Amid the ongoing war, you would have heard Nickel rising by over 200%, Wheat by 80% and Oil by 50%

But did you know there is another asset class that rose by over 2000% since Dec

Todays thread is about Credit Default Swaps, an asset class only accessible to the ultra rich 🧵👇

This thread is divided into the following parts

1. Basics & History of Credit Default Swaps
2. How Russian CDS rose over 2000%?
3. Why these instruments are limited to the ultra wealthy?
4. Can you profit indirectly from CDS?

Credit Default Swaps belong to a category of derivative products called Swaps.

Derivative products are usually of two kinds

1. Standardized Derivative Products like Futures and Option Contracts that are traded over the exchange

2. Non Standardized Over the Counter Products like Forwards and Swaps

Swap at its simplest is an agreement between two parties to exchange a series of cash flows for a set period of time

Swaps were basically invented to help large banks and companies manage their interest rate and currency exposures