Tag: Crypto

Is There No Way to Cash Out From Grayscale? #Fail

Post author By Keiran
Post date 17 June, 2020
No Comments on Is There No Way to Cash Out From Grayscale? #Fail

https://youtu.be/NoE3a7Cjknc

Is There No Way to Cash Out From Grayscale’s BTC Trust

Qiao Wang, an investor, analyst as well as head of product at the crypto market data firm Messari, raised some major criticism about the way Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is set up.
In his tweet dating June 11, Wang cited Grayscale’s official website, which says that “Grayscale Bitcoin Trust does not (at the moment) operate a redemption program, which means it may halt creations from time to time.” Wang suggested that the absence of a redemption mechanism might result in GBTC trading at a discounted rate compared to the net asset value.

He later explained that, when an exchange-traded fund (ETF for short) trades at a discounted rate compared to the fund’s underlying assets, traders performing arbitrage can buy the contract on an exchange and then redeem it for the assets that back it.
“Without the ability to redeem Bitcoin, you are just donating your money to Grayscale.” – Wang said.

Grayscale’s growth since the Bitcoin halving

Recent news clearly shows that Grayscale’s cryptocurrency holdings are growing at an extraordinary rate. Grayscale has bought Bitcoin one and a half times faster than the miners were producing since May 11, which is the date of the Bitcoin block reward halving.
On top of that, Grayscale’s director of investor relations, Ray Sharif-Askary, has recently announced that Grayscale has also been aggressively buying Ethereum as well.

Tags Crypto, Crypto Trading, Education, Grayscale

Cryptocurrencies

What is Lisk (LSK)?

Bitcoin was about taking power from centralized finance systems. Thanks to the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto, individuals can own a currency that cannot be censored, controlled, or frozen by anyone. And now, ten plus years after their groundbreaking currency, Satoshi would be gratified to know that their idea is coming true in other facets of our society.

Bitcoin’s driving technology, blockchain, is being harnessed for a raft of industries. But one area that’s not so obvious is the one for decentralized applications (DApps). DApps are a new kind of apps not controlled or regulated by any single entity.

They are the polar opposite of traditional applications whose developers are at the whims of centralized entities.

Lisk is hoping to change this by empowering developers all over the world with the means to earn from their work. Let’s get a closer look at how it plans to make this happen.

What is LISK?

Launched in May 2016, Lisk is an open-source and blockchain-based platform that aims to make blockchain technology more accessible for developers to build decentralized applications (DApps). It does this by employing side chain technology.

Lisk aims to address the problem developers face when creating applications using blockchain. Developers work so hard but are usually under the mercy of centralized entities (such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store), which get the largest share of revenues.

Lisk aims to correct this by creating a decentralized platform that will allow developers to deservedly earn from their work. Also, instead of using a proprietary coding language, Lisk utilizes JavaScript, the most well-known, so as to accelerate development to make it easier for developers to join the platform.

How Does Lisk Work

Lisk is a platform that lets developers create decentralized applications ((just like Ethereum or NEO). However, Lisk distinguishes itself in several ways.

For instance, Ethereum uses Solidity, a language unique to it, thus requiring developers who wish to use the platform to learn a new language. Also, the platform is majorly dedicated to smart contracts. This ingrained code means third parties have to operate as front-end applications.

Lisk utilizes sidechain technology and a software development kit (SDK) to empower developers to produce high-quality DApps.

Sidechains

Sidechains are independent blockchains that connect to the main blockchain without interfering with its performance. This creates interoperability that enables users to perform previously impossible tasks such as transferring your tokens directly between chains. For developers, sidechain tech allows them to customize things like consensus algorithms, testnets, and asset tracking.

Many side chains feature just one blockchain (e.g., Bitcoin) or are developed for private blockchains. Lisk wants to combine these to create the best solution: maintain security with side-chain flexibility. Developers can create their own blockchain – which will function as a sidechain, while Lisk maintains the mainchain – which is secured by 101 delegates. As such, were a side chain to go down, the network and the main chain would not be affected.

How is Lisk Different?

Lisk seeks to make blockchain tech more accessible to developers. To this end, they’ve created a set of blockchain developing tools based on JavaScript. The platform wants to achieve a high-level user experience and offer unprecedented developer support.

Lisk’s SDK comprises three core parts:

Consensus Algorithm – which is Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)
Sidechain – which lets developers create independent blockchains linked to the main chain
Back-end – a fully customizable code that allows developers to create decentralized applications autonomously
Front-end – friendly user interface (UI) where the public can interact with the chains

By bringing together the capacity of the main chain with open-source blockchain development kits, developers have the free rein to create exciting, convenient, and accessible digital apps. They can then make the apps available as a package in a decentralized app repository. The LSK token is used to power transactions and services on the Lisk blockchain.

Delegated Proof of Stake

Lisk uses a delegated proof of stake mechanism that works as follows. Anyone can become a delegate by registering an account on the network. With this account, you can easily collect votes from any LSK holder. 1 LSK token is equal to 1 vote, and an LSK holder can vote with their current LSK holdings.

The 101 delegates with the most votes get to add new blocks on a blockchain and, by so doing, secure the network. These delegates are said to be on an “active” mode. The rest of the delegates are on “standby.” Also, the order of the active and the standby delegates is constantly changing.

The Lisk Team

Lisk is led by a vibrant team led by Max Kordek and Oliver Beddows. Kordek is President/CEO and co-founder. He has been an avid follower of blockchain, and he gathered a lot of insights on the technology for years before creating Lisk. He’s also an ardent fan of science fiction.

Beddows is Vice President/CTO and Founder. He has 12 years of development experience under his belt, and he believes blockchain is a powerful tech that can change the world for the better.

What’s the Market Look Like for LSK?

As of June 4, 2020, Lisk is trading at $1.25, while ranking at #51 in market capitalization. It has a market cap of $154, 891, 635, a 24-hour volume of $5, 295, 614, a circulating supply of 123, 957, 448, and a total supply of 140, 012, 060. LSK’s all-time high was $39.31 (Jan 7, 2018), and its all-time low was $0.095652 (Mar 02, 2017).

Where to Buy and Store LSK

You can find Lisk in a variety of exchanges, including Binance, Poloniex, Bittrex, HitBTC, Coinswitch, Kraken, Cointree, KuCoin, YoBitNet and Huobi. For the majority of the exchanges, you’ll need to first purchase BTC or ETH and then exchange it for Lisk.

Lisk has a Wallet available for both desktop and mobile. The desktop version allows you to vote for delegates as well as monitor the Lisk blockchain: inspect delegates, monitor transactions and blocks, and so on. Lisk also recommends these third-party wallets: Trezor One, Trezor Model T, Ledger Nano S, and Ledger Nano X.

Final Words

Lisk is a blockchain project that’s actualizing the Bitcoin dream – taking power from centralized systems and handing it back to the people. For too long, talented and hard-working developers have had to cede to corporate machines, which take the lion’s share of the revenue from their hard work.

Lisk is about to change this by creating a decentralized platform where developers can utilize a set of powerful tools to create decentralized apps and take back their earning power. Also, its use of JavaScript will help it cultivate a user base of millions of already trained developers, and has the potential to thrust it to the forefront of the blockchain space. It’s certainly one to watch.

Tags Blockchain, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Delegated proof of stake, Education, LISK, LSK

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 17 – Craig Wright Called a Thief or a Fraud by the Ex CEO of Mt. Gox

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 17 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 17 – Craig Wright Called a Thief or a Fraud by the Ex CEO of Mt. Gox

The crypto market has taken its time to consolidate throughout the day, as well as possibly test nearest resistance levels. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,447, which represents an increase of 0.56% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 1.6% on the day, while XRP lost 0.07%.

SwissBorg took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 30.87%. DigiByte lost 6.96% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance stayed at the same place since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.32%. This value represents a 0.2% difference to the downside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased over the course of the day, with the market’s current value being $267.99 billion. This value represents an increase of $2.35 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Craig Wright called a liar or a thief by Mark Karpeles

Former CEO of Mt. Gox Mark Karpeles claims that the 80,000 Bitcoin that Dr. Craig Wright lays claim to was actually stolen from the Mt. Gox exchange in March 2011. This claim isn’t just empty words, as cryptocurrency experts side with Karpeles. The Bitcoin residing at one of the addresses that Craig Wright listed among the numerous addresses he supposedly owns was stolen from Mt. Gox.

Karpeles said, “This was confirmed in 2011, and records are a part of court documents available publicly.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization spent the past 24 hours trying to consolidate above $9,251 as well as to test the $9,580 resistance level for a brief amount of time. The resistance was strong, and Bitcoin couldn’t break it, which continued its consolidation within a range bound by $9,251 and $9,580.

Bitcoin’s volume decreased after the recovery bull run ended, while its RSI level currently stagnates at around 51.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,580 1: $9,251

2: $9,735 2: $9,120

3: $9,870 3: $8,980

Ethereum

Ethereum seems to have had a solid day, not only recovering from the plunge but slowly rising in price as well. However, the most recent sentiment shows that bears are testing how far they can go. Whether bears manage to drive ETH’s price down a bit or not, there’s still a long way until the $225.4 support level.

Ethereum’s volume lower and lower as the time passes, while its RSI level hovers below the value of 50.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $240 1: $225.4

2: $251.4 2: $217.6

3: $198

Ripple

XRP had a decent day as well, as the price drop ended after the price hit the red descending line and bounced from it. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap managed to get back above $0.19 (which is, as we mentioned yesterday, a big deal for XRP) and consolidate above it. The line got tested once, without much success for the bears.

XRP’s volume is a bit below the weekly average (after excluding the volume bumps for upward and downward spikes), while its RSI level is just below 50.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.2 1: $0.19

2: $0.205 2: $0.178

3: $0.214

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Cryptocurrencies

What is Theta All About?

Current video sharing platforms face a ton of issues, ranging from downtimes to high-maintenance costs to a poor reach in less developed countries. There is also the issue of centralization, meaning they are owned, controlled, and regulated by their owners. This means only ‘agreeable’ content, by their (owners) standards, is allowed.

Blockchain was invented to democratize and decentralize finance. But we don’t have to stop there. We can tap into the power of blockchain to achieve decentralization in other areas of society.

Theta is a blockchain and cryptocurrency project that seeks to provide a blockchain-powered video sharing experience. The token has been making headlines lately, with its raging rally of nearly 1300% since the crypto market’s downturn in mid-March precipitated by the Corona pandemic. Its inking of partnerships with big-time companies such as Android TV, Samsung, and Google is making the news.

What is Theta all about? This piece dives into that question, and more.

What is Theta?

Theta is a blockchain-powered platform that supports decentralized video streaming and delivery. It aims to solve issues in current video sharing networks such as poor rich to developing countries, high costs of setting up, maintenance and bandwidth, and centralization.

These factors mean that video-sharing platforms lose out on revenue and that content can be censored. Furthermore, the current infrastructure is mostly unprepared for the changes that will be occasioned by upcoming developments such as 4K, 8K, 360° virtual reality streaming, and others such as light field technology.

The platform aims to solve these issues with the transformative blockchain. The tech will incentivize users through the Theta token, while also enabling a high-performance environment.

In Theta’s words, the company’s mission is to “leverage blockchain technology to create the first Decentralized Video Streaming and Delivery Network whereby video viewers are incentivized to share redundant computing and bandwidth resources to address today’s video streaming challenges.”

Who is Behind Theta?

Theta is the brainchild of Mitch Liu and Jieyi Long. Liu is the co-founder of Gameview Studios and a co-founder of Tapjoy. He holds a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Stanford. Long has a degree in Microelectronics from Peking University as well as a PhD in Computer Engineering from Northwestern University. He’s also the patent owner of various technologies in virtual reality and video game replays.

There is also a long list of engineers and architects, as well as advisors such as YouTube co-founder Steven Chen. Theta has also partnered with former members of media companies such as Twitch, Verizon Plays.tv, and others. Other partners at various stages include Samsung VR and NBN, one of the biggest media companies in Korea.

How Does Theta Work?

We will explore various functionalities of Theta and how it achieves its mission.

#1. Caching Nodes

The current content delivery networks comprise huge data centers in various parts of the globe. Due to their vast geographical distances from viewers, data streaming is often low quality. Theta proposes to solve this by creating a peer-to-peer network of users who share their network bandwidth. The end goal is to have a global network that can supplant or supplement existing content delivery networks.

This will be achieved by users from across the globe, lending their devices as “caching nodes.” The caching nodes will then form a robust mesh network that will be capable of delivering quality video streams to viewers across the globe. The network will reward caching nodes with Theta tokens, incentivizing users to continue contributing their spare bandwidth resources – and thus strengthening the Theta network.

According to Theta, this will not just improve video reach and quality, but massively reduce costs. And this will be made possible by the eliminated need to maintain the current enormous data centers.

#2. Improved Resilience

Theta is also set to enhance the resilience of the whole infrastructure. As of now, the video streaming industry relies on a few data centers scattered across the globe. This is risky since if some of them were to go down for any reason, global streaming would be adversely affected. By distributing (and decentralizing) the caching and relay points to thousands of nodes, the Theta network can realize a sturdier network far more than the current systems can support.

#3. Quality Variance

Two problems present with the caching nodes. One is the difference in the quality of different nodes. The other is the possibility of nodes dropping off. To counter these problems, Theta has built a mechanism that will allow nodes to identify the geographically closest nodes to them, allowing them to connect with their nearest peers rather than random nodes situated in any corner of the world. This enables nodes to pull streams in a more consistent fashion.

What is Theta Token?

The Theta network incentivizes viewers with Theta tokens to share their computing and bandwidth resources. Caching nodes are rewarded with tokens for relaying video streams to other network users. This, in effect, also increases streaming market efficiency by streamlining the delivery process.

Video publishers/advertisers can also directly reach viewers at a much-reduced cost, while viewers earn tokens for watching/interacting with content. Also, streaming platforms can realize new avenues for content sharing and revenue-generating with Theta. Below is a more detailed Theta token structure.

Caching nodes rewarded with tokens for streaming videos to other users
Caching nodes rewarded for engaging with content and in turn gifting (optionally) their favorite content creators
Streaming sites can leverage new content sharing avenues and engage better with users.
Advertisers funding campaigns with tokens
Streaming platforms can save up to 80% of content network costs.

What is Theta’s Consensus Mechanism?

Theta utilizes a ‘Multi-level BFT’ consensus mechanism that allows thousands of nodes to take part in the consensus process. At the same time, the mechanism supports throughput of 1000+ transactions per second (TPS).

This mechanism utilizes a small set of nodes that acts as the ‘validator committee.’ This validator committee can produce new blocks super fast. Just 10 to 20 validators can do this – while still maintaining a high degree of difficulty to cushion against attacks on the blockchain. Then the rest of the network participants, also called ‘guardians,’ can finalize the process initiated by the validators. Finalization here refers to convincing each honest guardian that more than two-thirds of the guardians see the same chain of blocks.

Tokenomics of Theta

As of May 30, 2020, Theta traded at $0. 298066, while ranking at #35 in the crypto market. It has a market cap of $259, 466, 860, with a 24-hour volume of $66, 056, 366. Its circulating supply is 870, 502, 690, with a total supply of 1 billion. Its all-time high was $0. 555652 (May 27, 2020) while its all-time low was $0. 039771, (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store Theta Token

You can purchase Theta from any of several popular exchanges such as Coinbit, Bithumb, Upbit, Binance, Huobi, DigiFinex, Bkex, Biki, OKex, Hotbit, Gate.io, and WazirX. Coinbase, a popular exchange, does not yet support Theta. In the majority of the exchanges, Theta is available as a trading pair with Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, Binance Coin, and so on.

Likewise, you can store Theta tokens at any of trusted wallets such as Ledger, Trezor, Keep Key, MyEtherWallet, Exodus, and Coinomi.

Final Words

Theta provides incredible solutions to the current issues faced by video delivery networks. Its peer-to-peer mesh network, incentivized and powered by the blockchain, is certainly exciting and with a lot of potential. The only challenge for Theta is to maintain the quality of the platform as well as the decentralized nature of the network. Fans and network users will be relying on this.

Tags CDN and blockchain, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Education, Theta, Theta token

Cryptocurrencies

What is Ontology?

After blockchain’s introduction to the world, the tech space was quick to notice how technology could be used for a lot more than cryptocurrency. Blockchain is a technology that is distributed, transparent (hence automating trust), uses cryptography to achieve high-level security, and supports immutable records. With these groundbreaking features, it would be crazy for the technology not to be tapped to streamline and optimize functions in industries.

The problem is, there have been a few barriers preventing this realization. One is the complex nature of blockchain. The other is, blockchain is not cheap. If an organization were to integrate blockchain into their infrastructure, they would either a.) build a blockchain solution from the ground up or b.) utilize the services of an established blockchain service.

Option A is incredibly costly since you’d have to dedicate enormous time and financial resources. Option B, however, would be more convenient and resource-saving.

Ontology is an organization that aims to provide enterprises with affordable and customized blockchain solutions. It also seeks to change the old way of giving and receiving trust – through blockchain.

What is Ontology?

Ontology is a Chinese blockchain-based company launched in 2017. The project’s founders envisioned an open platform that provides blockchain solutions to businesses across multiple industries in a collaborative and trustless environment. It will hopefully be a start in breaking down barriers between blockchain and businesses.

The Ontology platform is forward-thinking in the sense that it allows businesses without prior interaction with blockchain to utilize the technology. The blockchain concept can be complicated, and there is currently no easy way for businesses to incorporate the tech. Additionally, legacy trust networks have several inefficiencies, such as poor data security, untapped data assets, monopolization of data, and poor identity management. All these create avenues for blockchain to provide trustless, consensus-based, and fraud-proof solutions.

Via Ontology’s tools, organizations from anywhere can create collaborative trust mechanisms and customize them according to their specific needs. And all this without going through an expensive and time-consuming learning curve.

In Ontology’s words: “Ontology is a blockchain/distributed ledger network which combines a distributed identity system, distributed data exchange, distributed data collaboration, distributed procedure protocols, distributed communities, distributed attestation, and various industry-specific modules. Together this builds the infrastructure for a peer-to-peer trust network, which is cross-chain, cross-system, cross-industry, cross-application, and cross-device.” (source coincentral.com)

What’s the Deal with Ontology and Neo?

The Ontology project is so closely associated with Neo that it’s so easy to conflate the two. And understandably so, since it was created by June Li, under a company known as OnChain, which is headed by Da Hongfei, who is also the creator of Neo.

During Ontology’s launch, Hongfei said this about the two projects: “Ontology and Neo will build a broad ecosystem using blockchain and other new technologies to serve the real economy.” But Hongfei wants you to know that NEO and OnChain are two very separate entities and neither owns the other.

In a YouTube video, Hongfei clarified as follows: “First, I need to clarify that NEO and OnChain are separate entities, so OnChain doesn’t own NEO, or NEO, OnChain. They are separately funded – NEO is funded by the community, and OnChain is funded by a very famous financial group in China, Fosun… So they are separate. Second, OnChain benefits from the NEO ecosystem. The product, called DNA (Distributed Networks Architecture), is very similar to NEO, but it is written in the Go language. OnChain is helping other blockchains and financial institutions to build the blockchains with DNA. It’s basically very similar to NEO, and in the future, with NEOx (the cross-chain protocol), everything can be linked together.”

Ontology’s Trust Framework

The Ontology blockchain offers four service layers:

An application for end-users
A trusted data transmission solution for optimizing data distribution
A layer for streamlining the industrial chain and building a healthy ecosystem that thrives on collaboration rather than competition
A legally compliant arbitration system

The trust framework relies on these core elements:

A trust system featuring decentralized supervision, a distributed collaboration, and a centralized “strong trust anchor.”
The Ontology decentralized identification (ONT ID) that connects people, assets, things, data, affairs, and services.
A blockchain-based framework that caters to different businesses security needs while balancing features and performance

Ontology’s Tokens

Ontology utilizes a dual token model. One token – ONT is used for staking in consensus while ONG gives users the right to use the network. ONG is issued periodically.

20 million ONT was distributed to NEO holders in March 2018, after initial distribution of 1000 ONT tokens to people who had signed up to their newsletter. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the token’s distribution:

12 went to Ontology’s early supporters
28% went to project partners
10% went to the NEO council
25% was reserved for future development of the Ontology ecosystem
10% went to the project’s technical community
15% was awarded to the Ontology core team

Tokenomics of Ontology

As of May 30, 2020, ONT was trading at $0. 521271 at position #29 in the overall crypto market, with a total market capitalization of $361, 890, 441, and a 24-hour volume of $74, 832, 588. It has a circulating supply of 694, 246, 573, while its total supply is 1, 000, 000, 000. ONT’s all-time high was $10.00 (May 03, 2018), while it’s all-time low was $0. 224974, (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store ONT

You can get ONT from any of several reputable exchanges, including Coinswitch, CEX.io, Cointree, Changelly, KuCoin, Binance, gate.io, Huobi, and Binance.

Once you purchase your tokens, it’s highly recommended that you do not store them in the exchange – as exchanges are highly prone to hacks. Instead, store them in a secure wallet. Options such as Ledger, Trezor, Atomic Wallet, Coinomi, and Guarda Wallet are some of the best choices.

Final Words

Ontology is changing the way we gain trust by automating the process through blockchain. Working together with NEO, the company is hoping to bridge the chasm between blockchain and the business sector.

The team behind Ontology is reputable in the blockchain space with a history of success, and it’s set to steer the project to great heights. Businesses can leverage the Ontology product and achieve streamlined, more effective, and trustless processes.

Tags Blockchain, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Education, NEO, ONG token, ONT token, ontology, Ontology blockchain

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 16 – BTC Whale Count Back To Dec 2017 Levels; BTC Back Above $9,000

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 16 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 16 – BTC Whale Count Back To Dec 2017 Levels; BTC Back Above $9,000

The crypto market has taken the day to restore its price level to the pre-drop of June 15. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,386, which represents an increase of 1.46% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 0.05% on the day, while XRP gained 1.85%.

Verge took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 21.03%. Flexacoin lost 13.05% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance stayed at exactly the same place since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.52%. This value represents a 0% difference when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased over the course of the day, with the market’s current value being $265.64 billion. This value represents an increase of $11.37 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Bitcoin whales returning to pre-December 2017 pump levels

The number of investors that are holding an immense amount of Bitcoin (otherwise known as Bitcoin whales) is starting to approach the level that the crypto community hadn’t seen since the 2017 levels when Bitcoin rallied to $20,000.

According to Glassnode’s report dating June 15, we can see steady growth in the number of Bitcoin whales (traders holding over 1000 BTC) since April 2019.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization managed to return to its pre-price drop level, reaching back above $9,000. Bitcoin has skipped the $9,120 and $9,251 levels as well, currently stabilizing between $9,251 and $9,580.

Bitcoin’s volume increased during the rally but returned to the previous levels, while the RSI level increased to 50.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,580 1: $9,120

2: $9,735 2: $9,251

3: $9,870 3: $8,980

Ethereum

Ethereum also had a correction over the day, bouncing above the $225.4 and trying to consolidate. However, the price action looks like the $225.4 level will be tested to the downside. If it stays strong, traders will have a chance to possibly enter a strong position towards the upside from there.

Ethereum’s volume increased both during the price spike as well as in general. Its RSI level is currently at 43.5.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $240 1: $225.4

2: $251.4 2: $217.6

3: $198

Ripple

XRP moved back above the $0.19 during the day, which represents a great bullish sign for it. Unlike with Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP doesn’t have many support levels below $0.178, and dropping below it would be extremely bearish. However, the recent price increase returned XRP’s price to pre-price drop levels.

