
| [REDACTED] | |
| Company type | Stock exchange |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Genre | Simulation Game, Role-playing video game |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
| Key people | Luke Connell |
| Website | https://www.wselive.com |
![[REDACTED]](https://u3vuiephb.global.ssl.fastly.net/File:Wselogo.gif){kind=link}
The World Stock Exchange (WSE) was a virtual stock exchange created by Hope Capital Pty. Ltd. of Melbourne, Australia and managed by CEO, Luke Connell.
The game opened on 5 March 2007 and first appeared in the virtual world of Second Life. Transactions occurred outside of Second Life on the WSE website. The game initially used the Linden Dollar currency from Second Life and in July 2007 integrated a new virtual currency called the World Internet Currency (WIC, WICS, W$). The WIC currency, similar to the Linden Dollar, could be converted to/from USD. In its first 25 days, the WSE generated $200,000 in trading volume. Players of the game were not legally protected as with a real stock exchange, instead trading was governed by the Linden Labs terms of service and the listing rules created by Connell.
In July 2007, an avatar with inside information hacked the WSE computers and made off with 3.2 million LD (or about $12,000US). The WSE shut down temporarily to investigate and perform system upgrades. As a result, WSE software development and upgrades were moved in house and positions were no longer available to anonymous Second Life avatars. The incident sparked debate over the WSE's classification as a game since the virtual currency, Linden Dollars, were able to be exchanged for real money. Connell maintained that no crime had occurred since all transactions and companies involved in the game were fictional. He blamed the backlash against the WSE on a few disenchanted companies whose initial stock offerings failed to perform to their expectations. Shania Stewart, whose avatar first reported the theft had her company delisted from the WSE shortly thereafter. She later told BusinessWeek that the delisting occurred because "she believed the exchange had no intention of disclosing what happened". Linden Labs declined to comment on the incident.
The WSE halted trading on 9 November 2008, pending an announcement. According to the 30 November 2008 announcement, the WSE planned to delist any remaining Second Life-based companies and would not reopen until late January 2009. In August 2009, WSE released a new announcement indicating that delays in the development process prevented meeting the earlier launch dates and the game was tentatively set to re-launch on 1 September 2009. The exchange never re-opened.
While the site still claims that a new version of the exchange will be "coming soon", the main site still shows the same 24 April 2010 announcement as of September 2013. Some of the Second Life investors who still held a balance in the WSE at the time it ceased operations were unable to withdraw their Linden Dollar or WICS balances.
References
- "Virtual Stock Exchange Opens in Second Life". Wall Street and Technology. 16 March 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- *"Betting on Second Life Stock Exchanges". Tech Crunch. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ "Another life". Australian IT. 3 April 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ Naone, Erica (8 August 2007). "Money Trouble in Second Life". Technology Review. MIT. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- Hutcheon, Stephen (10 August 2007). "Jitters in Second Life as bank shuts doors". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- Di Meglio, Francesca (10 August 2007). "Virtual Exchanges Get Real". Business Week. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- IMPORTANT - MARKET TRADING HALT. World Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- THE 2008 ADDRESS TO THE MARKET. World Stock Exchange. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- Connell, Luke (12 August 2009). "Launch Date Extended". WSE Website. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- Connell, Luke (24 April 2010). "Dear Market Participants". WSE Website. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
External links
- "World Stock Exchange". Official website.