XRP’s volume returned to average after a slight increase due to the price increase, while its RSI level came to 50.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.2 1: $0.19

2: $0.205 2: $0.178

3: $0.214

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Cryptocurrencies

Electroneum – “The World’s First Common Cryptocurrency”

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 15 June, 2020
No Comments on Electroneum – “The World’s First Common Cryptocurrency”

Some of the buzz around cryptocurrency is for it being a currency that wrests back the power of money from governments and centralized bodies and hands it back to the people. But it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, intended for anybody to be able to mine bitcoin from the comfort of their computer. But as the crypto increased in popularity and thousands more flooded the scene, it became harder to do so.

Electroneum is a crypto and blockchain project that hopes to revive the original dream of cryptocurrency – making the revolutionary power of blockchain accessible to anyone anywhere. As long as you have a smartphone and internet connectivity, you can start mining Electroneum coins right in your phone.

This has not gone unnoticed by the “founding father of blockchain” – Scott Stornetta – the most quoted person in Satoshi’s Bitcoin whitepaper. He has described the project as having “a long-term goal that is more than profit-maximizing, but that is actually a collective better” while praising it for being a real solution to “people that have yet to experience the benefits of cryptocurrency.”

This article is an in-depth exploration of this groundbreaking cryptocurrency.

What is Electroneum?

Electroneum is a mobile-oriented cryptocurrency designed for mass adoption, and one of the few to emerge out of the UK. The Electroneum team believes cryptocurrency is a great idea, but the actual acquiring of it is incredibly hard. As such, they want to enable cryptocurrency to be accessible to the average person with as little hassle as possible.

A lot of people want to possess cryptocurrency, but they are not exactly ecstatic about surrendering their personal information to some random websites they know next to nothing about. There’s also the issue of having to link to the bank account and having to shell out extremely high fees for transactions. In short, Electroneum wants to break down the barriers that countless people encounter while trying to access cryptocurrency.

In its words: “Current cryptocurrencies are new (relatively!) and exciting but beyond the reach of your everyday person. To access cryptocurrencies, you have to make or buy a GPU mining rig or send copies of your passport and personal documents to a website that you have probably never heard of. Electroneum has all the great security and anonymity of leading crypto coins, but it’s controlled by a free, easy to install, app, which gives instant access to Electroneum with no card details or ID.”

History of Electroneum

Electroneum was conceived by Richard Ells, whose interest in cryptocurrency started in 2015 while he was building GPU mining rigs. While Bitcoin was not even yet profitable, Ells knew that the underlying technology was transformative, and he wanted to make it easy for more people to benefit from it.

In August 2015, he enlisted members of his Retortal company to start working on a cryptocurrency. In July 2017, Ells raised the necessary initial capital to launch the cryptocurrency. These efforts led to the creation of Electroneum Ltd in July 2017. In September 2017, Electroneum conducted an ICO – which drew in 115k+ investors. In the end, the sale raised $40 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

How Does Electroneum Work?

Private Transactions

Electroneum (ETN) is built off the code for Monero, a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency. Like Monero, Electroneum also has privacy features. One of the criticisms with Bitcoin is its totally transparent transactions whose public addresses can be used to track down the real-life identity of a transacting party. Electroneum solves this with the use of stealth addresses and a one-time public key that prevents any connection between the funds and the wallet.

As well, a one-time private key is created once funds are detected and received by the wallet. The use of stealth addresses means that only the recipient can spend the funds with the single-use private spent key.

Mobile App

The use of a mobile app to get more people to use the currency is one of Electroneum’s biggest differentiator from other cryptocurrencies. The app is currently available for Android and iOS. The app allows you to have access to a wallet where you can store as well as be able to send and receive coins. As a further security measure, you also have the option to generate a paper wallet. At the time of writing, the app has been downloaded 2, 555, 518 times, according to Electroneum’s website.

Mobile Mining

Through the app, users can also generate new Electroneum coins. Once you install the app, it will allow your phone to start simulated mining. And this will happen without your phone overheating or gobbling up huge amounts of data. It also won’t make your phone lose significant battery life. Though the mining will not add new blocks on the blockchain, you’ll still be up for mining rewards for contributing to the computing power of the network.

Online Gaming

Another of Electroneum’s goals is to replace in-game currencies, such as Linden Dollars for the Second Game, Project Entropia Dollars for Entropia Universe, or WoW gold for the World of Warcraft, with ETN.

This would change the gaming landscape in several good ways. For instance, players would have an even better reason to play, thanks to the ability to actually cash out on their completed quests and sold items. Gaming platforms could also gain from the transactions that are taking place in its ecosystem. Also, for gaming companies, using ETN as the in-game currency would be a marketing tool on its own.

Gambling

Again, the Electroneum team hopes to promote the adoption of ETN in gambling. While many sites are accepting Bitcoin and other cryptos, it’s still a complicated and time-consuming process to obtain it. In the majority of countries where gambling takes place, local exchanges charge exorbitant fees. Electroneum wants to make it easy for players and gambling platforms to interact with cryptocurrency in a more frictionless fashion.

The Electroneum Team

The Electroneum team is led by founder and CEO Richard Ells. Else is the founder of two other successful digital companies; SiteWizard and Retortal.

Nick Cook is the head of operations. Cook has more than 20 years working for automobile companies such as Aston Martin, Bentley, and Land Rover.

Barry Last is the head of tech development. He has 15 years of experience as a solutions architect.

The team has also onboarded David Bull, CEO of UNICEF UK. Bull has 32 years in the charity sector. Bull’s experience is fitting with Electroneum’s mission to bring cryptocurrency to the people.

Coin Supply

During the ICO, 4.4 billion of ETN went to investors. Another 20 million went to individuals who shared news about the ICO and explained things to the crypto community. A further 20 million went to the project’s core team. Currently, the coin has a circulating supply of 10 billion out of the maximum supply of 21 billion.

The supply of 21 billion coins was done for psychological reasons. The team figured that it would be more satisfying for users to generate full coins as opposed to decimal points associated with other cryptos such as Bitcoin.

Tokenomics of ETN

As of May 30, 2020, ETN traded at $0.009053, while ranking at #67 and with a market cap of $91, 587, 678. The coin has a 24-hour volume of $1, 015, 774, a circulating supply of 10, 116, 967, 882, a total supply of the same value, and a maximum supply of 21, 000, 000, 000. ETN’s all-time high was $.0 236234 (Nov 02, 2017) while it’s all-time low was 0.001428 (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store Electroneum

If mining the coin is not exactly your speed, you can grab it from an exchange. Some of the popular exchanges offering ETN include TraderONE, KuCoin, Liquid, Coin Bene, Biki, Huobi, SistemKoin, HitBtc, bitbns, Coin Deal, Trade Ogre, Simple Swap, and more.

For storage, Electroneum strongly recommends keeping your ETN in its app wallet or its generatable paper wallet. At this time, the crypto is most compatible with user favorites Trezor and Ledger.

Final Words

Electroneum is a bold leap towards mass accessibility of cryptocurrencies. It’s truly a way for more people to access, interact, and benefit from the technology – and all in a safe and hassle-free way. People who are fans of blockchain and crypto but feel it’s too complicated or not for them can start seeing it in a better way. Electroneum is an exciting and promising project and one that the crypto community will be watching closely.

Tags Crypto, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Education, Electroneum, ETN

Crypto Daily Topic

How Blockchain is Writing a New Era for Accounting and Auditing Industry

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 15 June, 2020
No Comments on How Blockchain is Writing a New Era for Accounting and Auditing Industry

Blockchain is best known as the underlying technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, in particular, is credited as the first cryptocurrency to bring blockchain into the mainstream. But supporting cryptocurrencies is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of this disruptive technology.

By definition, blockchain technology is an incorruptible distributed ledger that offers a new way of recording, storing, and sharing data. As such, claiming that this technology seamlessly aligns itself with accountancy wouldn’t be much of a stretch.

However, its entry into accounting raises both excitement and concern for the industry’s players. On the one hand, blockchain is set to improve accounting efficiency. On the other hand, accountants and auditors fear that technology might force them to seek new lines of work.

But one thing is certain, blockchain is a game-changer that cannot be ignored, particularly by the accounting industry. This explains why the Big Four accounting firms, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and Ernst and Young, are working towards incorporating blockchain into their operations.

The Current State of Accounting And Blockchain’s Potential

Much of the accounting work is paper-based. Auditors use these paper trails when reviewing records to ensure data integrity. This method of record-keeping is highly flawed, given the sheer amount of paperwork involved and the time and money resources that go into maintaining these records.

Modern accounting solutions, particularly cloud-based software, are now being employed to help organizations save money and time by introducing efficiency in record keeping. However, these solutions are much like centralized databases, and this renders them vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Also, being a double-entry system, only the organization and the in-house accountants have direct access to the centralized ledger. This means that regulators and independent public auditors have to request for access to the database, which eventually slows down compliance processes.

Now enters the blockchain, a decentralized ledger system that employs a triple-entry record keeping model. Unlike conventional accounting, blockchain allows accountants to record, retrieve, and avail data to authorized third-parties. The clients, auditors, as well as regulators, will each possess private and public keys to verify their access. With these fundamental properties, blockchain promises the following advantages for accounting firms and auditors;

I) Reduced Fraud

Data recorded on the blockchain network is said to be immutable, meaning it can’t be corrupted. Once the data is in the chain, smart contracts can be employed to automate accounting functions, reducing the likelihood of human errors.

II) Eases Auditing

Usually, auditors have to regularly review records to ensure the validity of the data. Depending on the size of the organization and the data, the auditing process can take several days resulting in a company’s downtime.

Using smart contracts, the auditing procedure can be automated, reducing the time an auditor spends verifying records. In fact, auditing and reporting will be done in real-time, unburdening the auditors and CFOs to concentrate on other important administrative operations.

III) Reduces Costs

Thanks to smart contracts, most of the accounting and auditing processes will be automated. This translates to increased efficiency, saving institutions time and money spent on traditional accounting systems. Also, with cryptographic-hash-based security, organizations will spend less on maintaining the cybersecurity of their cloud-based infrastructure.

V) Improved Regulatory Compliance

Blockchain solutions for the accounting industry introduce a new concept of triple data entry, whereby the authorized third-parties can access the data. In this case, organizations will be able to share their Know Your Customer (KYC) data with the authorities in regard to the regulations on the same. Additionally, as more blockchain technologies mature, the use of distributed ledger systems might become mandatory in certain financial sectors.

Will Bitcoin Replace Accountants and Auditors?

Unlike other professionals in other industries, accountants and auditors are pessimistic about the entry of blockchain in the financial sector. Their fear is that this revolutionary technology will replace them in their workplaces, forcing them to seek other lines of work. Luckily, it’s almost impossible to replace human accountants and auditors.

While blockchain will undoubtedly disrupt the financial sector, the role of professional accountants will remain intact as they need to interpret and categorize the data on the blockchain. Most importantly, their expertise will be highly sought after when integrating blockchain into the current accounting infrastructure. Auditors, as well, will still be needed to oversee transactions and track income and outflows.

Although their roles won’t change, there is a need for both accountants and auditors to learn as much as they can about blockchain technology since it’s set to become the standard tool of their everyday job. This way, they position themselves as forward thinkers in the face of a game-changing technology. As a matter of fact, a recent report showed that several universities are now offering blockchain courses to meet the high demand for engineers fluent in this technology. So, it’s not a leap to speculate that future auditors and accountants will basically be blockchain experts trained to identify and report ways in which blockchain can be used in record keeping.

Currently, the biggest challenge hindering the use of blockchain in the accounting industry is that there are few readily available blockchain solutions as yet. This explains why the industry is taking too long to embrace the technology despite the benefits that come with it. Hopefully, this problem will end soon as innovators and investors move in to support this emerging technology. But first, there needs to be preparation procedures to build awareness of what blockchain is all about, and how the technology is evolving.

Takeaway: Embrace and Win

As various industries continue to warm up to blockchain technology, one thing becomes clear – blockchain isn’t going to disappear any time soon. As it’s application increases, it becomes necessary for industry stakeholders to stay abreast of developments of the technology. Besides, it is common for early adopters of any new technology to benefit more than those who embrace the technology much later.

In this case, organizations and businesses that will deploy blockchain accounting solutions early enough will gain a competitive advantage, which will be manifested in improved customers’ experience. The late adopters will eventually be forced to join the bandwagon lest they risk going out of business.

Tags Blockchain, Blockchain and accounting, blockchain and auditing, blockchain and transparency, Crypto, Education

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 15 – Bitcoin Under $9,000; What Happens Next?

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 15 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 15 – Bitcoin Under $9,000; What Happens Next?

The crypto market has been relatively stable over the weekend only to drop in the past couple of hours. Bitcoin fell under $9,000, which brought other cryptos’ prices down. Bitcoin is currently trading for $8,962, which represents a decrease of 4.47% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 6.13% on the day, while XRP lost 4.34%.

Flexacoin took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 18.57%. Loopring lost 17.68% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance stayed at the same place since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.52%. This value represents a 0.24% difference to the upside when compared to Friday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased over the course of the weekend, with the market’s current value being $254.27 billion. This value represents a decrease of $10.24 billion when compared to the value it had on Friday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Bitcoin transaction fee average decreased by 91%

The average fee for Bitcoin transactions has dropped under the $1 mark, meaning it is back to levels previously seen only before the Bitcoin reward halving.

According to data shown by the crypto analytics website BitInfoCharts, Bitcoin transaction fees decreased by 91% from May 20 until June 14. With the fees going down from $6.65 to $0.56, we can certainly see the improvement in the tx fee department of Bitcoin.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization had a slow weekend of consolidation after the 11 June price drop. While many analysts were suggesting a bull run, Bitcoin dropped in price yet again, this time below $9,000. The move reached $8,900 before stabilizing between $9,980 and $9,120 level.

Bitcoin’s volume seems to be following a pattern of decreasing its volume from day to day until a spike happens, which brings its volume up.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,120 1: $8,980

2: $9,251 2: $8,820

3: $9,580 3: $8,650

Ethereum

Ethereum has been pretty stable over the weekend and had low volatility as well as volume. Bitcoin’s move towards the downside dragged it down as well, pulling the price down to $217 levels. The $217.6 level held greatly, stopping the bearish move in its tracks.

Ethereum’s volume increased from almost non-existent to almost the levels of the June 11 price drop.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $225.4 1: $217.6

2: $240 2: $198

3: $251.4 3: $193.6

Ripple

XRP spent the weekend performing slightly worse than the aforementioned Ethereum and Bitcoin, slowly losing value as it went towards the $0.19 level. However, the most recent price drop brought its price to $0.182 levels, where it was stopped by the long-term descending trend line.

XRP’s volume increased slightly as the bearish move occurred, while its RSI level entered the oversold territory.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.19 1: $0.178

2: $0.2

3: $0.205

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Daily Topic

What are oracles in smart contracts

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 14 June, 2020
No Comments on What are oracles in smart contracts

Ethereum brought to life the idea of smart contracts – which were initially proposed by Nick Szabo in the early 90s. After the introduction of blockchain, smart contracts were designed to run on this new technology, where they autonomously and transparently execute a function when specific conditions are met. Thanks to their fundamental trust-less feature, smart contracts have eliminated the need for third-parties, making transactions frictionless and more affordable.

Even though they work automatically, smart contracts have to be fed an input so as to generate the desired output. This is where the concept of oracle comes into play. Essentially, an oracle in this context is a data feeder that provides smart contracts with inputs, consequently determining the output.

How it works

Think of a gamble between two people; Brad and Sam. Suppose they both place their wagers on the outcome of a basketball game. Brad bets on team A while Sam bets on team B. Both Sam and Brad agree on terms of the bet and lock their funds in a smart contract agreement.

For the bet to be settled and the funds released to the winner, the smart contract has to depend on a trusted oracle to feed it the necessary data – in this case, the results of the basketball game. At the end of the game, the oracle queries a reliable data source to find out the winning team, after which the data is relayed to the smart contract. The funds are then sent to either Brad or Sam, depending on the game’s outcome.

The Oracle Problem

From the cited instance above, smart contracts must have access to off-chain data – data that is stored outside the network – for them to be used in real-world cases. To bridge the gap between off-chain data and smart contracts, centralized oracles have been tasked with verifying and authenticating the external data, or rather the input that guides the execution of smart contracts agreements.

However, centralized oracles betray the decentralized tenet of the blockchain revolution. Even worse, they are vulnerable to manipulation, which ends up compromising the entire contract. This problem has incentivized blockchain developers to come up with decentralized oracle solutions in the spirit of maintaining data integrity. As such, decentralized oracles leverage the abilities of blockchain by acting as a layer that queries, authenticates, and protects external data from manipulation before it’s fed as input into a smart contracts agreement.

Types of Blockchain Oracles

Blockchain oracles come in various forms which include:

Software Oracles

Blockchain software oracles are the most common type of data authenticators. They verify information from such online sources as websites, online public databases, or any other data source connected to the internet.

These oracles are considered to be the most powerful type of blockchain oracle due to their inherent interconnectedness with the internet. This is especially true considering the proliferation of the internet in almost all spheres of life.

As such, software oracles are relied on to provide the most up-to-date information to smart contracts. Software oracles are, therefore, best suited for use in verifying asset exchange rates, digital asset prices, and flight information in real-time.

Hardware Oracles

Hardware oracles are tasked with translating real-world data into a digital form that can be interpreted by smart contracts. For this reason, hardware oracles rely on electronic data readers like barcode scanners, that translate information into verified digital values before being loaded as input into a smart contract.

A good example of their use is in the supply chain industry, particularly the tracking of goods. When sending goods to a certain location, they are tagged with an RFID tag whose data is read by a scanner and fed into the smart contract agreement.

Inbound and Outbound Oracles

Inbound oracles transmit information from external sources to a smart contract, whereby upon receiving the data, the contract initiates the path of execution. From the example above on the basketball game, the source of information providing the final results of the game can be classified as an inbound oracle.

Once the information is loaded into the smart contract, the terms of the bet are executed. As such, inbound oracles can be termed as “contract execution triggers.” They can be used in asset trading whereby if an asset reaches a specific price, the contract will then execute the buying or selling of the asset.

Outbound oracles are the direct opposite of inbound oracles in that they relay information to external sources. A good use case scenario of an outbound oracle can be found in a smart lock that is opened by depositing funds. Once it’s verified that the funds have been deposited in the designated address, the smart contract sends this information through an outbound oracle, which then relays the data to an external mechanism that eventually unlocks the smart lock.

Consensus-based Oracles

As the name suggests, consensus-based oracles work by collaborating data from multiple sources. For example, in the basketball game example cited above, a consensus-based oracle would work by verifying the game results from several sources. If all the sources provide the same data, it ascertains the accuracy and, therefore, the terms of the smart contract can be executed.

As far as data integrity is concerned, consensus-based oracles stand as a viable solution to data manipulation. Think of a smart contract agreement that relies on a single data source. Counterparties could alter the information – resulting in unfair settlement of the contract. However, when using consensus-based oracles, any discrepancies in the data due to manipulation can be noted and resolved.

For instance, if the compromised data source provides different information from the other verified sources, the smart contract can be programmed to the agreement based on the data from the other sources whose information is in sync and correct.

Conclusion

Oracles, whether centralized or decentralized, play a vital role in bringing blockchain into the real world. They widen the scope of blockchain’s access to information, bringing its capabilities to various use cases. Decentralized oracles, in particular, safeguard data integrity, eliminating the systematic risk from the blockchain ecosystem. This ensures contracts are executed securely and in a trust-less manner, facilitating the adoption and maturation of blockchain technology.

Tags Blockchain oracles, Crypto, Education, Ethereum smart contracts, Oracle problem, Smart contracts, Types of Blockchain Oracles

Cryptocurrencies

VeChain Blockchain Review: What is VeChain, Where to Buy, and How Does it Work?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 13 June, 2020
No Comments on VeChain Blockchain Review: What is VeChain, Where to Buy, and How Does it Work?

Most cryptocurrency projects come with a lot of pomp, revolutionary white papers, and a ton of promises about changing the industry. But if you’ve been in the crypto world long enough, you’ve probably realized that a majority of these crypto projects don’t live long enough to actualize these promises. Most of these fade away because their value proposition was not strong enough to weather the competition. There, nonetheless, have been several crypto projects that dazzled us with their ambition and went on to actualize their product.

VeChain is one such project. VeChain was one of the earliest blockchain industry players. It not only has a substantial customer base but has also inked several lucrative deals with several big-name brands that align with its growth and expansion plans. Headquartered in Singapore, the project has also branched out into China, France, the US, Hong Kong, and Japan.

This VeChain review explores what you need to know about VeChain: its product, team, working model, tokens, and everything in between.

What’s VeChain?

VeChain is a blockchain platform that seeks to inject more transparency, efficiency, and speed into supply chains. As stated in the VeChain white paper, its goal is “to build a trust-free and distributed business ecosystem platform to enable transparent information flow, efficient collaborations, and high-speed value transfers.”

The current supply chain data management process is done in silos when various departments are unable to share information for speedy and informed decision-making. Yet, effective data sharing processes are the lifeblood of any business. Impaired information-sharing interferes with innovation, leads to weak collaboration, reduces supply visibility, and undermines a business’s potential.

VeChain believes blockchain can end the “asymmetric information problem and allow ownership of data to return to and empower its owner.” It proposes to enable utter transparency in business processes such as storage, transport, and supply.

For instance, the platform can help to monitor quality, source, mode of transportation, and the authenticity of a bottle of wine right from the manufacturer to the end-user (customer). It can also help automobile owners regain control over their data and use it to negotiate for better and fairer insurance policies.

History of VeChain

VeChain was launched in 2015 by Sunny Lu, former Chief Information Officer of Louis Vuitton China. It began as a subsidiary of Bitse, Shanghai-based blockchain company. The VeChain product is being used across real industries, unlike many crypto projects that are still stuck in the development (beta) phase. From fashion to agriculture, to wine, to food safety, to carbon emission reduction, to governments, VeChain’s blockchain technology has already found multiple use cases.

The VeChain network was formerly hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. In 2018, it launched its mainnet and rebranded into ‘VeChainThor’ (VET) blockchain.

VeChain has notably secured strategic partnerships in a bid to realize its goals of disrupting the current supply chain. VeChain also aspires to be a decentralized applications (DApps) and initial coin offerings (ICO) destination. To achieve this, VeChain has entered into business with several high-profile financial companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Chinese electronics company Jiangsu Electronics, and automobile company Renault.

VeChain’s Team

Sunny Lu is the leader of the team. Lu has been the lead of IT and information system departments for various companies, including Louis Vuitton China.

Other team leaders include Chief Financial Officer Jie Zhang, who has a wealth of history in IT, as well as the founder of Bo Shen, founder of Chinese venture capital company Fenbushi Capital.

VeChain’s VET and VTHO

VeChainThor blockchain features two tokens that are “the blood” of the VeChain body: VET and VTHO. VET is used by companies to facilitate “smart contracts.” It is also available to the public as a store of value and for speculative investment.

Here, owning more VET grants a company more rights on the VET blockchain.

The VTHO token – VeChainThor Energy in full and also known as VeThor Energy, is much like gas for Ethereum or NEO blockchains. It is used to power transactions on VeChain and as payment for running applications.

According to VeChain’s white paper, the two-token system is designed to achieve effective governance and to provide a simplified economic model for developers.

Proof of Authority

The VET blockchain utilizes Proof of Authority to achieve consensus. According to this protocol, voting rights are granted based on one’s stake in VET and disclosure of identity. VET holders without Know Your Customer (KYC) info are, for instance, assigned 20% while holders with KYC with the same amount of tokens are allocated 30% voting rights.

101 ‘Masternodes’ are tasked with the responsibility of reaching a consensus about the validity of transactions within the VeChain blockchain. This mechanism is different from Bitcoin’s blockchain – in which all nodes in the network must approve a transaction before a consensus is achieved.

On VeChain, anonymous nodes cannot take part in transactions’ validation, and disclosure of one’s real identity is a precondition for becoming an Authority Masternode. VeChain states that this system consumes far less energy compared to Blockchain 1.0.

There also are economic masternodes within the VeChain blockchain. These nodes do not approve transactions or blockchain entries. Instead, they serve as a check on the power of voters. Here, power is allocated by granting a specific number of votes to each economic masternode based on the size of VET staked where 10,000 VET = 1 single vote.

This voting rights distribution mechanism centralizes what should be a completely democratic and decentralized system. VeChain acknowledges this, arguing that the protocol is meant to strike a balance between centralization and decentralization.

The VeChain Foundation

Launched in 2017, VeChain Foundation is a centralized organization by the VeChain community that’s responsible for “developing and maintaining the VeChainThor Blockchain, community building, and management, business engagement, technical research, and design.” According to VeChain’s whitepaper, the foundation is responsible for “organizing and representing the entire VeChain community and for setting up the Steering Committee with seven seats, which could expand depending on the stage of development, to lead the core team of VeChain.”

Tokenomics of VET

On May 30, 2020, VeChain was trading at $0.005620, at position #31 and with a market cap of $311, 667, 818. Its 24-hour volume was $186, 888, 250. VET has a circulating supply of 55, 454, 734, 800, with a total supply of 86, 712, 634, 466. The token’s all-time high was $0.019 775 (Sept 4, 2018) while its all-time low was $0. 0.001 678 (March 13, 2020).

Where to Buy VET

You can purchase VET from several exchanges, either directly with Fiat or in exchange for cryptos such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Some popular exchanges include Gemini, Binance, Coinswitch, Huobi, KuCoin, Changelly, and Bitit.

You can store the VET tokens in the VeChainThor wallet that’s available on iOS and Android app. Other great options include Ledger, Nano, Guarda Wallet, and Atomic Wallet.

Final Words

VeChain is one of the most successful players in the blockchain space. It identified problems in the supply chain and proposed to solve them with blockchain-based solutions. Its partnerships with companies such as PwC, Renault, and Jiangsu will help expand and solidify its client base.

Tags Blockchain and supply chain, blockchain scalability, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Education, VeChain, VeChainThor, VET, VTHO

Crypto Daily Topic

How Can Blockchain Help Combat the Spread of Fake News?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 13 June, 2020
No Comments on How Can Blockchain Help Combat the Spread of Fake News?

We are currently living in the information age, thanks to the proliferation of IT in all spheres of everyday life. From a simple walk down the street, a visit to the nearby grocery store, to the time you curl up on your couch at the end of a long day, you are bombarded with numerous sources of information. Think of billboards, unending newsfeed on your social media account, and round the clock news from the mainstream media.

While these information sources keep you up to date with the current global trends, the rise of fake news within the broader media industry can negatively shape your perception, prompting you to make a wrong decision. For instance, financial markets’ fake news has the power to sway market trends by influencing investors’ decisions. Judging by this magnitude, it’s easy to see why fake news is not only a threat to businesses but also the democracy of any given country.

Despite their numerous efforts, big data companies like Google and Facebook have not succeeded in fighting against the spread of fake news. But with the invention of Blockchain as part of the web 3.0 revolution, the media industry has a better chance of countering the propagation of fake news.

How Blockchain can help

There has been much hype around Blockchain with expectations that it will drive new societal and business models. Even though most of the novel applications of this technology are still in the experimental stage, blockchain technology has shown its potential by disrupting the supply chain and financial industry.

In equal measure, by deploying the fundamental properties of blockchain technology – enforcing trust between parties – it becomes easy to whitelist news and other web content. But first, let’s look at the two main types of mediums of spreading fake news.

I) Edited pictures and videos

With the plethora of image and video editing software, it is easy for anyone to alter imagery content to suit a particular narrative. See, it’s one thing to color correct or improve an image’s lighting, but it’s another thing to add or remove from an image. Of course, the latter being the most common way in which fake video/imagery is designed.

II) Fabricated text

Unlike edited images, it’s quite hard to notice whether or not a written text has been fabricated or altered in any way. Most media houses focus their efforts on countering deep fake videos and images since they are easier to notice than fabricated text. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning that support text writing has led to the creation of unbelievable fake content, further blurring the line between fake and real news.

Here’s how Blockchain can help mitigate these problems:

Consensus content management

By leveraging Blockchain’s native consensus algorithm, all content, whether written or image-based, can be stored in a consortium blockchain, reserving all editing rights to trusted authors and news outlets only. More so, the content will be cryptographically signed, rendering it immutable and free of third-party manipulation.

In this single content management system, every news piece will have a unique digital ID, much like how each block in the chain ledger is unique. Ideally, the ID will appear as a header that is legible to computer devices only and will be used to verify the origin and validity of the content.

Traceability

In most cases, when a fabricated post or video goes viral, its source or author can’t be traced. By using blockchain-connected applications such as electronic identification and trust services, anyone creating content, posting an ad, or writing a review will be required to prove their identity and credibility to demonstrate that they are who they claim to be.

Electronic signatures and video verification could be used in the process to bring to an end to the many fake accounts and bots creating fake news. This will also increase the accountability of people who share information.

Once news agencies and editors create and verify their profile, their address is hashed and stored in the Blockchain. This way, it will be easier for content consumers to trace the source of the content and ascertain the credibility of the publisher.

Decentralization

In this context, decentralization implies the ability to involve multiple parties in the news circulation network. Think of a community-owned news agency that runs on a cryptocurrency token to promote transparency. This gives any member of the community power to challenge any source of news that is suspected of delivering fake news. Plus, other members can vote for or against the contested source of news. If found guilty, the source is banned from the community.

Real-world Applications of Blockchain in Journalism

There have been several attempts to bring blockchain solutions into journalism.

Mid last year, the New York Times launched an ambitious blockchain project dubbed The News Provenance Project, which is aimed at combating misinformation in the news media. Designed in collaboration with IBM, the project began with verifying images since they require a simpler form of algorithm to discern whether an image has been modified or not.

Although it’s still in its developmental phase, the project works via proof-of-concept to record metadata of video images published by news outlets. Once the project gains traction, it will certainly propel widespread application of blockchain solutions in the media industry.

Additionally, Forbes partnership with Civil – a journalism blockchain network – is working to become the first media house to publish content on blockchain technology. The goal of this venture is to move all of Forbes’ future content to the Civil’s proprietary content management system, known as Bertie. If the project succeeds, Forbes’ journalists will be able to upload their content metadata to the content management system, while publishing to their own website at the same time.

Besides Forbes, Civil has teamed up with several journalists from different media houses to create a decentralized content vetting companies. The project will use Civil’s own digital currency, CVL, which will enable newsrooms to be part of the vetting process. As such, a newsroom can challenge a suspicious publisher by wagering their tokens in order to have their claims evaluated.

Conclusion

Beyond supporting cryptocurrencies, Blockchain has proven to be also useful in solving real-world problems, as evidenced by its potential to revolutionize multiple industries. With its newfound application in journalism, it’s certain that the technology will not only help solve the fake news menace. It will also address the copyright infringement issues ailing the media industry.

Tags Blockchain and media, Blockchain and news, Blockchain Fake News, Crypto, Education, Journalism and blockchain

Forex Daily Topic Forex Education Forex Psychology

Guidelines for Successful Trading

Post author By Eduardo Vargas
Post date 12 June, 2020
No Comments on Guidelines for Successful Trading

Introduction

To achieve a successful trading profession is more than a couple of good trades, and a fancy template in the trading platform, nor a social media trader’s fashioned lifestyle.

In this educational article, we’ll present a set of guidelines to aid in building a successful trading plan.

The Right Trading Mindset

Trading in financial markets must be understood as a decision process, which, when developed systematically, tends to provide consistent results.

Robert and Jens Fischer, in their work “Candlesticks, Fibonacci, and Chart Pattern Trading,” define a list of rules or guidelines that can aid investors in its decision-making process. These guidelines are as follows:

Self-knowledge

If the investor feels uncomfortable when it is in the market, this could be indicative of an incorrect positioning in terms of position size or market side.

Ego by a winning streak

An increasing ego encouraged by a winning streak, especially in the first trades, could drag the investor toward huge losses.

Hopping when things go wrong

Many traders tend to let run the losses expecting a market reversal to the trade direction, and they usually close a winning trade too soon, with a small profit (fearing a loss), which is a recipe for disaster. To solve this issue, traders must plan every trade in advance, with a pre.defined stop-loss and profit target before opening any trade.

Losses are part of the business

Investors must be aware that it is impossible to have 100% of winning trades.

Avoid Martingale position sizing

The increasing the size of the position when the market and the trade moves against you is the path to bankruptcy.

Trading systems could fail

There is no trading system that could provide 100% of winner trades. However, losses will increase when the investor jumps from one system to another. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages. The profitability of any trading system will depend on the market conditions, and the investor must learn to live with the potential risk of his trading system.

Diversify the risk

Independent of the profitability associated with a trading product, the systematic diversification of risk could give the investor a smoother equity curve growth than when considering only a single trading asset.

Making Money by trading is a long road

The consistent and profitable trading in financial markets is the result of a systematic work taking months or years where results obtained can confirm the rentability of each trading system.

The importance of a trading plan

Successful trading is not to make money quickly; it is related to the capability to make profits consistently long term, independently of changing market conditions.

A comfortable trading strategy

The trading strategy must provide the investor with similar results in real-time than on paper-money or in the back-test mode. If the approach does not offer the same results in real-time, the methodology must be revised.

The importance of discipline

The most important characteristic of successful traders is discipline because they limit their decisions to their established trading methodology.

The Importance of Number Three

In the financial markets, there exist a vast number of ways to analyze it technically, for example, chartist formations, Elliott wave, or candlesticks patterns. However, those ways to analyze the market have in common, and it is number three.

In Elliott wave analysis, when the price moves in a trend, this develops three movements in the primary trend’s direction.
The most popular chartist pattern known as Head and Shoulders has three tops (or valleys) and two valleys (or tops.) When the price reaches its third valley, the price action tends to break below the previous two valleys and continue a downward (or upward) sequence.
An ascending triangle corresponds to a continuation pattern, in the bullish case, three valleys, and two tops. When the price action touches by the third time the top, the price surpasses the previous two highs and continues its earlier move and continues its primary trend.

In the following figure, we observe a set of patterns that follows the characteristics of “three.”

Conclusions

In this educational article, we presented a set of guidelines to develop a trading mindset that can support a profitable trading methodology along time.
We also exposed a group of chart patterns that correspond to a simplification of three moves, which could support the analysis and generation of trading opportunities in the real market.
In the following article, we will present the basic principles of a trading strategy.

Analyzing The ‘XMR/USD’ Crypto Fiat Pair

Post author By Reddy Shyam Shankar
Post date 12 June, 2020
No Comments on Analyzing The ‘XMR/USD’ Crypto Fiat Pair

Introduction

Monero is a private and secure cryptocurrency that was launched 18^th of April 2014 as a fork of ByteCoin. It is an open-source digital currency built on a blockchain, making it opaque. With Monero, the holder will have full control over their investment and funds, and nobody will have access to their balance and transactions.

Monero is traded in exchanges under the ticker XMR. It is under the top 20 in terms of market capitalization according to data from CoinMarketCap. It can be traded against USD as well as for cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, etc.

Understanding XMR/USD

The price of XMR/USD depicts the value of the US Dollar equivalent to one Monero. It is quoted as 1 XMR per X USD. For example, if the market price of XMR/USD is 64.67, then each XMR will be worth about 65 dollars.

XMR/USD specifications

Spread

Spread is the basic difference between the bid and the ask price of the cryptocurrency. These prices are put up by the clients and not exchange. Thus, the spread constantly varies in and across exchanges.

Fee

The types of fees in cryptocurrency exchanges vary from that of equity broker and forex brokers. Most crypto exchanges charge the following fees:

Execution fee (Taker or Maker) – twice, for opening and closing the trade
30-day trading volume fee
Margin opening fee, if applicable

Example

Short 100 XMR/USD at $64.82
30-day volume fee is $0
Order is executed as Taker
With Leverage

Total cost of the order = 100 x $64.82 = $6482

Assuming the taker fee to be 0.26%, the opening fee will be – $6482 x 0.26% = $16.85

Since the trade is opened with leverage, there is 0.02% of margin opening fee collected – $6482 x 0.02% = $1.29

If the position is squared off at $60.00, the total cost of closing will be – 100 x $60.00 = $6000. The fee for the same can be calculated as – $6000 x 0.26% = $15.60

The algebraic sum of all the fee will yield the total fee as –

$16.85 + $1.29 + $15.60 = $33.74

Trading Range in XMR/USD

A trading range is the number of units the cryptocurrency pair moves in a specific time frame, represented in US dollars as the quote currency for the pair is USD. The values basically depict the volatility in different time frames.

The following table is the trading range for 100 quantities of XMR/USD.

Note: the above values are for trading 100 units of XMR/USD. If X units of the pair are traded, then the ATR values will be,

(ATR value from the table / 1,000) x X units

Procedure to assess ATR values

Add the ATR indicator to your chart.
Set the period to 1
Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator.
Shrink the chart so you can assess a large time period
Select your desired timeframe
Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

XMR/USD Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range

This cost as a percent represents relative the fee on the trade by considering the volatility and time frames. The percentage values are calculated by finding the ratio of each ATR value and the total fee.

Taker Execution Model

Opening = $16.85 | Margin fee = $1.29 | Closing = $15.60 | 30-day volume = $0

Total fee = Opening + Margin fee + Closing + 30-day volume = $16.85 + $1.29 + $15.60 = $33.74

Maker Execution Model

Opening = $10.37 | Margin fee = $1.29 | Closing = $9.6 | 30-day volume = $0

Total fee = Opening + Margin fee + Closing + 30-day volume = $10.37 + $1.29 + $9.6 + $0 = $21.26

*Assuming maker fee to be 0.16% the trade value.

Trading the XMR/USD

XMR is ranked 16 in market capitalization with a denominator over a thousand. It offers enough liquidity and volume for retail traders to participate in this pair. However, it is comparatively lesser than coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, etc.

As far as the analysis for this pair is concerned, it is no different from analyzing other cryptocurrencies and forex pairs. Hence, you can confidently apply those concepts in Monero as well.

The cost percentages in the above tables represent how expensive or cheap trade is going to be based on the profit you make or the loss you incur. The larger the percentage, the higher is the fee. Note that we are referring to the relative fee, not the absolute fee. Irrespective of the time frame and volatility, the fee will be the same but will vary relatively. For example, a short-term trader who makes $50 on trade must pay the same fee as a long-term trader who makes $1000.

Thus, to effectively reduce your relative costs, you must understand the volatility of the market. The concept is simple; one can make money only if there is enough movement in the market. Thus, before taking a trade, you must know the current volatility of the market using the ATR indicator. If the values are above the average, then you’re good to go. But, values near the minimum value indicates that there is not much movement in the market, and it could not reach your target point within the expected time.

Tags Asset Analytics, Crypto, Crypto Fiat, Crypto Fiat Pair, Crypto Trading, Fee, Monero, slippage, spread, trading, US Dollar, USD, xmr, XMR/USD

Crypto Daily Topic

How Can Capital Markets Benefit From Blockchain Technology?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 12 June, 2020
No Comments on How Can Capital Markets Benefit From Blockchain Technology?

Ever since cryptocurrency and blockchain first captured mainstream attention, the entire space has been met with a lot of skepticism and hostility. Much of the distrust has come from governments and central bank regulators who are afraid of losing influence over their economies, particularly the financial sector.

They have, therefore, moved to exert regulations on the sector. Despite the cold reception, blockchain’s numerous benefits and decentralized nature have made it hard to censor for the government.

Capital markets, being a complex system where transactions involve buyers, sellers, brokers, and additional third parties such as liquidity providers, can benefit immensely from the blockchain as a distributed ledger system. Besides securing data, the technology also supports smart contracts that allow for the automation of processes such as payments and moving of collateral.

Benefits of blockchain solutions in the Capital Markets Trade Cycle

Financial institutions are the direct beneficiaries of blockchain solutions in the capital market since they are the most significant players in the industry. At the same time, these benefits have a ripple effect on the entire capital markets ecosystem, and so does the improved efficiency it brings along.

Here are some of the most significant benefits:

I) Streamlined Trade Settlements

Trade settlement in the current capital markets’ ecosystem is considerably technical, as evidenced by the swap contract transactions between banks in international trader settlements.

Blockchain-based smart contracts can help to automate trades by releasing settlements only on the condition that the financial details of the banks involved match. Its adoption will help reduce costly errors from the manual processing of settlement instructions.

In the case of transferring securities from seller to buyer, smart contracts act as a more advanced ‘if-then’ statement from Excel. As such, the transaction will only be completed if certain conditions within the agreed-upon contract are satisfied. Blockchain not only eliminates the broker fees involved in the process but also protects the two parties from fraud risks. Moreover, the sheer accuracy of smart contracts eliminates reconcilement issues that often arise when transactions aren’t properly executed.

II) Reduce Trade Limit Violations

Trade between financial institutions, also known as swaps, consists of trading limits placed by the government mainly for taxation purposes. A limit can also be placed on trades involving other assets such as derivatives, options, and debt capital markets transactions.

Violation of these trading limits often results in costly fines, as was the case with JP Morgan Chase Bank in the infamous London whale trade. The bank was fined $920 million, which caused its stock to fall from $45 to $31 before eventually recovering.

While the bank didn’t intentionally violate the trade limit, lack of effective internal risk and accounting controls allowed traders to take larger trade positions without the consent of senior managers.

With a distributed ledger and a series of smart contracts, the bank could have maintained compliance with the trade limit laws. Trades over the pre-determined limit could be reversed or blocked if and when they threaten to violate the terms of the smart contracts. The trade infringements could then be detected and reported early enough – saving the bank the subsequent fines and reputation damage.

III) Credit Risk Management

Assessing a clients’ creditworthiness is essential in ascertaining whether or not they can be approved to trade the capital markets with a financial institution. The same applies to loan issuance processes where an individual’s credit rating determines such aspects as their eligibility and interest rates.

The use of blockchain in this niche could help create a shared ledger that acts as a central database that is accessible to authorized institutions. Blockchain could facilitate a near real-time communication system, allowing involved parties to take appropriate actions.

For instance, if the credit rating of a client deteriorated while having an open financial contract with a capital markets trading desk, an instant notification will be communicated between the trading desk team and credit risk officers. As a result, the shared ledger would eliminate the current inefficiencies associated with traditional credit risk assessments – improving the overall business processes. Additionally, the combination of blockchain as an immutable database and machine learning for automated risk assessment would greatly improve the accuracy of credit score ratings.

IV) Improve Trading Integrity

Trade malpractices, especially in the securities market, can sabotage the growth of the entire market if left unchecked. Currently, the traditional measures put in place by security exchanges to curb illegal trades such as insider trading are not effective and cannot detect these illegal activities before they happen.

The use of blockchain solutions brings in transparency in equity trading. As such, it makes it easier for market regulators to detect irregularities such as artificial pattern trading, thus safeguarding the integrity of the entire equity market.

V) Maintain KYC and AML Compliance

All financial institutions are required by law to have an in-depth knowledge of their customers’ personal details before offering any services to them. This concept is known as know your customer (KYC) and is closely related to anti-money laundering (AML) – with both designed to curb financial crimes such as tax evasion.

The cumbersome paperwork and long durations involved in the process could be reduced or eliminated using a decentralized and immutable database. Additionally, this ledger system can help tie investors’ real-world identity to an on-chain wallet address, which in turn can help institutions restrict security/IPO trading to investors who have not been properly vetted.

Asset tokenization

Asset tokenization is the creation of decentralized digital assets that can later be traded. Both tangible assets, such as property, automobiles, and paintings, as well as less tangible assets such as bonds and securities, can be tokenized on a blockchain network to maintain an immutable record of ownership.

Tokenized assets are faster to trade at more affordable transaction costs thanks to the automation process of smart contracts. Moreover, assets in a tokenized form are more accessible and liquid, making it easier for financial service providers to facilitate efficient asset trading.

Takeaway

It’s evident that blockchain has a lot in store for the capital markets and the financial sector as a whole. Of course, the adoption and implementation of this technology will be a gradual process owing to the intricate nature of capital markets. It will require financial service providers to define the technology’s entry point based on adoption feasibility and cost-benefit analysis.

Tags Blockchain, capital markets, Crypto, Education, Equity exchanges, Securities

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 12 – BTC Plunging To Two-Week Lows; Binance Launching BTC Futures Contracts

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 12 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 12 – BTC Plunging To Two-Week Lows; Binance Launching BTC Futures Contracts

The crypto market has plunged over the course of the day, bringing the overall crypto market to a two-week low point. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,337, which represents a decrease of 5.51% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 6% on the day, while XRP lost 5.61%.

DigiByte took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 5.14%. Loopring lost 20.86% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance stayed at the same place since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.28%. This value represents a 0.6% difference to the downside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased greatly over the course of the day, with the market’s current value being $264.51 billion. This value represents a decrease of $16.72 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

500 Crypto Companies in Estonia losing their permits

Estonia is one of the European Union’s most crypto-friendly countries when it comes to regulation. However, due to the $220 billion scandal regarding money laundering through crypto, Estonia started cracking down on many licensed cryptocurrency companies. So far, over 500 companies have lost their permits.

Honorable Mention

Cryptocurrency exchange powerhouse Binance has just launched a new Bitcoin futures product. The launch came through despite institutional investors visibly showing uncertainty about the future of cryptocurrencies.

In a blog post that came directly from Binance on June 11, the company revealed its quarterly futures contracts product is going live. The first contracts will have a settlement due in September.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has spent the day plunging to its two-week lows, falling as low as $9,070. The $9,251 line has, however, held up, and BTC is now consolidating above it. The downward-facing move should be over for now as RSI stepped into oversold while the volume faded.

Bitcoin’s volume increased multiple-fold over the course of the price dump but has since returned to its average levels.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,580 1: $9,251

2: $9,735 2: $9,120

3: $9,870 3: $8,980

Ethereum

Ethereum followed Bitcoin’s initiative to move towards the downside and fell as low as $225. However, the $225.4 support line held up and stopped the move from going any further. Ethereum has recovered slightly and is now trading at a $233 level.

Ethereum’s volume increased drastically during the peak of the move but has since returned to normal. Its RSI level has entered the oversold territory but has (again) returned above it once the pressure faded.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $240 1: $225.4

2: $251.4 2: $217.6

3: $260 3: $198

Ripple

XRP did not stray away from other cryptocurrencies in terms of market direction. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has broken the range it was trading in for a long time as it fell below the $0.2 support level. The downward-facing move reached $0.184 before going up. XRP is still trying to find equilibrium and a place to consolidate at, and it is still uncertain whether that will be above or below the $0.19 level.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.2 1: $0.19

2: $0.205 2: $0.178

3: $0.214

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Forex Assets

XTZ/USD – Trading Costs Involved While Trading This Crypto-Fiat Pair

Post author By Reddy Shyam Shankar
Post date 11 June, 2020
No Comments on XTZ/USD – Trading Costs Involved While Trading This Crypto-Fiat Pair

Introduction

Tezos is a platform that supports the development of DApps and smart contracts. It was created by an ex-Morgan Stanley analyst Arthur Breitman who launched an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2017, raising $232 million. The next year, Tezos launched its beta network in July.

Tezos works by giving incentives to users willing to participate in the development of its protocol. Note that the complete network is decentralized. Users cannot mine Tezos coins as it based on the Proof-of-stake mechanism, unlike the Proof-of-Work in Bitcoin blockchain. Tezos is powered with its own XTZ token, which is created through a process called “baking.”

Understanding XTZ/USD

The price of XTZ/USD depicts the value of the US Dollar equivalent to on Tezos. It is quoted as 1 XTZ per X USD. For example, if the XTZ/USD’s market price is 2.9157, then each XTZ will be worth 2.9157 US dollars.

XTZ/USD specifications

XTZ stands 11^th in terms of market capitalization on CoinMarketCap. Forex brokers typically allow trading of only the top 3 or top 5 for trading. So, most brokers do have XTZ enabled for trading. Thus, you will have to approach a cryptocurrency broker instead. They work quite differently from that of the forex broker. For example, instruments are traded in lots with forex brokers, unlike cryptocurrency exchanges.

Spread

Spread is the difference between the buying and selling price of the cryptocurrency. These prices are set by individual traders and not the exchange. Thus, the spread always varies. Hence, we shall not be considering the spread in further calculations.

Fee

There are a number of fees charged by exchanges for trading cryptos. Below are some types of fees levied by most exchanges.

Execution fee (Taker or Maker)
30-day trading volume fee
Margin opening fee, if applicable

Note that, the taker or maker fee is charged twice – for opening and closing the trade.

Example

Long 1,000 XTZ/USD at $2.9169
30-day volume fee is 0.12%
Order is executed as Maker
Without Leverage

Total cost of the order = 1,000 x $2.9169 = $2916.9

Assuming the maker fee to be 0.16%, the opening fee will be – $2916.9 x 0.16% = $4.66

In addition, there is 0.12% fee for 30-day volume fee – $2916.9 x 0.12% = $3.50

Since the trade is opened without leverage, the margin opening fee will be $0.

If the order is closed at $2.9605, the total cost of closing will be – 1,000 x $2.9605 = $2960.5. The fee for closing will be:

$2960.5 x 0.16% = $4.73

Therefore, the total fee for this trade can be calculated as:

$4.66 + $3.50 + $4.73 = $12.89

Trading Range in XTZ/USD

The trading range in cryptocurrencies is different from that of foreign exchange. In forex, we calculated the pip movement using the ATR indicator and multiplied it with the pip value to find its worth. Since in cryptocurrency exchanges, there is no concept of pips. So, instead of representing the pip movement, we directly represent the value/worth of the price movement into the table.

The below table represents the value of the price movement for 1,000 quantities of XTZ/USD.

Note: the above values are for trading 1,000 units of XTZ/USD. If X units of the pair are traded, then the ATR values will be,

(ATR value from the table / 1,000) x X units

Procedure to assess ATR values

Add the ATR indicator to your chart
Set the period to 1
Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
Shrink the chart so you can assess a large time period
Select your desired timeframe
Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

XTZ/USD Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range

Cost as a percent of the trading range represents the relative cost in terms of percentage. It is calculated by finding the ratio between the total cost and the ATR value. The comprehension of it shall be discussed in the subsequent topic.

Taker Execution Model

Opening = $7.58 | Margin fee = $0 | Closing = $7.69 | 30-day volume = $3.50

Total fee = Opening + Margin fee + Closing + 30-day volume = $7.58 + $0 + $7.69 + $3.50 = $18.77

*Assuming taker fee to be 0.26% the trade value.

Maker Execution Model

Opening = $4.66 | Margin fee = $0 | Closing = $4.73 | 30-day volume = $3.50

Total fee = Opening + Margin fee + Closing + 30-day volume = $4.66 + $0 + $4.73 + $3.50 = $12.89

Interpretation of Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range

Firstly, the trading range table, in simple terms, depicts the approximate dollar profit/loss on the trade. For instance, let us consider the average value on the 4H timeframe, which is 71.5. This means that one can gain or lose an average of $71.5 in a matter of 4 hours or so.

With respect to the percentage table, the value of the percentage signifies how expensive the costs are relative to the time frame and profit or loss generated. In other sense, the cost remains the same irrespective of the time frame you trade. For example, let us consider the average percentage on the 4H time frame, which is 18.03%, and the average on the 1H, which is 34.01%. In both cases, the overall is the same, but the cost relative to the profit made, the cost appears to be higher in the 1H time frame because the profit amount is lower than the 4H time frame because there is more price movement on the 4H time frame.

Trading the XTZ/USD

Tezos is under the top 15 in market capitalization according to the data from CoinMarketCap. This signifies that it is intensively traded in the market. Most of the buying and selling happens in the cryptocurrency exchanges.

There are two types of traders – short term and long term. A short term trader may trade the 1H, 2H, 4H, or the 1D time frame, while a long term trader may go with the 1W or 1M time frame. Also, irrespective of the time frame, one must trade when the market volatility is around the average, or maximum value to relatively reduce fees on the trade.

Tags Asset Analytics, Crypto, Crypto Fiat Pair, cryptocurrency, Fees, slippage, spread, tezos, trading, US Dollar, USD, xtz, XTZ/USD

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 11 – Chinese Crypto Traders’ Bank Accounts Getting Frozen; BTC Attempting To Break $10,000

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 11 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 11 – Chinese Crypto Traders’ Bank Accounts Getting Frozen; BTC Attempting To Break $10,000

The crypto market has spent the day with increased volatility as Bitcoin was trying to pass the $10,000 mark. While the level got rejected once again, the price increase did happen. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,941, which represents an increase of 1.69% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 2.18% on the day, while XRP gained 0.81%.

Aave took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 20.26%. WAX lost 20.34% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance increased since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.34%. This value represents a 0.14% difference to the upside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased slightly over the course of the day, with the market’s current value being $281.26 billion. This value represents an increase of $3.57 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Are Chinese bank accounts getting frozen by the government?

Almost 4,000 Chinese bank accounts have reportedly been frozen by the local government due to cryptocurrency trading. According to a report published on Monday, the Chinese police force froze the bank accounts of thousands of OTC traders from the Chinese province of Guangdong.

The report stated that the authorities started freezing bank accounts on Thursday. While the law enforcement is claiming that they are freezing only accounts tied to illicit activities, retail investors saw their bank account frozen after buying cryptocurrency on credible crypto exchanges.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has spent the day preparing for a move towards the upside. The price attempted to break the $10,000 threshold several times, each time being unsuccessful. However, even though the price point got rejected, Bitcoin gained some value and managed to pass $9,870 (which is being tested at the time of writing).

If Bitcoin manages to pass $10,000, it can face resistance above the $10,300 level.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $10,010 1: $9,870

2: $10,355 2: $9,735

3: $9,580

Ethereum

Ethereum also made a move towards the upside while attempting to break its resistance level of $251.4. While the break is (so far) unsuccessful, it seems like the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has strong support in both the $240 level and the 21-period moving average, which means that the price will not dramatically fall without a fight.

Ethereum’s volume increased drastically during the peak of the move towards the upside but started to fade as the $251.4 level kept resisting.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $251.4 1: $240

2: $260 2: $225.4

3: $217.6

Ripple

XRP stayed in its tight range over the course of the day, bound by the $0.2 support and $0.205 resistance level. While its price increased slightly, XRP didn’t make a determined move towards the upside (like Bitcoin and Ethereum did).

While scalp traders might enjoy the ranging moves, a confirmed break to either the upside or downside will benefit any trader as the move would most likely be easy to spot and profit from.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.205 1: $0.2

2: $0.214 2: $0.19

3: $0.227

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Videos

Bitcoin vs Fiat currencies – Battle Of The Titans!

Post author By Keiran
Post date 10 June, 2020
No Comments on Bitcoin vs Fiat currencies – Battle Of The Titans!

https://youtu.be/BKidnucfPKc

Bitcoin vs. Fiat currencies – The best investment in the past 1200 years!

Although it was not designed as an investment vehicle, Bitcoin’s value increase has made it the best currency investment in the last 1,200 years.
Its value appreciation over the past 11 years truly sets it apart from all of the world’s fiat currencies.
The first widely accepted Bitcoin commercial transaction happened on May 22, 2010, when Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for exactly 10,000 BTC. With the pizzas being worth around $30, this puts the transaction value to around $0.003 per BTC at this point.
If we take the price of $0.003 per Bitcoin as a reference point, Bitcoin’s price has appreciated over 320 million percent over the past ten years. Now let’s compare that with other currencies.

The US Dollar

The US dollar has been the only and official currency of the United States ever since the Coinage Act of 1792. In those 228 years, the US dollar managed to devalue quite a bit due to inflation.
According to consumer price index data, we know that $1 in 1792 bought the equivalent of today’s $26.71. In other words, the US dollar has lost over 96% of its value in these 228 years. The vast majority of the value dollar managed to lose actually happened since its decoupling from the gold standard, which happened in 1971.

The Euro

The Euro became an official currency on January 1, 1999, making it just ten years younger than Bitcoin. Therefore, we cannot say that currencies performed worse just because they are significantly older.
The Euro suffers from basically the same design issues as the dollar, the main one being inflation. One Euro today is worth the equivalent of just 0.70 euro in 1999, meaning that this currency has lost thirty percent of its value in only 21 years.

The British Pound

The British Pound is the oldest world currency still in use. It is actually over 1,200 years old. The decimalized pound sterling of today isn’t exactly what the original Pound was, which makes the comparison a bit inaccurate.
The original “pound” from the 8th Century was composed of 240 silver pennies. One Pound was equivalent to 350g, which is worth £156.45 ($200) at the current silver price. If we consider the original silver value rather than the spending power of the currency itself, in 1,200 years, the Pound has arguably appreciated by 15,545%.
Even if we do choose this optimistic way of measuring as our benchmark, the results still can’t even hold a candle to Bitcoin’s performance over the past ten years.

Tags Crypto, crypto analysis, cryptocurrencies, Education, Fiat vs crypto

Crypto Videos

How To Get Money Back on Your Nike purchases! Just Do It!

Post author By Keiran
Post date 10 June, 2020
No Comments on How To Get Money Back on Your Nike purchases! Just Do It!

https://youtu.be/gypXqtlXMpM

How To Get Money Back on Your Nike Purchases – Crypto Edition

US footwear giant Nike has recently entered a new affiliate partnership that allows its customers to earn up to 3% from their online purchases with crypto.

The partnership with the London-based financial technology firm Plutus is now offering rewards through its debit card when its users shop Nike’s online store. When using this card, you can get 3% back in crypto and 9% cash reward from those purchases.

Who can use this card

In order to receive these rewards, customers must be using the Plutus Visa Card while doing their online shopping. As Plutus currently operates only within the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area, only people from these regions would be able to get the card.
The rewards on your purchases are generated in Plutus’s native token called Pluton. At the moment, this token is trading at $1.75, with a current market capitalization of around $1.5 million.

The future

By connecting with Nike to provide crypto rewards, Plutus is making yet another step towards bringing cryptocurrencies into everyday life. The team-up with Nike came months after Plutus introduced a similar feature for the major travel websites – Airbnb and Skyscanner. Unfortunately, the development had to be paused as the coronavirus spread intensified.
As time passes, more companies such as this one will bring crypto into everyday lives of people, making it more accessible and easy to use.

Tags Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, Education, Nike

Crypto Videos

Multi Sig Wallets Now Securing Over 6M In Bitcoin!

Post author By Keiran
Post date 10 June, 2020
No Comments on Multi Sig Wallets Now Securing Over 6M In Bitcoin!

https://youtu.be/kWXu9izX3IA

Multi-Sig Wallets Now Securing Over 6M Bitcoin

Almost one-third of the total Bitcoin supply is now secured with multi-signature wallets.

Multi-sig Wallets

Bitcoin is secured with a combination of a public and a private key. In order to transact by using the Bitcoin network, a user needs to sign each transaction with the aforementioned private key. While this works fine in most cases, there are situations where this arrangement is not ideal.
As an example, if a cryptocurrency exchange founder secures all of the firm’s assets with a private key, only they know, it might not be optimal. If it happens that the founder suddenly dies, gets hacked, or even decides to engage in an ‘exit scam’?

If any of these things were to happen, all the funds would have been lost forever.
In order to alleviate these issues, a Bitcoin soft fork was introduced in 2012. This form enabled the use of multi-signature wallets, which, as the name suggested, allowed Bitcoin to be secured with multiple signatures. In order to use the wallet, a transaction would need to be signed with each of the private keys provided.
To continue our example, the same exchange founder could secure all the firm’s assets with five signatures while requiring at least three signatures for a transaction. The signatures could belong to the company executives, or even trusted third parties.

Adoption

While multi-sig wallets existed since 2012, the feature didn’t get widely adopted since 2015. The reason for that is that most people and companies did not really care about it until Mt. Gox (read as mount gox) got hacked. After this hack, the community recognized the flaws of the decentralized one signature wallet system.

Tags Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Education, Multi sig wallets

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 10 – Crypto Ransomware Cartels Forming; Market Preparing For A Move

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 10 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 10 – Crypto Ransomware Cartels Forming; Market Preparing For A Move

The crypto market has spent the day without much movement and with low volatility. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,737, which represents an increase of 0.54% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 0.18% on the day, while XRP lost 0.78%.

Swiss Borg took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 18.23%. HedgeTrade lost 7.87% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance decreased since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.20%. This value represents a 0.92% difference to the downside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased slightly over the course of the day, with the market’s current value being $277.69 billion. This value represents an increase of $1.61 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Crypto Ransomware Cartel?

Ransomware attacks started happening all over the world recently. They were performed by well-known cybercriminal groups, which are reportedly teaming up and creating cartel-style alliances, all with the idea to pressure their respective victims into paying the ransom requests.

The central feature to show that this is happening is that the gang notes that Ragnar Locker, which is a ransomware group, provided this info, as the title of the blog post they have posted says: “MAZE CARTEL Provided by Ragnar.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has spent the day without much movement. As we noted yesterday, the $9,735 level was breached to the downside but was not confirmed (the lack of confirmation made us think that the move might be corrected soon). Bitcoin regained its price as well as the $9,375 level. There aren’t many opportunities for traders at the moment, but scalp traders might use the fact that Bitcoin is fluctuating around $9,735 and testing support and resistance levels above and below it.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,870 1: $9,735

2: $10,010 2: $9,580

3: $9,250

Ethereum

Ethereum had no movement throughout the day, as it stayed within a one-dollar range. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is secured by the 21-period moving average on its downside, while it has absolutely no volume to even try to test the upper levels.

Ethereum’s volume is extremely low while its RSI level is flat for a couple of days, sitting at 53.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $251.4 1: $240

2: $260 2: $225.4

3: $217.6

Ripple

XRP slowly moved towards the $0.2 downside and tested the level after failing to break $0.205 due to the lack of volume. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is in an inverse spot to Ethereum, as both the 21-period and 50-period moving averages are guarding the upside rather than the downside. XRP will require a substantial increase in volume in order to break this range. On top of that, unless it gets “pulled” up by Bitcoin or fundamentals, XRP is most likely to go under $0.2.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.205 1: $0.2

2: $0.214 2: $0.19

3: $0.227

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Blockchain and DLT

Is it Game-over for Ethereum as we usher in Radix smart contracts?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 10 June, 2020
No Comments on Is it Game-over for Ethereum as we usher in Radix smart contracts?

Imagine a utopian world without lawyers. A world where two people can enter into an agreement with absolutely no worries that one party may breach it and get away with it. A world run by digital contracts written in computer code. Yes, it is possible, and it is already happening, thanks to the invention of smart contracts.

What is a smart contract?

A smart contract is a piece of technology that may eventually do away with intermediaries. This is because it is a trusted agreement between two people written in computer code. It does not need a third-party to ‘witness’ or even enforce.

The smart contracts you have heard of are probably those that run on Ethereum’s blockchain platform. After all, the platform that was developed especially for developers to write smart contracts on and run on them. While it is not the only decentralized ledger to implement a general-purpose smart contracts feature, it was among the first.

Some experts argue that new decentralized ledger platforms, in particular Radix, have come up with better ways to implement smart contracts. Smart contracts on such platforms offer both the developers and users more than the blockchain platforms have to offer.

History of smart contracts

The idea of a smart contract was first conceptualized by legal scholar and cryptographer Nick Szabo back in 1994. He discovered that a self-executing contract was a possibility if there was a way to implement a decentralized ledger. This idea was way ahead of its time, and the invention of blockchain, the first kind of distributed ledger technology or DLT, is what made its implementation possible.

A smart contract is an agreement converted into computer code, run and stored on a distributed system, and supervised by a network of computers, also referred to as nodes. Such a contract is ‘smart’ for two main reasons:

☑️It contains ledger feedback that makes it practical for use in transferring funds and receiving products and services.

☑️The contract is trusted by both parties that enter into it. It is therefore executed transparently and without the need for a middleman to oversee it.

The problem with current smart contracts

Smart contracts are one of the most utilized applications of decentralized ledger technology. Bitcoin was the first DLT to support smart contracts. It used them in payment channels, time locks, multisig accounts, and escrows. However, the limitations of the underlying blockchain technology greatly hinder its application.

Ethereum was developed with smart contracts in mind. The developers understood the limitations of the Bitcoin platform and chose to design a new platform that replaces the restrictive Bitcoin’s script with another that is more versatile. This would allow developers to build their own applications that use the platform’s smart contracts capability.

Ethereum’s smart contracts application platform may be the most popular today, but it has glaring weaknesses that it may never be able to overcome. This is because of the limiting factors of the blockchain platform and not the platform design or development. The most notable are:

☑️Blockchain does not scale very well. The concept of a ‘chain of blocks’ is a very powerful one, not only because it guarantees data integrity and necessitates trust between parties in the contract, but also because it has proven to have the capability to disrupt industries.

However, blockchain-based systems are slow and get even more sluggish as the chain grows longer with more blocks of transactions added to the chain.

☑️The consensus protocols used by blockchain systems are at a high risk of centralization. Blockchains use either Proof-of-Work (PoW) or Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus protocols which carry certain degrees of different potential dangers.

It would be justifiable to say that even today, no blockchain system is absolutely decentralized.

☑️Blockchain-based smart contracts place a lot of burden on the developer. Creating an app on the Ethereum platform, for instance, involves creating the basic rules for how the app should behave and implementing its security features in the code. Even building a simple token system on Ethereum is still a very complicated affair.

For a technology that is intended for transactional systems, blockchain-based smart contract platforms are very unappealing to developers.

The future of smart contracts

The world has had a taste of the benefits of smart contracts built and run on decentralized systems, and there is no going back. Since blockchain, and its consensus protocols will never allow for global scalability and 100% decentralization, the world will have to adopt something better for smart contracts. The good news is that it is already here!

The ideal decentralized ledger (DLT) would have all the benefits that blockchain has to offer, and without scalability and consensus problems plaguing blockchain. Radix is such a platform. It is highly efficient and fast, but most importantly, it is scalable.

Radix is designed to have two layers: the Radix Ledger, the base platform that implements DLT, and the Radix Engine, which is the application layer on which transactional rules of the DLT are enforced. The Radix Ledger combines a distributed database ledger (which rakes in all the benefits of blockchain) and a one-of-a-kind consensus called Tempo.

Unlike blockchain, Radix leverages the causal relationships of events in the distributed ledger to create an absolute order of events using logical clocks to partially order events and vector clocks. This design ensures that the distributed system is faster and more efficient than any other DLT in existence. It also detects and prevents protocol violations with greater accuracy.

Why is Radix the future of smart contracts?

Bitcoin was a huge success as digital cash for the simple reason that it was modeled after real-world money, and it enforces its contracts the way cash works. The developers of Radix, not wanting to reinvent the wheel, modeled their revolutionary DLT after real-world business assets and transactions to make it easier for developers to work on, but without compromising its two primary features: trust and security.

The Radix smart contract platform makes it easy for a developer to map out business assets on the already-built Radix components. The platform will offer a wide range of easily customizable components that developers can use to define the assets to meet their applications’ transactional requirements.

Since development is greatly simplified on Radix, the developer will get to invest more effort in modeling the behavior of the business processes to be enforced rather than wasting time creating it from scratch using a different language. This is so because Radix Engine Library comes with a ton of models to create almost any common asset transactional system. It also takes a shorter time and less effort even for new developers to learn and create smart contracts on the platform

Tags blockchain smart contracts, blockchain vs radix, Crypto, Education, radix smart contracts, scalable blockchain, Smart contracts

Crypto Daily Topic

How to use Cryptocurrency Trading Pairs as an Investment Strategy

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 10 June, 2020
No Comments on How to use Cryptocurrency Trading Pairs as an Investment Strategy

Trading crypto-assets is a tad different from trading such other assets as commodities and stocks. Even though they almost share the same trading platform and trading tools, there is a striking difference in how the operations are executed in each market.

In the securities market, for instance, you can easily buy equities directly for fiat currency through your broker account. While the same can be done in the crypto-market, buying cryptocurrencies directly for fiat currency is limited only to a few cryptos. Unless you plan on limiting your trading to these few digital currencies, you’ll have to exchange one crypto for acquiring another one.

As such, most digital currencies aren’t traded in isolation – or rather can’t be traded against fiat currency, as is the case with stocks and commodities. This is where the cryptocurrency pair trading concept comes into play.

How Does Cryptocurrency Pair Trading work?

Well, pair trading isn’t unique to the cryptocurrency market. It’s a trading strategy borrowed from the stock market, where traders pick two highly correlated equities and go long on one while shorting the other when the pair’s price diverges.

In the crypto-market, pair trading is less complicated. All you have to do is buy crypto using fiat currency. Once you’ve acquired the crypto, you can exchange it for or trade it against other cryptocurrencies. In this case, the cryptocurrency which you bought for fiat currency is referred to as the base currency. In most exchanges, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin are the most preferred base currencies as they can easily be bought using domestic currencies. Litecoin is primarily preferred because of its fast transactions and affordable fees.

Dogecoin is also used as a base currency, especially when trading low market cap coins where it might be burdensome to trade them with large-cap coins like Bitcoin. Dogecoin is also preferred due to its relatively stable value, minimizing the volatility risk. Nonetheless, the rule of thumb when choosing a base currency is to go for one that has the highest number of trading pairs. For this reason, it’s recommended to stick to BTC and ETH as your go-to base currencies since most cryptos have pegged their value on these two currencies. Besides, both BTC and ETH are listed in virtually every exchange.

Tether (USDT) is also among the most used base currencies. It’s questionable management; notwithstanding, the currency is one of the most stable digital assets since its value is pegged to the United States dollar. This makes Tether not only ideal for pair trading but also a store of value for investors to safeguard funds they don’t want to subject to the crypto market’s aggressive price swings.

Trading Cryptocurrency Pairs

Cryptocurrency pairs are usually denoted as one against the other. For instance, ETH/LTC pair means that you’re buying Ethereum and selling Litecoin (LTC) at the same time. Selling the pair means that you are selling Ethereum and buying Litecoin simultaneously. Note that some exchanges may have different cryptocurrency pair listings, so be sure to check if the pair you intend to trade is on offer/listed.

Additionally, some cryptocurrencies cannot be exchanged directly for others. You may have to execute a few pairs of trades before getting hold of the cryptocurrency you desire. This creates an opportunity for complex arbitrage trading, where you can exchange multiple currencies and pocket price differences. This strategy may, however, be considered too risky, especially for new traders. In such a case, consider using third-party apps for seamless trading across a multitude of crypto pairs.

Does Liquidity Affect Crypto Pair Trading?

Much like any other crypto trading strategy, liquidity influences crypto pair-trading. Essentially, liquidity means the ability of a currency pair to be sold or bought on demand. A currency on high demand has high liquidity, meaning more opportunities on the market. You can buy/sell in significant amounts without much variances in its exchange rate. Even on a bearish market, crypto on high demand will always have buyers. So, you won’t have to settle for the exchange rate too low to attract buyers.

Note that not all currency pairs are liquid. Their liquidity depends on whether they are paired with cryptos that are on high demand. This is why BTC, ETH, USDT, and LTC are the ideal base currencies due to their constant demand. It’s also why exchanges with a limited number of trades tie their liquidity to one of these major base currencies.

Risks of Crypto Pair Trading

The best thing about crypto pair trading is that it is market-neutral or non-directional. This means that by pair trading, you generate profits regardless of whether the market is rallying or correcting. Yet, there are several risks and drawbacks investors need to be aware of when using this strategy, including:

I) Execution risk

While it’s easy to use the pair trading strategy, you may fail to execute the trade at an optimal price value. This is especially true when trading crypto pairs with a small market cap, whose valuation is more dynamic and unstable.

II) Correlation Breakdown

Similar to the stock market, pair trading in the crypto-market has to be between two correlated digital assets. Correlation is usually determined arithmetically on a scale of -1 to +1, whereby +1 indicates a perfect positive correlation, while -1 indicates a perfect negative correlation. If the value is 0, it means there isn’t a correlation between the two assets.

Considering the crypto market’s volatility, the correlation between assets can unexpectedly break down, and the trade may turn sour as assets move in different directions.

III) Security Risk

The security aspect of pair trading has more to do with the trading platform rather than the strategy itself. If you are an avid follower of the digital assets market, you probably know that holding your crypto funds in an exchange is a bad idea. Plus, when using a crypto exchange to execute this trading strategy, you risk losing your assets to hackers.

The safest platform for executing this strategy is a Contract for Difference (CFD) broker platform. With this platform, you enter a trade without owning the underlying asset (cryptocurrency). It’s ideally a bet between the seller and trader to trade the underlying asset at prices stipulated in the contract. With CFD trading, you never have to worry about storing the asset or losing it to hackers.

Conclusion

Pair trading, being a market-neutral strategy, is well poised for application in the volatile crypto market. On the downside, however, if you are planning on making bank on the next bull run, you should probably avoid pair trading since you won’t earn higher profits in a rally than you would during a bearish market.

Additionally, the strategy is best suited for intermediate and experienced traders who are already familiar with analyzing prices and market fundamentals. If you are looking to earn regular returns regardless of market trends, you too should consider using the pair trading strategy. Note, however, that even though pair trading is relatively safe, only invest what you can afford to lose and operate within tolerable risk levels.

Tags CFD and crypto exchanges, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency trading strategies, Pair trading

Forex Assets

Analyzing The ‘ADA/USD’ Crypto-Fiat Asset Class

Post author By Reddy Shyam Shankar
Post date 9 June, 2020
No Comments on Analyzing The ‘ADA/USD’ Crypto-Fiat Asset Class

Introduction

Cardano is a decentralized platform allowing programmable transfers of value securely in a scalable fashion. It is the first blockchain created out from a scientific philosophy. It is also the first research-driven cryptocurrency that is built on the Haskell programming language.

Cardano is traded with the ticker ADA. It has a market capitalization of $2.2 billion. It can be bought, sold, and exchanged in several cryptocurrency exchanges. Apart from USD, it can be traded against other cryptos such as BTC, ETH, USDT, etc.

Understanding ADA/USD

The price of ADA/USD depicts the value of the US Dollar equivalent to one Cardano. It is quoted as 1 ADA per X USD. For example, if the market price of ADA/USD is 0.086112, then each ADA will be worth 0.086112 US dollars.

ADA/USD specifications

Forex brokers allow trading of only a few popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, etc. The other cryptos must be traded via cryptocurrency exchanges. And the working of these exchanges is different from that of forex brokers. As a major difference, cryptos are not traded in lots, in cryptocurrency exchanges.

Spread

Spread is the difference between the buying and selling price of the cryptocurrency. Crypto exchanges match these prices between induvial traders. Thus, there is no fixed spread. Also, typically, the spread is negligible in trading cryptos.

Fee

There are different fees charged by cryptocurrency exchanges for trading any coin. The various forms of fees include

Execution fee (Taker or Maker)
30-day trading volume fee
Margin opening fee, if applicable

Note that the taker or maker fee will be considered for opening as well as closing the trade, and will depend on the value being traded.

Example

Short 10,000 ADA/USD at $0.085800
30-day volume fee is $0
Order is executed as Taker

Total cost of the order = 10000 x $0.085800 = $858

Assuming the taker fee to be 0.26%, the opening fee will be – $858 x 0.26% = $2.23

Assuming the trade is opened with leverage, and the margin opening fee is 0.02%, the fee is calculated as – $858 x 0.02% = $0.17

If the order is closed at $0.095800, the total cost of closing will be 10,000 x $0.095800 = $958. And the fee for the same obtained is – $958 x 0.26% = $2.5

Thus, the total fee for the opening, maintaining and closing the trade would be equal to – $2.24 + $0.17 + $2.5 = $4.91

Trading Range in ADA/USD

The trading range represents the number of units moved in the pair in a specified time frame. For example, if 10,000 ADA/USD is traded and the average unit movement in the 1H time frame is 0.000778, then it means the pair will yield 10,000 x 0.000778 = $7.78.

Note: the above values are for trading 10,000 units of ADA/USD. If X units are traded, then the ATR values will be,

(Above ATR value / 10,000) x X units

Procedure to assess ATR values

Add the ATR indicator to your chart.
Set the period to 1
Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator.
Shrink the chart so you can assess a large time period
Select your desired timeframe
Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

ADA/USD Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range

The following tables depict the variations in total cost in terms of percentage based on the change in volatility and time frame.

Taker Execution Model

Opening = $2.23 | Margin fee = $0.17 | Closing = $2.5

Total fee = Opening + Margin fee + Closing = $2.24 + $0.17 + $2.5 = $4.91

Maker Execution Model

Opening = $1.37* | Margin fee = $0.17 | Closing = $1.53*

Total fee = Opening + Margin fee + Closing = $1.37 + $0.17 + $1.53 = $3.07

*Assuming maker fee to be 0.16% the trade value.

Trading the ADA/USD

Cardano stands 10^th in CoinMarketCap in terms of market capitalization. Thus, making it a tradable pair in the crypto market. Almost all forex brokers do not ADA enabled for trading, so it must be traded through cryptocurrency exchanges. The fee structure here is quite different from forex brokers. However, the overall fee is more or less the same.

Comprehending the above tables, the magnitude of the percentage depicts how expensive/cheap a trade will be relative to the time frame and profit/loss. Let us understand this with an example.

The average values in 4H and 1D are 26.65% and 9.73%, respectively. The percentage in the 4H time frame is greater than the percentage in the 1D time frame. This means that the total cost for both is the same ($4.91), but relative to the generated profit, it is higher in the 4H time frame. A detailed reason for this can be given from the trading range table.

In the trading range table, the corresponding values are $11.52 and $31.55. This can be interpreted as, an average of $11.52 will be generated in trading the 4H time frame, and $31.55 when trading the 1D time frame. The fee in both cases is the same. Thus, we infer that the fee that is paid to generate $31.55, the same fee is deducted for generating $11.52. And hence, this is exactly what the higher percentage value depicts.

Reading through the row, the percentage values for a time frame is highest in the minimum column and least in the maximum column. So, if you’re are able to deal with higher volatility, it is ideal to trade when the volatility is around the average or maximum values. And if you cannot deal with the high volatility, you may trade the higher time frames to reduce the relative costs.

Tags ada, ADA/USD, ATR, Cardano, Crypto, Dollars, Fee, Forex, Maker Execution, SMA, spread, Taker Execution, trading, Trading range, USD

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency Tax Guide – How to File and Pay Taxes on Crypto Earnings

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 9 June, 2020
No Comments on Cryptocurrency Tax Guide – How to File and Pay Taxes on Crypto Earnings

The longest-held sentiment among crypto enthusiasts is that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will one day be recognized as a medium of exchange by governments. If that were to happen, it would not only accelerate the maturation of the cryptocurrency market but also promote world-wide adoption of virtual currencies.

Unfortunately, tax authorities, particularly Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States and Australian Taxation Office (ATO), regard cryptocurrencies as assets or intangible properties and not a currency since it’s not issued by a central bank. The asset classification of cryptos means that all gains and transactions made using cryptocurrencies are subject to property taxation principles.

How are Cryptocurrencies Taxed?

To avoid landing in the bad books of the law as a cryptocurrency user/investor, it’s necessary to understand the very instances in which crypto taxation laws take effect. This way, you’ll be in a position to report income and pay the resulting tax correctly.

For starters, tax authorities have made it mandatory for users to report all their cryptocurrency transactions no matter how negligible they seem. These transactions include the purchase, selling of, investing in, or paying for goods and services using any digital currency.

Merchants or businesses that accept payments in the form of cryptocurrencies are required by the law to report the value of the received cryptos. The value should be expressed as their fiat currency equivalent at the time the payment was received. In these cases, as a cryptocurrency user, you’ll incur capital gains, either long-term or short-term.

For the investors, taxable gains apply if the digital currency’s market value increases from the time of investment up to the time of tax filing. A taxable loss, on the other hand, applies when the fair market value is lower than the adjusted basis of the virtual currency.

Additionally, cryptocurrency miners are subject to cryptocurrency taxation. For instance, after successfully mining Bitcoins, you ought to include the fair market value of the mined coins in your annual gross income. Wages paid in cryptocurrency are also taxed based on the fair market value on the coins on the date of receipt.

Note that failing to comply with the tax laws can result in penalties, high interests, or even criminal prosecution. As such, it’s advisable to maintain an accurate record of all your crypto transactions.

Special Considerations

It is important to acknowledge that in some countries, cryptocurrencies aren’t classified as property. This, however, doesn’t mean that they aren’t taxed. On the contrary, they are subjected to a different type of taxation policies. Let’s take a quick look at how various countries approach digital assets:

The European Union

A few years ago, the European Court of Justice ruled that Bitcoin can be exchanged without VAT in the European Union. Although this judgment doesn’t mean Bitcoin is recognized as a legal tender in any of the EU countries, it places Bitcoin on a level playing field with other traditional currencies.

While the VAT exemption applies to all countries in the European Union, cryptocurrency transactions are still subject to other forms of taxes, such as capital gains. For instance, in France, crypto-to-crypto transactions aren’t taxed, but when exchanged for fiat currency, the income tax law applies. Also, if a cryptocurrency is used to acquire an asset or service, VAT is applied.

The United Kingdom

In the UK, the law isn’t quite clear about cryptocurrency taxation. One thing is certain, though, all virtual currencies are treated as foreign currencies, and as such, they’re subject to tax gains and losses. The UK tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue, and Customs states that each crypto transaction will be judged based on its own individual facts and circumstances. So, users may be subjected to a variety of tax policies depending on how they use the crypto.

What to Consider When Planning Your Cryptocurrency Taxes

As far as crypto taxation is concerned, there are several measures you can take if you hope to remain on the good side of the law. These include:

Make use of Tax Tools

Maintaining cryptocurrency tax compliance requires accurate record-keeping of all transactions. This may not be a big deal to casual traders and investors who engage in minimal crypto transactions. But, for active cryptocurrency traders and miners, it makes sense to invest in software programs to help you track and record the numerous transactions. Some of these tools can calculate your tax liabilities, prepare, and even file your tax returns.

Donate Your Cryptos

Donating a percentage of your crypto investment reduces your tax liability. Once you have donated your digital assets, the charitable fund sells them to an exchange for fiat cash. Consequently, you enjoy tax relief in that particular year of donation.

Be Mindful of the Holding Period

Short term gains taxes apply when you hold your cryptocurrency investment for less than a year, while long term gains taxes apply when you hold your investment for more than a year. Depending on your investment goals, these two periods can work for or against you.

Cashing out your cryptos too soon subjects you to frequent short term gain taxes that may eat into your profits. At the same time, holding your investments for too long results in accumulation of long term gain taxes, which might also take a massive chunk off your returns.

Ideally, you should aim to strike a balance between holding for the short term and the long term. If the earned returns are enough to cover the taxes, then you may consider cashing out. If the returns aren’t enough, then consider holding your investments for a bit longer.

Record Your Loss Too

Just like any other investment, the crypto market doesn’t always offer high returns all-year-round. Luckily, tax authorities are aware of this fact, which is why they allow investors to file tax losses to offset gains. So, be sure to record any losses incurred as a result of market trends.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency taxation is a rather intricate affair given that the regulatory framework governing the taxation process differs significantly depending on the jurisdiction. As such, consulting a cryptocurrency tax advisor when planning for your taxation is highly recommended. It’s also a good idea to keep tabs on the taxation authority to stay updated on any change of policies or new rules.

Tags Capital gains, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency Taxation, tax, Tax compliance, taxation, Taxes

Crypto Daily Topic

SOLANA COIN: Solving the Scalability Problem with Proof of History

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 9 June, 2020
No Comments on SOLANA COIN: Solving the Scalability Problem with Proof of History

Bitcoin and Ethereum are widely lauded for pioneering the blockchain and smart contract technologies, respectively. While this has paved the way for a litany of similar technologies, the scalability challenge inherent to blockchains remains the most significant hindrance preventing decentralized blockchains from replacing centralized data systems.

There have been a few noteworthy attempts to solve the problem, but often the newfound solutions come at the expense of blockchain’s fundamental features. For example, the EOS blockchain can process more than 1,000 transactions per second, but at the expense of decentralization.

Other blockchain iterations have resorted to using off-chain solutions as a way to reduce the influx of transactions on the main chain. Although they may have made a substantial improvement to the traditional linear blockchain, the complexity of their computations results in inevitable technical challenges.

Solana is a new blockchain project that aims to solve the scalability dilemma by using a cutting-edge protocol known as Proof of History. The protocol can handle up to 60,000 transactions per second (TPS), which is way more than the 3,000 TPS that Ethereum’s Istanbul fork can process. Before we can examine how the Proof of History protocol solves the scalability problem, let’s first understand how the scalability problem comes about.

Scalability – It’s all About Time

To develop a high throughput ( transactions per second), the computers in a network need to synchronize the time between transactions. This means that each computer node will need its own ‘internal clock’ to ensure that they all coordinate properly. It’s only when they are in coordination that transactions will take less time to be verified, meaning more transactions can be processed within a short time.

Think of Google Spanner, a scalable database that relies on atomic clocks that are synchronized with each other and the network’s data centers. To maintain this coordination, Google spends an enormous amount of resources to act as the “central clock” from which all nodes take the information.

While Google Spanner has worked for centralized systems, it can’t work for blockchains since they are trustless systems. Blockchain’s network nodes can’t rely on a “central clock” for consensus timestamps since doing so means sacrificing the decentralized nature of blockchain.

Besides, as far as increasing the overall throughput is concerned, there is one fairly successful technique. It is referred to as sharding and works by partitioning transactions. Although it works almost perfectly, it introduces vulnerabilities such as double spending and the risk of fraudulent transactions due to a lack of communication between different shards (partitions).

Solana’s Proof of History protocol seeks to enable time coordination, thereby increasing blockchain throughput while reducing the average cost.

How Proof of History Works

Proof of History (PoH) enables network participants to reach a consensus on time. Instead of network nodes confirming transactions, as is the case with Bitcoin and Ethereum, they are only required to agree that one event took place before the subsequent event.

Let’s say you capture a photo of a popular magazine using your camera. In this case, the photo is proof that the magazine was first published before the photo was taken. Proof of History employs the same concept by encoding the passage of time into the blockchain, creating a record that shows a certain event occurred at a specific time before or after another event.

To do this, the Proof of History protocol uses a new cryptographic concept known as Verifiable Delay Function (VDF). The function records the passage of time by cryptographically verifying that real-time has passed in the process of generating output. It should be noted that the VDF requires several sequential events to produce a unique and reliable output, which is then made public.

The VDF being a cryptographic hash function means that it’s impossible to predict the final output without executing the whole function from the beginning, using the original input. And after running a hash function from an initial input, the resultant output is used as an input of the next function. This cycle of feeding output as input is then recorded as time passage.

The output of one operation becomes the input of the next operation, in which the current count, status, and output are periodically recorded as a passage of time, creating a sequential thread of time, which we may call History.

Solana also employs other innovative protocols to achieve superior throughput. These protocols include:

i) Tower Byzantine Fault Tolerance Consensus

In the tower Byzantine Fault Tolerance (Tower BFT), all nodes act in the interest of the network. It works in harmony with Proof of Stake to help determine who can participate as a block validator. As such, the ecosystem created allows participants to stake tokens so they can vote on the validity of a PoH hash function. Bad actors are penalized if they vote in favor of a fork that doesn’t match the PoH records.

The PoH hash, in this case, can be compared to a block as in a typical blockchain. Once a validator votes for a block, they cannot vote another block in parallel. They must wait for the next block by which the PoH VDF will have verified the passage of time.

ii) Avalanche

Avalanche is Solana’s solution for reducing congestion in a network. This architecture works by splitting block data into two amongst peers. By sharing only half of the block data, avalanche greatly reduces bandwidth and data usage.

iii) The Honest Approach

The honest approach aims at maintaining integrity between nodes and verifiers by randomly sending an invalid hash intentionally, through the proof of History.

Conclusion

Solana’s ambitious goal to solve the scalability problem in blockchain could prove to be what the industry needs as a replacement for traditional data systems. Besides being an effective solution for scalability, the project has managed to remove sharding from its design, making network-wide validation faster and secure while reducing the overhead costs.

Tags Blockchain consensus, blockchain scalability, Blockchain Sharding, Crypto, Crypto coin, cryptocurrencies, Proof of History, Solana

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 09 – Bitcoin Gaining 700% Soon? Analyst Estimates BTC At $75,000

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 9 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 09 – Bitcoin Gaining 700% Soon? Analyst Estimates BTC At $75,000

The crypto market has spent the day mostly with low volatility, except for the past few hours when the price bounced up and down quickly before returning to its original values. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,700, which represents a decrease of 0.56% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 0.04% on the day, while XRP gained 0.16%.

Kyber Network took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 9.7%. Divi lost 23.7% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance increased slightly since we last reported, with its value currently at 66.12%. This value represents a 0.87% difference to the upside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased slightly over the weekend, with the market’s current value being $276.08 billion. This value represents a decrease of $0.24 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Bitcoin soon at $75,000?

Bitcoin analysis from Timothy Peterson (Cane Island Alternative Advisor) shows a strong possibility of BTC going to $75,000. The analysis is based on finding an uncanny similarity to Bitcoin’s chart movement in 2013. Peterson called this similarity “almost perfect.”

Peterson tracked Bitcoin’s price recovery from its 3,600 lows from mid-March, which (as he noted) looks almost exactly like the price action from seven years ago. If the price action from seven years ago can be translated into the future, Bitcoin should move 700% to the upside, giving it a price of around $75,000.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has spent the day mostly without any large price fluctuations. The market has been slow except for one single candle which tried to break both the upside and downside key levels but failing to do either completely.

Bitcoin’s volume is on the same levels as over the past week, while its RSI level fell to 50. The key level of $9,735 will be moved to the “upside” once the break is confirmed.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,870 1: $9,735

2: $10,010 2: $9,580

3: $9,250

Ethereum

Ethereum had quite a slow day as well, with its price making a move only in a recent couple of candles. While one candle was strictly bullish, the other one had large wicks to both the upside and downside. The 21-period moving average seems to be holding the price quite well.

Ethereum’s volume increased in the past few candles, while its RSI level came down to 54.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $251.4 1: $240

2: $260 2: $225.4

3: $217.6

Ripple

XRP made a move towards the upside and spent the whole day trying to break the $0.205 resistance level. However, the move was unsuccessful, triggering a severe drop, which even broke the $0.2 support level for a few minutes. However, the bulls came back almost instantly and picked up where they left off, threatening the $0.205 resistance level once again.

A break above $0.205 with an increase in volume (or a confirmation of breaking $0.205) could be a good trading opportunity for scalp traders.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.205 1: $0.2

2: $0.214 2: $0.19

3: $0.227

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Videos

Regulators vs Bitcoin! The Only Thing Standing In Bitcoin’s Way

Post author By Keiran
Post date 8 June, 2020
No Comments on Regulators vs Bitcoin! The Only Thing Standing In Bitcoin’s Way

Regulators vs. Bitcoin (double standard?)

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have faced unfair pushback from US regulators, said director and digital asset specialist of VanEck, Gabor Gurbacs.
He claims that there’s a constant double standard against Bitcoin and other digital assets.

SEC Bitcoin ETF denials

Law or auction gavel and bitcoins on a wooden desk, dark background

A Bitcoin ETF is a financial product that is officially traded on mainstream stock markets. The ETF shares are representing exposure to Bitcoin’s price, and they can be cash-backed or BTC-backed. Trading via ETFs basically allows for Bitcoin exposure through traditional market methods and brokers.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has denied a massive number of Bitcoin ETFs over the past couple of years. VanEck submitted one of the most notable Bitcoin ETF proposals that ultimately got denied by the SEC after facing many delays.
For the Bitcoin ETF to be approved, regulators say that they need proof that Bitcoin has true price action and not action through market manipulation. However, when comparing Bitcoin’s situation to another available traditional market ETFs, the argument about true price action just doesn’t hold water.

Gurbacs defends Bitcoin price action

Bitcoin holds relatively efficient price discovery, which is even better than certain commodities already on the market, said Gurbacs. He also noted that he revealed proof of such data to the regulators. VanEck, together with its daughter company called MV Index Solutions, developed regulated indices in hopes of appealing to regulators.
Gurbacs added that, while he sees improvement in understanding this technology from the regulators, they have not come around yet. We have seen Wilshire Phoenix facing one of the most recent Bitcoin ETF denials from the regulators in February 2020.

Tags Crypto, Crypto regulations, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, Education

Crypto Videos

China Embracing Blockchain & New Technology!

Post author By Keiran
Post date 8 June, 2020
No Comments on China Embracing Blockchain & New Technology!

https://youtu.be/IewjjVBmw54

China Embracing Blockchain – A City Launching Blockchain-Powered Notary Program

The city of Suzhou wants to implement a program that would use real-time notarial tracing functions, and that would be powered by blockchain. This pilot program would, as reported in the local news, provide a wide range of notary services in the city of Suzhou, China.
The authorities of Suzhou announced that this program will hopefully help millions of citizens with accessing legal and government offices via the internet. The announcement was made on June 5.
The pilot platform will cover personal freedom, health, life, property rights, and more.

All of the materials will be uploaded and available through the cloud. Both audio and video records will be distributed and shared among notaries involved for legal purposes, therefore facilitating the use of real-time tracing functions.
This network will be called “Suzhou Notary Chain,” and it will allow the administrative law enforcement unit to use this system for online notarization as well as for carrying out the entire process through shared files stationed on the cloud platform.
Unlike the highly-conventional method of storing audio and video files only within a law enforcement database, this blockchain-based notary services platform will be used to process everything from recording to distribution. in theory. This should guarantee “easy data storage, non-tampering, high security, as well as traceability.”

China’s blockchain adoption

China continues to take bold steps towards blockchain technology adoption. It is slowly starting to implement related systems within different sectors of the economy, making it one of the leading countries in the sector. However, China’s stance on cryptocurrency is still not as open as people would like.

Tags bitcoin etf, China, China cryptocurrency, Crypto, Crypto Trading, Education, etf

Cryptocurrencies

Decentralized Vs. Centralized Exchanges: Which One Should You Trust?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 8 June, 2020
No Comments on Decentralized Vs. Centralized Exchanges: Which One Should You Trust?

What comes to your mind when you hear the word cryptocurrency?

Probably it’s the distributed and consensus ledger technology that forms the basis of the whole crypto universe.

As such, it would seem counter-intuitive if other solutions built around this ledger technology end up diluting its decentralized aspect. Yet, the ratio of centralized exchanges’ trading volume to that of decentralized exchanges suggests that traders prefer the former to the latter.

Well, there are many halftones between the two concepts – decentralized and centralized – with an arguable belief that not everything is always black and white. Besides, if the power of decentralization was to transverse all aspects of our everyday life, wouldn’t it send us into disarray? So, the real question here should be, to what extent should an exchange be decentralized?

Decentralized Exchanges Explained

Much like cryptocurrencies, decentralized crypto exchanges (DEXs), seek to create a trustless environment where buyers and sellers can transact freely. Instead of using matching buy and sell orders in a central book, DEXs utilize smart contracts to link traders directly to each other, eliminating the need for a third-party. In this way, these types of exchanges don’t hold users’ assets or any other personal data. They only serve as a matching and routing layer for trade orders.

Generally, there are two types of decentralized crypto exchanges: currency-centric and currency-neutral. Currency-centric exchanges are tied down to one specific blockchain network escrowing its native currency, e.g., Ethereum, Waves, Tron, and any other blockchain that has smart contract capabilities. Currency-neutral exchanges, on the other hand, tend to be more versatile. This means that they can be built on various blockchain networks and are therefore not tied to one specific digital coin ecosystem.

How Decentralized Exchanges Work

Regardless of their differences, all decentralized exchanges work pretty much the same way. A client brings their funds like ETH, which are stored in the exchange’s network in the form of proxy tokens, in this case, DEX-ETH. Ideally, these tokens serve as collateral for the actual coins stored by the exchange.

To execute a trade, the client sends an order to sell their tokens in exchange for, say DEX-BTC tokens, which also represent the actual BTC owned by the other party. The smart contract then matches and processes the orders, after which the proxy tokens are exchanged between the two parties. The seller gets the DEX-BTC while the buyer receives the DEX-ETH tokens. After receiving tokens, both parties can convert them to the actual currency, ETH and BTC, using the same trading channel or a different one.

Advantages and disadvantages of Decentralized Exchanges

Given their architecture, one of the biggest advantages that rises to the forefront is security. The exchanges don’t hold customers’ funds in a central reserve and are thus not vulnerable to hacks or theft. At the same time, decentralized exchanges don’t require a user’s personal information, which also goes a long way in improving security and anonymity in line with the purpose of crypto.

A DEX eliminates the need for a middleman between traders, helping reduce the trading fees. Additionally, traders who like keeping up with crypto market trends, you might consider using decentralized exchanges. This is especially true if you invest in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Often, ICOs find their way into DEXs prior to centralized exchanges.

Despite their numerous advantages, decentralized exchanges have their shortcomings. To start with, they require a higher degree of technical know-how to use efficiently. They also lack essential trading features, which makes them intimidating to new crypto traders.

Due to the small number of users on DEXs, they have a relatively low trading volume. This translates to limited liquidity in addition to difficulties in finding a matching order since there’s a limited number of traders on the platform.

Decentralized exchanges also suffer from slow transactions. The slow speed of transactions may not be a big deal to small-scale traders, but it can be detrimental to trading giants with high-volume transactions.

Also, by their very nature, DEXs have no physical location or proof of existence. Therefore it would be difficult to launch a complaint should an issue arise.

Centralized Exchanges Explained

Unlike their counterparts, centralized exchanges, also known as CEXs, function similarly to traditional stock exchanges. Essentially, they act as a middle-party between crypto traders and, in exchange, collect a small fee on every successful trade.

These exchanges are structured in such a way that they own their users’ private keys (or wallets), meaning that all transactions have to be executed in the mechanisms laid out by the central authority. Their having access to users’ wallets is a double-edged sword.

First, in case of a lost password, a user can easily recover their funds by simply contacting the exchange’s support team. At the same time, centralized exchanges are prone to hacks and thefts since they store client funds in a centralized database. But even with this downside, CEXs continue to attract a higher number of users than decentralized exchanges.

Such popularity can be attributed to the seamless fiat to cryptocurrency trades carried out on the centralized exchanges. As such, it is easier for a new crypto trader to enter the market. Moreover, centralized exchanges boast of useful trading features like the stop losses, margin trading, and lending, which are not available on decentralized exchanges.

Thanks to their high number of users, centralized exchanges have higher liquidity than DEXs. The liquidity is further enhanced by the fact that most CEXs accept fiat currencies and can even be linked to debit cards or bank accounts.

To Centralize or Not to Centralize?

Currently, centralized exchanges control the lion’s share of the global cryptocurrency trading volume. Although they deserve it due to the convenience they offer, they have watered down the idea of decentralization in the blockchain and crypto industry. Perhaps as decentralized exchanges continue to grow, there will be a major shift to these platforms since they maintain users’ privacy and security, which is becoming increasingly important as more centralized exchanges fall victim to hacks.

Tags Blockchain, centralized exchanges, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency exchanges, decentralized exchanges, Education

Crypto Daily Topic

Blockchain and Big Data: A Match Made in Heaven?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 8 June, 2020
No Comments on Blockchain and Big Data: A Match Made in Heaven?

The rise of the technological revolution has given birth to data-driven businesses. Organizations now collect large volumes of consumers’ data that is analyzed to make strategic business decisions that help drive profitability. The collection of massive consumers’ datasets, which is commonly known as Big Data, has become an established industry on its own with its revenue projected to grow to $103 billion by the year 2027.

As Big Data continues to become more prevalent in modern-day businesses, it presents a slew of analytical problems to businesses looking to derive valuable insights from the data. Additionally, with the advent of the web of connected devices, consumers are also at the risk of privacy violations due to the increased probability of security breaches.

But blockchain, a relatively new technology focused on data integrity and management, has the potential to transform the Big Data industry. And although the two technologies, blockchain and Big Data, may seem mutually exclusive on the surface, they complement each other to create powerful solutions for tech-driven enterprises.

Where can Blockchain Help Big Data

Some of the biggest challenges facing the Big Data industry stem from poor data management. This is despite the numerous efforts by data scientists to come up with different data management systems. Even with the dynamic technological advancements, it’s becoming quite clear that the most modern tech-infrastructure can’t keep up the growing volume of data.

As a result, poor data management breeds such other problems as data insecurity as well as inaccurate and incomplete records, also known as dirty data. Analysts and organizations have, therefore, been forced to spend a huge deal of their time and resources on data management that, in an ideal situation, would be spent on other core areas of the organization.

But with the advent of blockchain technology, data management is about to get a lot easier for both the data collectors and its consumers.

By leveraging the fundamental properties of this novel technology, traditional data-processing infrastructure could be upgraded to manage data adequately. Below are some of the potentialities that the integration of Big Data and blockchain offers:

I) Enhance Data Security

The Big data industry struggles with the lack of adequate security to keep from malicious hackers and their advanced tools at bay. The current data management infrastructures cannot, therefore, be relied upon to keep consumers’ data secure.

As a distributed ledger system, blockchain technology can be integrated into these data management infrastructures to improve their security. The fact that it uses cryptographic principles to record data in the network makes it almost impossible to breach.

In addition to the high-security standards, blockchain solutions for big data eliminate the need for a central infrastructure where data is stored. Instead, data is stored in a distributed network, making it impossible for a single party to generate enough computational power to alter the data in any way.

II) Ensuring Data Integrity

Besides, drawing insights from the data, data scientists spend a great deal of their time verifying the data in their care and ensuring it is accurate and consistent.

Blockchain can relieve analysts of this tedious task by vetting this data before it’s recorded in the extensive data chain network. It, therefore, solves the persistent cases of inaccurate, repeated, and incomplete data and makes it easier to draw credible insights from the data. While verifying each dataset, blockchain technology also enhances transparency, given that any data recorded within the network can be traced.

III) Allow Individuals to Monetize their Data

In today’s information age, data is the single most valuable commodity traded by giant tech companies as well as small enterprises. However, the owners of the data rarely benefit from this trade. They are reduced to mere data sources, while enterprises pocket all the profit from selling their data.

This practice is about to change with the introduction of blockchain to Big Data. The technology is set to democratize data ownership, allowing consumers to regain absolute control of their data. Data monetization can be supported through a token-based economy or discount on products in exchange for personal data.

Eventually, blockchain will create marketplaces where individuals can trade data directly with businesses. Unlike the current data market, blockchain marketplaces will be more transparent, allowing individuals to see how their data is being used even after the transaction has taken place.

IV) Manage Data Sharing

As a decentralized ledger system, blockchain allows parties within a network to share data without the security risk factor. As such, it’ll be easier for, say, banks and hospitals to share an individual’s data effectively, improving service delivery. Additionally, the coordinated data sharing eliminates the cumbersome Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, saving institutions money and time.

Even within an organization, data sharing will be seamless with the use of blockchain solutions that eliminate data silos. As a result, departments within an organization will collaborate efficiently to improve productivity.

V) Real-Time Data Analysis

Blockchain in payment systems is used to facilitate real-time transactions. Today, there are several fintech innovations that use blockchain to process fast and real-time settlements of huge sums, irrespective of geographical barriers.

In the same way, blockchain-enabled systems can be used by organizations that require real-time analysis of large scale data to improve their services. For instance, if banks were to use these systems, it would enable them to observe changes in data in real-time and make quick decisions, such as block fraudulent transaction attempts or track irregular activities.

VI) Predictive Analysis

Data stored on a blockchain network can be analyzed to give valuable insights, much like any other form of data. Considering the accuracy and security of blockchain data, the analyses derived from this type of data are more accurate than those from traditional data management systems.

Additionally, owing to the distributed nature of blockchain and the huge computational power it offers, data analysts, even those in small organizations, can engage in extensive data analysis tasks. By leveraging the accuracy of the data stored therein, the computational power of the blockchain, and its resourcefulness, data analysts can predict and forecast different aspects of the business with utmost accuracy.

Conclusion

Blockchain and Big Data technologies are set to radically transform the way businesses process and manage large volumes of data. As such, the integration of the two technologies to form a single solution will not only help businesses step up their data infrastructures, but also solve some of the inherent problems that come with managing large databases.

You must, however, appreciate that blockchain solutions in the Big Data industry may not be realized anytime soon due to the growing concern that blockchain application in Big Data is overly expensive. Most tech companies believe it is cheaper to store data on the traditional infrastructures than a blockchain network. This is because blocks can only store and process a limited amount of data, which is smaller compared to the large volumes of data collected per second by current Big Data systems. But blockchain is an ever-evolving technology, and hopefully, it will mature fast enough to address these concerns, allowing for its full implementation in Big Data management.

Tags Big Data, Big Data and Blockchain, Blockchain, Crypto, crypto analysis, Data management, Data science, Education

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 08 – Cryptos Preparing For The Next Move – What To Expect?

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 8 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 08 – Cryptos Preparing For The Next Move – What To Expect?

The crypto market has spent this weekend mostly with low volatility and one Bitcoin’s sudden price spike, which triggered the market for a short while. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,755, which represents an increase of 0.59% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 0.42% on the day, while XRP lost 0.7%.

Loopring took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 21.23%. IOST lost 3.13% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance increased slightly since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.25%. This value represents a 0.11% difference to the upside when compared to Friday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased slightly over the weekend, with the market’s current value being $276.32 billion. This value represents an increase of $1.33 billion when compared to the value it had on Friday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Another ransomware attack targeting the aerospace industry

ST Engineering Aerospace’s subsidiary (located in the US) suffered a ransomware attack that extracted somewhere around 1.5TB of sensitive data from their database. This Singapore-based company was, as the report says, attacked by the well-known ransomware organization called Maze.

The report shows that the data stolen by these criminals is related to many things, including contract details with various governments, organizations, as well as airlines across the globe.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has spent the weekend without much turbulence. The price was on a slow downward-facing path, testing and slowly breaking narrow ranges until bulls seem to have had enough. The price then jumped up from $9,350 to $9,820 before coming back to the levels it is at at the moment. The $9,735 level is currently being tested.

Bitcoin’s volume was decreasing gradually throughout the weekend until the most recent rise, which caused the price to go up.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,870 1: $9,735

2: $10,010 2: $9,580

3: $9,250

Ethereum

Ethereum’s chart looks similar to Bitcoin’s chart, though the moves to both the upside and downside aren’t as pronounced. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap gradually decreased in price until the bulls stepped in and brought the price from $235 to $245. The bottom of this descending mini-trend was seemingly the 50-period moving average.

Ethereum’s volume increased during the upswing but quickly returned to its usual (low) levels.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $251.4 1: $240

2: $260 2: $225.4

3: $217.6

Ripple

XRP has spent the weekend trading within a narrow range, bound by $0.2 support and $0.205 resistance level. Both of these levels got tested, but none showed any definitive signs of breaking. XRP’s future price direction will most likely be determined by Bitcoin’s next move.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.205 1: $0.2

2: $0.214 2: $0.19

3: $0.227

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Daily Topic

Should you Use a VPN for Cryptocurrency Transactions?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 6 June, 2020
No Comments on Should you Use a VPN for Cryptocurrency Transactions?

With the growing number of cybersecurity threats, online privacy is becoming a huge concern for most internet users. As such, privacy-conscious users will likely prefer using cryptocurrencies to fiat or debit cards for financial transactions.

Sure enough, all financial transactions done using digital currencies are cryptographically secured, protecting user privacy and anonymity. Recipients won’t know your identity or any other personal information unless you buy physical goods and have them shipped to your physical address.

But the security of your transactions is just one part of the whole online privacy equation. As long as your crypto transactions are done over the internet, you still face the risk of being hacked, falling victim to identity theft, and other cybercrimes. Now, this is where a VPN comes in.

But first, let’s understand how a VPN works.

What is a VPN?

A virtual private network (VPN) service is a programmed security tool that encrypts data being transmitted over the internet. The tool secures your privacy by routing your internet traffic through an encrypted channel, making it hard for third-parties, the government, and even your internet service provider (ISP) to intercept or read your online data.

In other words, the sources and destination of your data are masked when using a VPN. This is especially important if you are using public WiFi to access the internet. At this time, you are highly vulnerable to third-party traffic interceptions who may exploit your personal data.

On a regular network, all your online activities can be traced back to you using your computer/smartphone IP address. The address functions pretty the same way as a home address in that it helps identify your exact location. However, when using a VPN, your real IP address is concealed then you’re assigned a new mock IP address enabling you to bypass geo-restrictions. This means your online activities can’t be traced to your exact physical location.

Why You Should use a VPN for Cryptocurrency Transactions

Now that we understand how a VPN works, it’s easy to see how it adds an extra layer of security when using cryptocurrencies. Let’s break down why you need to use a VPN when transacting in cryptos over the internet.

I) Sending Cryptos to other Hot wallets

One of the easiest ways for a hacker to steal your cryptocurrency is by exploiting security loopholes in your hot wallet. Whether you’re sending digital currencies to an exchange site or to another party that you are in business with, your wallet and public key address can easily be identified. With this information, all your transactions can be monitored and even intercepted to gain access to your hot wallet.

The security loopholes stem from the fact that hot wallets and most cryptocurrency transactions are done over the internet. As such, hackers can leverage their expertise to prey on your activities online and even steal your personal information.

Using a VPN, in this case, can help encrypt your online transactions by encrypting data on both ends. That is to say, transactional data between your device as the sender, and that of the receiver cannot be intercepted in any way. Even when using a public WiFi network to carry out the transaction, your activities are hidden from third-parties’ preying eyes.

II) Using Decentralised Apps

On the bright side, decentralized apps such as decentralized exchanges and DeFi tools, do not request users to provide identifying Know Your Customer (KYC) information. From a privacy and security front, users are protected from hacks and personal data theft. But even with this security advantage, users’ activities can still be monitored by identifying their unprotected IP address. You can keep your actual location under wraps by leveraging the ability of a VPN to conceal your real IP address. This way, your activities will be completely invisible, making you less of a target of cybercriminals.

III) Bypassing Internet Firewalls

In the few countries where cryptocurrencies are completely illegal, the government places a geo-restriction, barring any cryptocurrency transactions within the country’s borders. Even those using digital currencies within the country can easily be traced by the government and charged for violating the crypto ban.

However, using a VPN, your connection is routed to a remote server that virtually puts you in a different geographical location. As such, your new location won’t be under the geo-restriction even when you’re actually located in a country that has imposed the geo-block. This way, you can freely transact in cryptocurrencies without detection.

In a good number of countries, using cryptocurrencies is legal. But this doesn’t mean that the government is friendly to the idea of blockchain and cryptocurrencies altogether. As such, the regulators have been known to keep tabs or monitor the transactions of those using digital currencies. If you are concerned about your privacy, the idea of the government monitoring your transactions won’t sit right with you.

Which VPN should you Use

The VPN market is flooded with numerous providers touting their services to be the best in the market. While indeed some offer superior privacy protection, a good number of them should be avoided.

For starters, steer clear of free VPN services for the simple reason that these providers tend to fund themselves by selling users’ private data to governments and advertisement agencies. On the other hand, paid VPN fund their services and infrastructure from the subscription fees paid by the users and have no reason to sell personal data.

Additionally, the headquarter of a VPN service determines its commitment to protecting users’ data. A VPN operating from one of the 14-Eyes Alliance countries can be forced by the law to provide a user’s data since these countries often conduct mass surveillance programs. A VPN service provider based in privacy-friendly countries such as the British Virgin Islands, Panama, and Switzerland can be trusted to keep their client’s data private. In fact, these privacy-friendly countries have imposed laws restricting companies from recording any personal data of the users.

Other useful features you should consider when choosing a VPN include a kill-switch function that terminates your internet connection if you encounter any problem connecting to the VPN. The provider should also have a transparent no-logs policy, meaning that they won’t record any of your online activities. Also, be sure to check if the VPN provider accepts cryptocurrency payments, just to add a little more security and privacy.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that cryptocurrencies are an ideal way to protect your online financial transactions. While they offer a certain degree of anonymity, users can still fall victim to cybersecurity attacks from the fact that they are connected to the internet when transacting cryptos. So, be sure to use a VPN service to keep your transactions under wraps while at the same time protecting your devices from malware.

Tags Crypto, Crypto Security, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency VPN, cybersecurity, Education, VPN

Cryptocurrencies

Nexo Crypto Review: Nexo Tokens, Nexo Lending Platform & How It Works

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 6 June, 2020
No Comments on Nexo Crypto Review: Nexo Tokens, Nexo Lending Platform & How It Works

The advent of blockchain and cryptocurrencies brought with it a ton of possibilities for the global finance industry. Gone are the days when banks and other financial institutions dominated the finance lending space. Thanks to blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi) is now possible, and virtually anyone from all around the world can take part in the global financial system – and all they need is an internet connection.

Nexo is a blockchain-based project that is fulfilling this promise by making it possible for individuals to access such financial services as loans while using their crypto assets as collateral. Individuals from over 200 countries can use their cryptocurrency to receive loans in 45 Fiat currencies – and all this in a transparent, automated, and tax-free process.

But what is Nexo, and how does this lending platform work? We review this blockchain project to answer these questions and tell you everything else you need to know about the Nexo crypto-lending platform.

What is Nexo?

Nexo is a blockchain-based lending platform that advances loans and financial assistance to different crypto holders. For the longest time, the crypto market was underexploited, and the only viable method of gaining from one’s crypto assets was by speculating their prices on the market. Nexo, however, seeks to change this by providing crypto investors with a platform where they can issue and borrow crypto loan services while using different crypto assets as collateral.

Nexo is a product of Credissimo, a Europe-based fintech company launched in 2007. The company is one of the most well established and trusted brands in the online lending space. On their website, they claim to have 73% customer return rate, disbursed over 102, 800 loans in 2019, and maintains a portfolio of 370, 000 unique customers.

How Does Nexo Work?

Nexo leverages the blockchain network by providing users with instant lending solutions. With Nexo, crypto holders can get Fiat loans and set up their crypto assets as collateral. It makes it possible to monetize your crypto assets and remain liquid without losing ownership of the investment. The loans are forwarded to the borrower’s bank or debit card.

Nexo is a wholly automated and highly versatile platform with a straightforward lending system.

All you need to do is deposit your crypto assets, access your Fiat loan, and repay it at your convenience. You can repay this loan with fiat, crypto, or a combination of both currencies. There are no minimum repayments with fiat. However, if you are paying back in crypto, the minimum repayment deposits are 0.0025 for Bitcoin, 0.025 for Ether, 32.00 for Ripple, 5.00 for TrueUSD, and 5.00 for USDC. See here the full list for minimum crypto repayments.

In addition to loans, Nexo also offers its clients with a savings account with an ROI of 8% for stablecoins and fiat currencies. The platform has partnered with BitGo, a digital asset trust to secure all crypto funds. Currently, Nexo supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Pax Gold, Ripple, Litecoin, Binance, Stellar, NEXO, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, and various stablecoins.

The Nexo product is available globally – except for a few countries like Bulgaria, Cote d’Ivoire, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Syria, and Zimbabwe.

More importantly, Nexo enables you to avoid capital gains taxes even if you live in countries with crypto tax legislation. On their website, Nexo argues that “when you take a crypto loan and spend that loan, you avoid paying any capital gains taxes, which otherwise in many countries you have to pay when you sell your crypto.”

Who Can Use Nexo?

The NEXO platform is a pretty open platform. Any of the following individuals/entities can utilize NEXO services.

Investors who desire to make profits off their crypto assets, while still maintaining ownership of those assets
Businesses of all sizes
Crypto miners
Hedge funds
Pension funds

The Nexo Oracle

The Nexo Oracle is the technology that drives almost all of Nexo’s functionalities. Some of its core strengths include:

I) Developing loan contracts

The Oracle picks up and automates all the processes after a credit line application is initiated. This includes disbursement of funds, asset monitoring, notifications, and the overall administrative procedures of the loan.

II) Developing and maintaining real-time data

The Oracle aggregates data from at least six independent exchanges to perform accurate, real-time data aggregation to minimize the risk for both the platform and users. It also detects market moves and readjusts loan limits accordingly. If an asset increases in price, the Oracle automatically increases the loan limit.

III) Maintaining an analytics module

The Oracle automatically records and manages all interactions with clients – including loans, repayments, outstanding balances, and accounts.

IV) Conducting auto-notifications

All of Nexo’s processes are automatically executed, and this includes sending notifications to clients.

V) Developing prediction modeling and algorithms

Nexo utilizes big-data analysis, automated algorithms, and predictive modeling techniques to realize the smooth running of the system. This helps ensure that information aggregated from outside sources is used appropriately and promptly.

The Nexo Team

Nexo involves a core team of 14, who hold influential positions in Credissimo. Chief managing partner Kosta Kantchev is the co-founder of both Nexo and Credissimo.

Antoni Trenchev is the managing partner and also co-founder of Nexo. Trenchev is a former member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and has a background in e-commerce development, strategy, and processes.

Georgi Shulev is also a managing partner and co-founder of Nexo. Shulev has long-running experience in investment banking and is the co-founder of Consestimate – a financial estimate platform where investors share ideas and forecasts with peers and identify the “fundamental value of public companies.”

The NEXO Token

The NEXO token is the native token of the Nexo platform. And the Nexo project creators define the token as a security instrument that’s compliant with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. The Nexo platform incentivizes users to hold the NEXO token by paying out dividends derived from loan returns. Here, 30% of loan returns are channeled to a dividend pool and distributed to the coin holders.

At the time of writing, the coin is trading at $0.122583, ranking at #81 in the market. It has a market cap of $68,646,212, and a 24-hour volume of $4,089,490. The coin has a circulating supply of 560,000,011, with a total supply of 1,000,000,000 Nexo Tokens. The coin’s all-time high was $0.539466 (May 07, 2018), with an all-time low of 0.043333 (Sep 12, 2018).

Where to Buy and Store NEXO

You can purchase NEXO from several reputable exchanges, including IDEX, Huobi, Coinswitch, YoBit.Net, Huobi, Binance, HotBit, and Changelly. The majority of these will require you to trade other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, to get NEXO.

NEXO is an Ethereum-based token, meaning it can be stored in any Ethereum-compatible wallet such as MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Ledger, Trezor, or Atomic Wallet.

Final Thoughts

Nexo brings real value and utility to crypto users and the crypto space. Users can leverage their crypto holdings to gain access to Fiat loans without the plethora of the terms and conditions of traditional finance. Nexo users can also earn passively by keeping their money on Nexo and letting it work for them. It will be interesting to see how Nexo advances as a platform and how its offerings will continue to evolve.

Tags Crypto, Crypto lending, Crypto lending sites, cryptocurrencies, Decentralized finance, Education, Eth tokens, Nexo, Nexo token

Cryptocurrencies

Enjin Coin: How is Blockchain Impacting the Gaming Industry?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 5 June, 2020
No Comments on Enjin Coin: How is Blockchain Impacting the Gaming Industry?

Blockchain was ideally developed to facilitate a rather simple purpose: to power a decentralized, peer-to-peer, and ultra-secure digital currency – Bitcoin. In the beginning, no one could have conceived the sheer power that the technology wielded, or predicted the technological revolution it would inspire a decade or two later. From healthcare to the food industry, banking finance to gaming, blockchain is impacting virtually every industry.

Enjin Coin is a cryptocurrency project that is taking advantage of blockchain to offer gamers, developers, publishers, and other stakeholders in the gaming industry a fast and safe solution to manage virtual goods and realize real value.

In this piece, we’ll shine more light on this exciting project and discover its offerings to gaming communities.

What is Enjin Coin?

Launched in November 2017, Enjin Coin (ENJ) is a cryptocurrency and Ethereum-based blockchain platform that allows game developers to integrate crypto features into games and apps without necessarily having blockchain skills. As stated in the project’s white paper, ENK is “a cryptocurrency (ERC20 Token) and smart contract platform that gives game developers, content creators, and gaming communities the required crypto-backed value and tools for implementing and managing virtual goods.”

Enjin company was established in 2009 and has, for the past decade, been empowering game lovers to derive more value from the game industry. It is committed to helping game companies increase revenue and maintain a competitive edge in the industry.

With ENJ, Enjin hopes to be an industry leader in what it sees as an inevitable transition into a blockchain way of doing things in the long run. The Enjin coin platform comprises a suite of software development kits (SDKs) that game developers can use to integrate blockchain-based solutions into gaming. The blockchain initiative will go a long way in reducing the high fees and reducing the lack of transparency that is so rife in the gaming industry.

The coin had its pre-sale in August and September 2017 and raised over $12 million worth of Ether (38,800 ETH). The pre-sale was closely followed by the public sale, in October 2017, where the project raised an additional $23 million.

How Does Enjin Coin Work?

Enjin Coin is an ERC20 token that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. This makes the platform a cryptocurrency and a smart contract platform. The project is also looking to adopt the Raiden network – Ethereum’s version of the Lightning Network. Its key operational features include:

1. Virtual Goods

Thanks to Enjin Coin, game developers will be able to create tokens for different game communities – using Enjin Coin as the parent currency. This lends the tokens the benefits of crypto (speed, safety, security, and low fees) while maintaining the uniqueness of their respective platforms. These tokens can be exchanged for ENJ at any time.

Virtual goods can be pretty much anything used in the gaming world, including entire planets, swords, guns, spaceships, cosmetic upgrades, castles, and gaming characters. These virtual goods have real-life value, thanks to Enjin Coin serving as their parent currency. The process by which users create virtual goods via Enjin Coin is referred to as minting. Users can mint goods with whichever quantity of ENJ. The more coins you use to mint an item, the more value it will possess.

Gamers can acquire these virtual goods either by purchasing or during giveaways, promotions, or rewards. They can also trade/exchange them in a safe, secure, and fraud-free environment. For instance, you can exchange a gun for a planet, sell a spaceship for ENJ, buy a character with ENJ, etc.

These goods are safely kept in a decentralized and uncensorable environment – and are thus not controlled by anyone. This means you get to own and control your virtual goods, as well as have the ability to prove ownership. This is important, especially if the game or server suffers a malfunction or your account gets hacked.

2. Payment Gateway

The Enjin Coin platform also features a payment gateway that allows users to create customized shopping carts, manage invoices, refunds, emails, and text notifications. It also includes a widget through which you can accept ENJ and any other type of coin payments. Transactions cost is low, and there are no hidden charges.

The platform’s Smart Wallet (more on that below) allows you to execute automatic payments for games from websites that you have listed as ‘Trusted Platforms.’ This feature injects more speed and trust in transactions.

3. Smart Wallet

Enjin Coin’s ‘Smart Wallet’ provides support for a lot of the platform’s functions. First off, it facilitates payments via Trusted Platforms and allows you to exchange currencies and virtual goods outside of your gaming account to any other Smart Wallet user. You can also initiate transactions through the ‘Transaction User,’ as well as create settings and thresholds that can automatically block illegitimate transactions.

Smart Wallet features a “top-of-the-line” security infrastructure complete with a 12-word recovery phrase that enables you to recover your funds in case you forget the password for your Wallet. Additionally, the Wallet has its own proprietary virtual keyboard that further guards against data sniffing. It also deletes any and all sensitive info after transactions, rendering it safe even if it were to be hacked.

4. Efinity

Enjin Coin plans to unveil Efinity – a technology like Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, which features multiple game channels that will allow games to handle infinite volumes of transactions blazingly-fast and with near-zero transaction fees. These transactions will be trustless, blockchain-verified, and support millions of players at any time. Other functionalities will be:

Token transfers and approvals
Melting tokens
Escrow capability
Metadata for game items
Token bundles
Non-fungible tokens
Whitelist feature for bound tokens

Can Enjin be Integrated with the Actual Game?

Yes. The Enjin Content Management System supports plugins that can integrate with the majority of players’ favorite games. Some of the popular games supported today include Dissolution, Forgotten Artifacts, Shield of Shalwend, Age of Rust, Forest Knight, War of Crypto, Battlefield 1, World of Warcraft, Cats in Mech, Afterverse, The Six Dragons, Space Misfits, and Minecraft.

What’s Enjin Coin’s Future Prospects?

Enjin Coin may be relatively new to the gaming industry, but several factors point to its future success as a cryptocurrency project.

These include:

An already existing marketplace trusted by millions of gamers across the globe.
ENJ is an ERC-20 token that enjoys multi-exchange and multi-wallet support. Apart from ERC-20, Enjin also supports ERC-1155 smart contracts that enable the tokenization of both fungible and non-fungible gaming industry assets.
It has secured a partnership with industry heavyweights such as Samsung, Unity, PC Gamer, Ubisoft, NRG, and other trusted sports brands.

Tokenomics of Enjin Coin

As of May 26, 2020, Enjin Coin is trading at $0.194120, with a market cap of $159, 133, 893, while ranking at #44 in the overall crypto market, according to Coinmarketcap. It has a 24-hour volume of $36,370, 221 and a total supply of 1, 000, 000, 000 ENJ. The coin’s all-time high was $0.493384 ( Jan 07, 2018), with an all-time low of $0.015620 (Nov 02, 2017).

Where to Buy and Store Enjin Coin

ENJ is listed on several exchanges, including Binance, Coinswitch, Cointree, Changelly, and KuCoin. Popular exchange Coinbase does not list ENJ.

Being an ERC-20 token, you can store ENJ in any Ethereum-compatible wallet like MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Mist, and Geth. You could also opt for hardware wallets like Ledger Nano and Trezor.

Final Thoughts

Enjin Coin provides gamers from all around the world with the blockchain benefits of speed, security, and decentralization. It’s helping inject more transparency in the gaming industry and provide gamers with true and absolute ownership of their virtual goods.

The project already has a solid background of Enjin – a company that is trusted by millions of users across the world. Only time will tell if the project can continue with its streak of success.

Tags Blockchain and gaming, Crypto, crypto analysis, cryptocurrencies, ENJ, Enjin coin, ERC 20 tokens, Ethereum blockchain, Smart contracts

Crypto Daily Topic

Cryptocurrency and Crime: How is The International Community Fighting Crypto Crime

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 5 June, 2020
No Comments on Cryptocurrency and Crime: How is The International Community Fighting Crypto Crime

Cryptocurrencies were specially designed to give individuals power and control over their finances. But this big vision has been marred by cryptocurrencies’ association with crime. Such a negative perception threatens to derail cryptos from achieving their intended mission as it attracts the attention of governments and other regulatory agencies.

By hiding behind the decentralized, peer-to-peer, and anonymous nature of Blockchain, many cybercriminals have latched on digital currencies to engage in illegal activities online.

In this article, we explore the parallels between blockchain/cryptocurrencies and crime and how to deal with crypto-crime:

What is the Blockchain?

First popularised by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, Blockchain is a digital ledger that allows for the creation of immutable, peer-to-peer, and distributed records.

One of the critical features of blockchains is ‘decentralization’ – which makes them autonomous and independent of third-party control and intervention. Decentralization makes Blockchain not just uncensorable but also eliminates the costs associated with third-party intermediaries.

Cryptocurrencies were the first and are still the most popular application of Blockchain. And thanks to the highly decentralized nature of Blockchain, crypto transactions are not regulated or audited by government authorities. Blockchain also employs the use of private and public keys, as opposed to real-world identities. This makes it challenging to identify the true identity of the individual behind a particular crypto transaction.

It’s this anonymity/pseudonymity that makes cryptocurrencies highly attractive to cybercriminals.

The Rise of Crypto Crime

The rise of crypto crime can be traced back to the early days of Bitcoin and to the infamous Silk Road saga. The now-defunct dark web marketplace hosted all manner of criminals and encouraged such criminal activities as money laundering, illegal sale of drugs and firearms, contract hacking, sale of other contrabands, with transactions being carried out in Bitcoin.

The site was eventually shut down by the FBI, and its creator – Ross Ulbricht, sentenced to life in prison. Note that while Silk Road employed numerous anonymization techniques, especially the Tor network. But it was the use of Bitcoin for transactions that highlighted how cryptocurrency could be used to fuel illegal online activities.

Crypto crimes do not always involve a shady website on the dark web. As crypto becomes more popular, the more crypto crime becomes more brazen and high-tech. Today, Most crypto crimes revolve around ICO scams, cryptojacking, ransomware, money laundering, sim-swaps, and Pyramid/Ponzi schemes. While the majority of these incidents prove to be a new normal that the cryptoverse has become used to, others continue to make the headlines.

Crypto Ponzi schemes are best exemplified by the case of OneCoin, a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors across the globe around $4 billion. The scheme director Dr. Ruja Ignatova is still on the run, but several other conspirators have since been convicted.

Another high-profile case of SIM swapping involved AT&T and $24 million worth of cryptocurrency. The telecommunications conglomerate is still embroiled in a legal case with Michael Terpin, a Bitcoin investor, who lost $24 million worth of Bitcoin. Terpin said that an AT&T employee at a Connecticut store transferred his phone number to a new SIM card. The action, he says, made it possible for a hacker to transfer crypto funds to a different account.

Not all crypto crimes are cleverly engineered Ponzi schemes or hid behind the veil of technology. Occasionally, you’ll hear of brazen attacks such as the case in Thailand where attackers kidnapped a tourist and forced him to transfer $100, 000 worth of Bitcoin. In Ukraine, the Exmo crypto exchange’s Finance executive was also kidnapped and forced to transfer $1 million in Bitcoin. In New York City, a man lost $1.8 million of Ether after his “friend” organized for him to be kidnapped with the assailant forcing him to reveal his private key. Yet another case occurred in Instanbul when a businessman was taken hostage by armed assailants who forced him to transfer $2.83 million in crypto.

Fighting Back

The irreversibility and anonymity of blockchain transactions imply that crypto criminals have almost always gotten away with their loot.

But different institutions are continually coming up with mechanisms aimed at pushing back and helping crypto crime victims. And one such company is Chainalysis that has taken up the role of tracking crypto crimes.

They achieve this by tracking every public address tied to a particular transaction in the Blockchain. Next, they follow the trail of the funds in the particular address and identify whether they’re moving them across other addresses in crypto exchanges or liquidating them for fiat currency. They compare these transactions with the information provided by fraud victims and work with the authorities to track down perpetrators.

Other companies have created software that gives authorities the upper hand while investigating crypto fraud. This is the approach taken by blockchain company BitFury, whose software enables law enforcement to track down blockchain addresses that have a high inclination for cybercrime. The software is also capable of producing crypto-crime-specific legal reports.

These companies are fighting back and debunking the myth that crypto crime is permissible just because of the unhackable and anonymous nature of Blockchain.

Renewed Crackdown

As crypto crime persists, countries have put in place stringent measures aimed at clipping its wings. The U.S. is, for instance, planning to crack even harder on the crypto sector. According to the federal budget proposal for 2021, the United States Secret Service will fall back to the jurisdiction of the Treasury. According to the proposal, this move will, among other goals, address the Trump administration’s intention to “address emerging threats such as the use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering and terrorist financing.”

The proposal states that “technological advancements in recent decades such as cryptocurrencies and the increasing interconnectedness of the international financial market place have resulted in more complex criminal organizations and revealed stronger links between financial and electronic crimes.”

This move is not unprecedented when you consider the comments of high-profile figures with regards to cryptocurrency. Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary, called Bitcoin a “national security issue,” which has been “exploited to support billions of dollars of illicit activity like cybercrime, tax evasion, extortion, ransomware, illicit drugs, and human trafficking.”

Last year, President Trump tweeted that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “can facilitate unlawful behavior including drug trade and other illegal activity…”

Switzerland also plans to exact stricter measures on the crypto market through the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The organ plans to inject more transparency into crypto dealings by requiring transactions valued at over 1,000 francs to be accompanied by Know Your Customer (KYC) info. This is a drastic adjustment to an existing regulation that only required KYC requirements for transactions valued over 5000 francs. FINMA argues that this move is set to check the “heightened” risk of crypto-enabled money laundering.

The shift came about a few days after the European Union implemented its fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which requires all crypto companies in Europe to conduct KYC and AML procedures on all their prospective clients. The directive explicitly states that crypto-related businesses must prove that the owners and senior management are “fit and proper.”

Final Thoughts

While criminals have been inclined to use cryptocurrency due to its ‘untraceable’ nature, this reality is fast changing. Advancing technology plus new ways of looking at blockchain transactions will help crypto shed its reputation as money for criminals. This, combined with austere regulatory policies, will probably be the beginning in restoring the glory that cryptocurrency deserves.

Tags Crypto, Crypto and crime, Crypto regulations, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, Silk road, Tags

Crypto Videos

Swiss Regulators Now Allow Crypto Transactions! Another Big Step Forward!

Post author By Keiran
Post date 5 June, 2020
No Comments on Swiss Regulators Now Allow Crypto Transactions! Another Big Step Forward!

https://youtu.be/hD7qUrB6-3I

Swiss Regulators Allow Crypto Transactions to a Local Bank – Major News

InCore bank became the first Swiss b2b bank that was approved by the financial regulators to operate with cryptocurrencies.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority has authorized InCore bank to transact digital assets, therefore allowing customers worldwide to access as well as transact within the bank. The firm now has the ability to allow institutional clients to trade, transfer, and hold digital assets. Regulators have also allowed the bank to develop its own tokenization capabilities.

InCore announces partnership with IT crypto-asset consulting firm

Mark Dambacher, the CEO of InCore Bank, praised the decision that the regulators have made and commented:
“Our customers benefit greatly from the expansion to the new asset class without ever having to invest in infrastructure or new processes themselves. And all this while maintaining the usual security standards.”
The bank has already partnered up with Inacta AG, an independent Swiss-based consulting firm, in order to provide more information as well as crypto-asset management to its customers.

Boosting blockchain adoption within the banking sector

InCore company executives said that the bank plans to expand its strategy regarding blockchain in the coming months. They also have plans to include brokerage, custody, as well as transfer services to security tokens.
This can be a great start to Switzerland’s further adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Tags Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, FATF regulations, Regulations, Swiss bank

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 05 – Hackers Target US Universities After “Kidnapping” a Whole Town; BTC Used as Ransom

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 5 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 05 – Hackers Target US Universities After “Kidnapping” a Whole Town; BTC Used as Ransom

The crypto market has spent the day with low volatility as it was trying to consolidate. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,778, which represents an increase of 1.31% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 0.16% on the day, while XRP lost 0.7%.

Wax took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 62.34%. Zilliqa lost 8.4% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance increased slightly since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.14%. This value represents a 0.07% difference to the upside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased slightly as most cryptos gained some value when compared to yesterday. The market’s current value is $277.65 billion. This value represents an increase of $2.3 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

NetWalker attacking US universities with ransomware

A ransomware gang called NetWalker claims to have successfully attacked three large US universities within the last seven days. They say that their latest attack was aimed against the University of California San Francisco, while that they also attacked Michigan State University and Columbia College of Chicago.

NetWalker threatened to leak all the sensitive data they have acquired in less than a week if they don’t receive a crypto payment in Bitcoin. The information came from Michigan State, Columbia College of Chicago, and UCSF themselves.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has spent the day slowly testing its support and resistance levels. After breaking the $9,735 to the upside but failing to conquer $9,870, Bitcoin started to drop in price and retest $9,735 as a support level. It has held up quite nicely so far, with no indications of BTC falling below it with this volume.

Bitcoin’s volume reduced drastically when compared to the past week, while its RSI is at 58.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,870 1: $9,735

2: $10,010 2: $9,580

3: $9,250

Ethereum

Ethereum had a great little run towards the upside yesterday, passing the $240 level and trying to consolidate above it. The consolidation has continued since, with Ethereum successfully getting $240 as a support level. The 4-hour 21-period moving average seems to be holding the price above the level as well.

Ethereum’s volume drastically reduced and is almost non-existent, while its RSI level is at 56.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $251.4 1: $240

2: $260 2: $225.4

3: $217.6

Ripple

XRP didn’t perform its consolidation, as well as Ethereum, did after a good run towards the upside they had. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap fell under the $0.205 level after testing its strength as a support level. However, the current increase in volume indicates that XRP might get above it once again.

XRP’s volume was mostly lower than yesterday, while its RSI level is at 50.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.205 1: $0.2

2: $0.214 2: $0.19

3: $0.227

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Daily Topic

The Bart Simpson Phenomenon and Tuesday’s Baffling Bitcoin Drop

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 4 June, 2020
No Comments on The Bart Simpson Phenomenon and Tuesday’s Baffling Bitcoin Drop

On Tuesday, Bitcoin looked like it would finally surge past the hotly-anticipated $10,500. However, the coin ended up plummeting by more than $800 in under only 5 minutes. The sell-off started at 9:45 a.m. ET, when the cryptocurrency was changing hands for$10,137. By 9.49 a.m., the price had dipped to $9,298. At the time of writing, the currency is trading at $9,643.51.

Price Manipulation?

The 4-hour chart, during the period leading up to the drop, as well as the hourly, had formed what’s called the ”Bart Simpson” pattern. This pattern usually indicates probable manipulation caused by whales and institutional players. The pattern occurs when an asset rapidly shoots up or down, followed by a sideways movement, then a violent move in the opposite direction.

What’s the Bart Simpson Pattern?

This price action resembles the famous cartoon character Bart Simpson’s head. The name is one of many eccentric memes created by the crypto community.

The Bart Simpson pattern phenomenon made its debut in 2018 when the Bitcoin market became a bit subdued. Volume and liquidity began to decrease due to declining interest in the cryptocurrency.

Due to the current uncertain Bitcoin market (more on that later), the low liquidity and low volume trading environment create the perfect recipe for Bart Simpson charts to start appearing again.

The Bart patterns also sometimes appear in the inverse, with the zig-zag formation occurring at the bottom of a sudden price move before reversing back upward.

Bart Simpson patterns are somehow unique to the Bitcoin and crypto market. And although hilarious, they are a bad sign for the market. Ordinary investors and traders mostly get burned, while big players such as whales and institutional investors go home with huge profits.

What leads to the Bart Simpson Pattern?

There’s consensus in some quarters that the pattern occurs due to a lack of liquidity in the Bitcoin market.

After the 2017 bull run, big investors liquidated their positions, with the majority of them not returning to the market. This led to the price crashing from 5 digits to 4 digits. Pump-and-dump schemes also became commonplace, and whales could sway prices with big enough orders. Add this to the sometimes artificial prices caused by trading bots – which have become popular more than ever.

Do Bart Simpson Patterns Appear in the Traditional Finance Market?

The answer is yes, and no. Since early 2018, the cryptocurrency market started a downward trend. In January, the total crypto market capitalization was at an all-time peak of $800 billion. Through the following months, this steadily decreased. On October 23, 2018, 54% of the total market cap of the entire crypto market was Bitcoin’s. This is comparable to the market cap of companies such as McDonald’s and IBM. As you can see, it’s difficult to compare the traditional market with the crypto market, especially due to the mostly poor participants and emerging factors like regulation of the crypto market.

Also, a market where participants can make massive orders provides a fertile playground for price manipulation. In the crypto market, investors can enter such orders due to the lack of regulation. Also, there are looser thresholds for entering the crypto market. Plus, the execution of trades in the traditional markets is more rational and controlled. For instance, there are ‘circuit breakers’ and other mechanisms that put a halt to trading as soon as certain thresholds have been reached.

There’s also the existence, in the traditional market, of financial intermediaries that help traders achieve optimized trading that does not affect prices, avoiding Bart Simpson patterns.

How Bart Simpson patterns Affect The Market

Bitcoin ETFs: Events like these, together with similar ones, are partly why the Securities Exchange Commission refuses to approve Bitcoin ETFs. The truth is that the total market is still unstable and can be easily manipulated. In a way, the crypto market is the whales’ playground. They can send the prices up or down whenever they so wish.

Miners: Price manipulation that results in Bart Simpson patterns affects miners. When prices go down, profitability does too. The money they make might not be enough to cover their costs.

Tips to Survive Bart Simpson Patterns

If your goal is to go long in the medium-term or long-term, these patterns will affect you less
If you are a short-term trader, you may consider having stop-loss orders
If you notice a sudden move followed by a consolidation, know that the price can quickly move the other direction

Difference on BitMEX

BitMex recorded the lowest drop, with the currency dropping to $8600. Bitstamp hit a low of $9135. The majority of the lows were between $9350 – $9100. The dramatic difference in Bitmex could have been due to slippage and cascading liquidations. The crash caused $100 million long liquidations on the exchange.

Bitcoin’s $10,500 Surge Is Rejected Again

This was the third time in recent months when buyers failed to take the price past the $10,500 mark. The crypto has struggled to break past the resistance level three times the past eight months.

The number one cryptocurrency hit $10, 500 in October 2019. In 4 weeks, it had dropped to $6, 400. In February this year, the crypto attempted to surpass the level again. But it took a violent dip to $8,400, before falling even further to $3,600 in the following four weeks.

After its failure to cross the same level for three consecutive times, Bitcoin’s investors and enthusiasts are asking themselves if the coin will break anytime soon. Many are wondering if BTC will initiate a bull trend and test even higher resistance levels of $11,500 and above. The question is even more pertinent when you consider the intensity of the falls, and how the market has shaped up generally in recent months.

Tags Bart Simpson Pattern, Bart Simpson Patterns, bitcoin, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrencies, Market manipulation, Technical Analysis, trading

Cryptocurrencies

Synthetix: How Does this DeFi Platform Work?

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 4 June, 2020
No Comments on Synthetix: How Does this DeFi Platform Work?

Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision for Bitcoin was money that could not be controlled by governments and regulators. Little did he know, though, that the underlying technology of Bitcoin – blockchain, wielded so much potential for the realization of this goal in a way that Bitcoin itself (alone) could never accomplish.

Thanks to the blockchain network, we are now experimenting with the idea of a decentralized finance industry – whose vision is to empower all economically – regardless of race, origin, or social status.

Synthetix is a decentralized finance platform that makes it possible for anyone with an internet connection to access a wide variety of financial assets: from Fiat currency to gold, Bitcoin, commodities, and precious metals – without the need for costly brokers or intermediaries.

But what is Synthetix, and how does this decentralized platform work? We answer these questions and everything else you need to know about Synthetix here.

What is Synthetix?

Synthetix is a decentralized finance platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. It hosts tokens, commonly referred to as Synths, that are tied to the value of liquid assets like stocks, real-world currencies, cryptocurrencies, commodities, indices, and precious metals. These assets are held in the form of ERC-20 tokens.

Synthetix started as ‘Havven,’ a stablecoin project, before rebranding to the current name. The platform’s native currency is known as the ‘SNX’ token. SNX powers the creation of Synths, as explained by the platform’s creators: “The platform uses a token called SNX (the Synthetix Network Token), and holding this token allows you to create Synths. You do this by locking SNX into a smart contract and minting Synths against this value. To ensure Synths are fully booked, the system will only allow you to issue a fraction of the SNX value you lock.”

The question you’d ask is: “Why would I hold a synthetic asset instead of the real-life asset?” Well, the main reason an individual would hold a synthetic asset is to receive a benefit that the asset itself would not provide. This could range from getting access, e.g., to gold – without the real-world implications of custody, or wanting to gain liquidity for an asset that will be hard to sell quickly enough in the real world. Synthetix users do not only get this, but they get to do so on a decentralized, peer-to-peer, and transparent platform.

How Does Synthetix Work?

The Synthetix platform utilizes two types of tokens: the main token known as Synthetix (SNX), and a second token known as Synth. Synthetix works in a pretty straightforward manner.

Users purchase and lock SNX in their wallets. They can then create Synths, which will track the real-life price of the assets. The price of a Synth is arrived at via oracles provided by the Chainlink network. Users can also trade Synths via the Synthetix Exchange. This allows them to convert these tokens into a form whose price they can track in different ways. For instance, there is ‘sBTC,’ which allows individuals to track Bitcoin prices, as well as iBTC, whose price moves contrarily to that of Bitcoin.

By virtue of holding Synth tokens, Synthetix users have access to endless possibilities in trading, hedging, remittance of funds, making payments, and building a portfolio.

Whose Idea is Synthetix?

Synthetix is the brainchild of crypto payment company blueshyft CEO Kain Warwick. Warwick conceived the idea of Havven in 2016 when looking for a solution to solve the issue of arbitrage in crypto prices in smaller crypto markets like Australia and Korea.

How Does Synthetix Remain Collateralized?

The primary concern on the same platform is what will happen if Synths began moving inversely with the underlying SNX tokens. How would the system stay collateralized if, say, the price of SNX is falling, while that of Synths rising?

Thankfully, the platform is designed to have infinite liquidity, which, when combined with various features baked into the system, maintains the collateralization of the platform. Below, we’ll take an in-depth look into each of these features.

#1. The Requirement of 750% Collateralization

For the Synthetix system to issue new Synths, it needs to have collateralization of at least 750%. The collateral cushions the Synths in circulation from unexpected price swings.

#2. Debt-driven

Synthetix is designed in a manner that when a user mints Synth, their SNX collateral is locked up – with the Synths acting as outstanding debt. If you want to unlock your Synths, you first need to offset your debt by burning Synths that are equivalent to the value of the Synths they had issued earlier.

The minimum of 750% in collateral ensures that users can easily buy back and sell their own debt if they so wish.

#3. Debt Pools

On the Synthetix platform, there is personal debt for users who have created Synths. But there is also a universal debt underlying all the Synths in circulation.

A user’s personal debt is calculated as an ever-in-flux percentage of the total Synths issued, together with the exchange rates of the underlying asset and that of the issued Synths.

This means Synth issuers do not need to pay back their debt with the exact type of Synth that they minted. An individual who issued a Synth can repay the debt with any other type of Synth, provided it’s equal in market value to the Synths they wish to burn.

This mechanism lends the system ‘infinite’ liquidity, which also enables endless shifts between Synths – without upsetting the system’s balance.

The Synthetix Exchange

The Synthetix decentralized exchange allows users to buy and sell Synths via smart contracts, removing the need for counterparties or third parties. Anyone can access via a web3 wallet, allowing them to easily and quickly buy or sell Synths and SNX tokens.

All exchanges have a fee of 0.30%. The fees are given to SNX holders as a reward for providing collateral for the Synths in circulation.

Synthetix’s Monetary Policy

The Synthetix system also has a monetary inflation policy for SNX embedded in the code, with the total supply of SNX in circulation increasing in a five-year span – from 2019 to 2024 – from 100 million to 250 million.

This monetary policy was not originally part of the system. It was added when it became apparent that the exchange fees from Synth transactions were too low to incentivize SNX token holders to hold up SNX as collateral.

The additional SNX will be distributed among SNX holders who have held their SNX as collateral. This will incentivize users to contribute to the system and support the network before it’s robust and independent enough for everything to run as intended.

Another benefit of the inflation policy is that it will make the network more secure by automatically adjusting that collateralization ratio by the adding of extra collateral to SNX holders.

Synthetix’s Exchange Fees and Staking Rewards

Anyone can buy SNX, mint Synth, and take on its debt. This qualifies one to become a staker in the Synthetix ecosystem and start collecting staking rewards – which are a percentage of the exchange fees – set at 0.3% for every transaction.

All exchange fees are transferred to a collective pool, after which they are distributed to SNX token holders in proportion to their outstanding debt. In this way, users can increase their staking rewards by simply increasing their SNX issuance.

However, users can only claim to stake rewards if their collateralization ratio is above 750%. This is meant to incentivize users to actively maintain a personal collateralization ratio of 750% or above, which helps to maintain liquidity of the network.

Tokenomics of Synthetix

SNX is currently ranking at #49, with a market cap of $146, 971, 014, and a circulating supply of 181, 454, 898. It has a total supply of 182, 701, 142, with a 24-hour volume of $995, 620. The token has an all-time high of $1.57 (24th Nov 2019) and an all-time low of $0. 032420 (5th Jan 2019).

Where to Buy and Store Synthetix

You can purchase or exchange cryptocurrency for SNX in any of several popular exchanges, including Coinbase, Bittrex, gate.io, Liquid, and Kucoin.

As an Ethereum-based token, SNX and Synths can be stored in any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Popular options include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask wallet, Ethaddress Wallet, Ledger Nano, Guarda Wallet, Atomic Wallet, Trezor, Sugi, Keep Key, and Jaxx Liberty.

Conclusion

The Synthetix platform offers a decentralized, peer-to-peer, accessible-for-all platform where users get exposure to all kinds of real-world assets without the burden of acquiring ownership and other barriers. The platform has the potential to create a powerful tokenized asset platform that can shake the whole financial market. The success of this platform will be a part of Satoshi’s grand vision, even if not in the way that they envisaged it.

Tags Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Decentralized finance, DeFi, Education, SNX, Synthetix, Synths

Crypto Daily Topic

Rare Bitcoin Stale Block Raises Double-Spending and Immutability Concerns

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 4 June, 2020
No Comments on Rare Bitcoin Stale Block Raises Double-Spending and Immutability Concerns

It is now common knowledge that Bitcoin was not only the first cryptocurrency in history, but the blockchain network on which it runs is the most secure in the world, thanks to its ever-growing hash rate.

Part of the reasons it won the crypto community’s confidence as well as that of many non-techy savvy individuals is that it has core features of money: trusted, scarce, durable, divisible, and widely accepted. There is, however, another feature that is just as important because it is digital and not physical currency: the same money cannot be spent twice.

But what would be your perception of Bitcoin if you learned that Bitcoin is not immune to the double-spending problem? On January 27th, 2020, some money on the Bitcoin blockchain network was double-spent after one of the blocks in the Bitcoin blockchain turned stale according to a tweet by @BitMEXResearch.

Does an incident like this shake your confidence in Bitcoin and crypto in general?

The Crypto Stale Block and Double-Spending Problem

On the day that the first case of Bitcoin double-spending was recorded, October 2019, Bitcoin Gold (BTG), another cryptocurrency, suffered a 51 percent attack. By the time it ended, about 7,167 BTG or about $72,000 had been double-spent. In the case of Bitcoin, a single instance of stale block resulted in the double-spending of about $3. This may not be as bad as the case of BTG, but to understand how it happened, we have to take a step back and look at how computers work.

Data transfer between computers is speedy, but it is not instantaneous. The time it takes for one computer to transmit data to another depends on many factors besides connectivity. The geographical distance between the two machines, for instance, plays a critical role.

Data sent from computer A would take slightly longer to reach computer C, which is physically farther from computer A compared to computer B, even if by microseconds. In some cases, such communication delays may cause conflicts on the Bitcoin network, resulting in the production of stale blocks.

What Is A Stale Block?

According to bitcoin.org glossary, a stale block in blockchain refers to a block of transactions that is successfully mined but not added to the current best chain of blocks. The primary cause of stale blocks is that another block was added to the chain faster than the first one could be added, often due to network delays. The recent Bitcoin stale block that led to a $3 double-spend was the result of the stale block not being added as the next block despite having verified the included transactions.

In technical terms, a block of transactions on a blockchain network becomes stale when two nodes on the chain, often located a distance apart geographically, solved the computation for the next valid block on the chain at almost the same time. When two miners each find the next block at the same time and send the information to the blockchain network, there will be a disagreement on the network for about 10 minutes or so regarding which block was actually mined first.

Considering that every Bitcoin node and every miner keeps a copy of the blockchain, it is not uncommon for some nodes in the network to favor one of the two blocks and other nodes to favor the other block. Such a situation, however, is often resolved automatically when the next block is mined and added to the chain.

This means that nodes that accepted the block that eventually was not continued would have to throw out their last block because it is ‘stale.’ Ultimately, the system resolves such conflicts by favoring the ‘most work’ chain, or the longest chain. It is only fair that the chain with the blocks on which more work has been done wins the standoff.

Was Bitcoin Actually A Double-Spent Due To A Stale Block?

BitMEXResearch divulged the details of the Bitcoin stale block and revealed lots of details that left many people with more questions than answers. The block, mined by Poolin, had a size of 0.98MB and was mined less than half a second after the winning block created by BTC.com was mined.

The stale block was promptly orphaned, meaning that it was not added into the blockchain network. What is revealing is that the block had a total of 39 transactions on it when it was validated, but only 38 were included in the next block. The one transaction had an input of 0.00034801 (about $3), an amount that may have been double-spent.

There has been raging debate whether the $3 from the stale block was double-spent. This would be entered into the official records as a double-spending regardless of whether the transaction was a success or not. What is important here is the number of confirmations that the recipient will get. A double-spending would mean the recipient would receive two confirmations; otherwise, they will see two conflict transactions in the mempool.

Confirmations on the Bitcoin blockchain often vary, but a transaction is considered true and not a case of double-spending or stale block after more than one confirmations. Some experts argue that on the Bitcoin network, a single confirmation is not enough; three confirmations are a good number, although it may be more especially if the amount in question is high.

Bitcoin’s Stale Block Matter Raises Questions on Its Immutability

John Adler, the co-founder of Fuel Labs based on Ethereum, is a self-proclaimed “Blockchain skeptic” who insists that such a case as a stale block witnessed in January is proof that the Bitcoin network is not immutable, and thus unreliable as a digital money platform. He argues that the orphaning of a legitimate blockchain block violates Bitcoin’s “immutability” property, and in the process, proves that the ‘Nakamoto Consensus’ guarantees no consistency. Without consistency, he argues, you cannot guarantee immutability in the long term.

Bitcoin developers seemed to put the matter to rest, arguing that John’s view of immutability is naive and that such kind of immutability is not what makes cryptocurrencies work. Bitcoin’s immutability, argued Bitcoin Core developer Bryan Bishop, is a high number of transaction confirmations that make it exponentially hard to reverse or alter a transaction.

One way that double-spending is significantly reduced in case of such an occurrence is by relying on the number of transaction confirmations. It would be dangerous to rely on only a single confirmation because it would have resulted in double-spending in the case on point. The norm is three or more confirmations, which significantly reduces the chances of a successful double-spending.

It became clearer that immutability in cryptocurrency ought to be viewed in terms of probability, and in particular, increasingly low probabilities as the chain grows longer and mining becomes more difficult. The probability of stale block in the Bitcoin network drops with time, but it is not uncommon for two competing mining pools to complete mining a block header at almost the same time, something that happens every few months.

The last time this occurred on the Bitcoin blockchain was in October 2019 when BTC.com and its competitor Bitmain Antpool produced two blocks of transactions at virtually the same time, rendering one stale.

How Serious Is the ‘Stale Block’ Problem?

Computer security expert Jon McAfee, another Bitcoin skeptic, is on record describing the cryptocurrency as “true shitcoin” and “stale” because he believes such cases as stale blocks are bound to happen. He believes that cryptocurrencies, in general, will not really catch up with traditional currency because of unrealized problems such as orphaned and stale blocks.

The truth is that stale blocks can be created on purpose in the event malicious people attack an asset such as the Bitcoin Gold 51% attack. This publicized Bitcoin case was, however, not malicious. The system was also quick in resolving the conflict automatically. Had this been a case of intentional or malicious interference with how the Bitcoin system works, it would have been serious enough to warrant doubt over the future of the cryptocurrency. However, it was not.

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in the world by market cap. It is also the most secure by hash rate. People who have embraced and even invested in it would be wary of any news that may imply such a problem as double-spending, regardless of how small the amount involved is. The rare occurrence that resulted in a stale block is completely plausible, theoretically, but it should not cause alarm.

The Bitcoin blockchain system is designed to expect such a problem. And when it happens, as it did in January, it is a sign that the blockchain is actually in good health. The Bitcoin blockchain platform was able to identify the stale block and drop it – and that is proof that the system works. What is even more impressive is that 38 out of 39 transactions in the block made it to the legitimate block that was ultimately added to the chain.

Tags bitcoin, Bitcoin double-spending, Bitcoin immutability, Bitcoin stale block, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Education

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 04 – The US Becoming The New Mining Giant; Cryptos On The Rise

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 4 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 04 – The US Becoming The New Mining Giant; Cryptos On The Rise

The crypto market has spent the day slowly gaining upward momentum and testing resistance levels. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,655, which represents an increase of 1.55% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 3.21% on the day, while XRP gained 1.3%.

HedgeTrade took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 29.13%. ABBC Coin lost 4.23% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance decreased slightly since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.07%. This value represents a 0.15% difference to the downside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased slightly as most cryptos gained some value when compared to yesterday. The market’s current value is $275.19 69.53 billion. This value represents a decrease of $14 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

The US becoming the new mining giant

Marathon Patent Group, a US-based company, announced that it had installed 700 units of Bitcoin mining application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) units.

According to the June 3 announcement, Marathon Patent Group has installed 700 Whatsminer M30S+ ASICs that were produced by MicroBT. On top of that, the company is reportedly waiting for a delivery from BitMain (the leading mining ASIC producer) of 1,160 AntminerS19 Pro units.

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Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has spent the day slowly testing resistance levels and gaining a slight bit of value. Once the price stabilized around the $9,450 level, Bitcoin started working its way up, slowly testing and then passing the $9,580 level. It is now in the process of testing this level to determine whether it will turn into support or if the price will go back down.

Bitcoin’s volume reduced drastically when compared to yesterday, while its RSI is at 52.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,735 1: $9,580

2: $9,870 2: $9,250

3: $10,010 3: $9,120

Ethereum

Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin on the daily as it made more bold moves throughout the day. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization did the same as Bitcoin, just with a larger percentage gain. Its price stabilized around the $235 level before it started moving up, passing the $240 resistance and reaching $246.3. The price is now on a slight decline and possibly testing the $240 level.

Ethereum’s volume came back to below-normal levels after yesterday’s downswing, while its RSI level is at 58.5.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $251.4 1: $240

2: $260 2: $225.4

3: $217.6

Ripple

XRP didn’t do anything to differ that much from the other two aforementioned cryptocurrencies. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap managed to reach past the $0.205 level after a whole day of slowly moving up. It is currently in the process of testing the level as support. XRP’s moves above $0.205 are seemingly more violent and volatile, while the moves below it are slower and more gradual.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.214 1: $0.205

2: $0.227 2: $0.2

3: $0.19

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Videos

Ransomware Attack Kidnaps a City in Austria – Shady Business?

Post author By Keiran
Post date 3 June, 2020
No Comments on Ransomware Attack Kidnaps a City in Austria – Shady Business?

https://youtu.be/BvxxTOYqjpc

Ransomware Attack Kidnaps a City in Austria

A Malware team called NetWalker has launched a ransomware attack against Weiz, a village in Austria. The attack managed to affect the public service system and leak a part of the stolen data from Weiz’s building applications as well as inspections.
The hackers managed to penetrate into the village’s public network by using phishing emails related to the COVID-19 crisis.

COVID-19 used as bait to deploy the ransomware

The way that the NetWalker group was able to infect the servers was by sending emails with fake information about the coronavirus, which Weiz employees clicked and therefore triggered the ransomware.
Panda Security, a company dealing with this case, claims that the ransomware used in this attack is one of the newer versions of ransomware which spreads using VBScripts. If the infection succeeds, it spreads throughout the entire network to which the infected machine is connected.

Weiz isn’t just a random village

While Weiz is a small village, it is considered the economic center of the region. It is the place where several big companies, such as the automaker Magna, as well as construction companies Strobl Construction and Lieb-Bau-Weiz, are established. This may indicate that the attack wasn’t completely random but instead directed towards this village in order to complete a specific objective.

Tags bitcoin, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, ransomware

Crypto Videos

Tether Talks About Printing USDT – What Does This Mean?

Post author By Keiran
Post date 3 June, 2020
No Comments on Tether Talks About Printing USDT – What Does This Mean?

https://youtu.be/Ef4ggfwBDbM

Tether Talks About “Printing” USDT

The CTO of Tether spoke about the popularity of its Ethereum-based asset and claimed that it was the reason why the company never burned a single USDT token.
The recent report that came from Flipside Crypto concluded that Tether never even tried to practice burning its tokens, additionally saying:
“We can also see that tokens never go to the “burn” category, which means that no USDT supply was destroyed throughout the course of April. Looking at the full USDT history on Ethereum, we found that tokens have never been burned.”

USDT’s side of the story

Paolo Ardoino, the CTO of both Tether and Bitfinex, explained that the company is mindful of how it works, and it does practice burning its tokens, but that it has so far done it only on the Omni and Tron networks. When it comes to the Ethereum network, Ardoino said that the company holds authorized but unissued and unbacked ERC20 tokens in their inventory.
He also stated that Ethereum had been the most popular blockchain in recent months, which caused the demand for ERC20-based USDT to rise exponentially.

Conclusion

While many condone this type of behavior and encourage burning and then reissuing new tokens, Ardoino said that the outcome is the same. However, many people who touched upon this topic believe that burning and reissuing USDT tokens could only help improve transparency and reduce skepticism, even if the outcome is the same in the end.

Tags Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Tether, USDT

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 03 – Large BTC Miner Capitulation Causing The Price Drop? BTC Under $10,000 Again

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 3 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 03 – Large BTC Miner Capitulation Causing The Price Drop? BTC Under $10,000 Again

The crypto market has declined and lost all the gains it made yesterday. This was all due to, allegedly, a large unknown Bitcoin miner moving and selling his coins. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,514, which represents a decrease of 6.12% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 3.99% on the day, while XRP lost 4.09%.

Flexacoin took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 13.68%. Nexo lost 17.32% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance decreased slightly since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.22%. This value represents a 0.64% difference to the downside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased drastically as most cryptos went back down in price when compared to yesterday’s value. The market’s current value is $269.53 billion. This value represents a decrease of $14 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Miners selling more BTC than they created

One of the largest unknown mining pools moved and sold thousands of Bitcoin, which allegedly triggered the price crash. This miner has produced 51 blocks over the past four days, earning 637.5 BTC in that period (this represents 9% of the total rewards mined in that period).

While some speculate that this mining pool is capitulating, it might be that it is only moving and selling Bitcoin as it reached the price point they want to sell at.

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization lost all of the gains it made just a day after breaking $10,000. The move towards the downside was just as sharp as the one to the upside and with even greater volume. While the price fell to $9,120 at one point, it stabilized just below the $9,580 resistance level.

Bitcoin’s volume is still elevated from the bearish move, while its RSI fell to 46.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,580 1: $9,250

2: $9,735 2: $9,120

3: $9,870 3: $8,980

Ethereum

Ethereum followed Bitcoin’s spike yesterday as well as its collapse today. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap fell down to the $225.4 level before bouncing back and consolidating at above-$235 levels. Ethereum’s move towards the downside also managed to surpass the upswing in terms of magnitude as well as volume.

Ethereum’s volume came back to normal after the downswing, while its RSI level is at 52.5.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $240 1: $225.4

2: $251.4 2: $217.6

3: $260 3: $198

Ripple

XRP also had quite a violent day in terms of price movement. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap lost all its gains in a matter of minutes as its price fell from $0.215 all the way down to $0.197. However, the price went up slightly and started consolidating at the $0.202 level, right in between the support of $0.2 and resistance of $0.205.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.205 1: $0.2

2: $0.214 2: $0.19

3: $0.227

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Cryptocurrencies

What is IOTA All About?

Technology makes our lives easier. And as it is now, we might be at the cusp of a new age as far as technological advancements are concerned. In the very near future, it’s highly probable that the mundane devices around us will be interconnected with each other and to the internet. Think of your fridge, car, oven, car, shower, coffee maker, etc.

These devices will be able to work without needing human intervention. In other words, we’ll be able to derive more value from the things around us, thanks to them being connected to the internet. This phenomenon is called the Internet of Things (IoT).

It would be ideal if we could actualize IoT without any of the current impediments that face it – with two of the major ones being security and scalability. There is a valid concern that an IoT network would be a security disaster as far as information security, data privacy, and cyber safety are concerned.

IOTA is a distributed ledger platform that seeks to address the issue of scalability and security for the Internet of Things. What exactly is IOTA, and what does it offer the IoT economy and the distributed ledger space?

What is IOTA?

IOTA is a cryptocurrency project created and optimized for the Internet-of-Things (IoT). The IOTA team envisioned an IoT – already a bold vision by itself – that is powered, secured, and driven by blockchain. David Sostebo, the co-founder of IOTA, wrote that ” IOTA was initiated with a very clear and focused vision of enabling the paradigm shift of the Internet of Things… through establishing a de facto standardized ‘Ledger of Everything.’

IOTA diverts from the traditional blockchain model adopted by the majority of cryptocurrencies. Instead, it uses a dedicated distributed ledger platform called Tangle – itself an implementation of a computer science and mathematical concept known as Directed Acyclic Graphs(DAG). Tangle’s consensus mechanism works this way: for new transactions to be valid and before it’s added on the public ledger, it must be validated by the two lastly entered transactions.

This removes the dependence on miners to validate transactions, thus allowing for more scalable transactions (by reducing network congestion and network delays) as compared with traditional blockchains such as Bitcoin’s and Ethereum’s.

How Does IOTA Work?

The idea behind IOTA is to integrate blockchain solutions to the Internet of Things. IoT is not a complicated concept or a fantastical idea belonging to sci-fi movies. As a matter of fact, it’s already part of the world’s economy – think devices that monitor factory conditions, driverless cars, smart homes, smart lighting, smart pet care, etc. Research indicates that in 2017, IoT devices had grown up to 8.4 billion, with an even more aggressive growth projected for the future.

IOTA’s founders believe that for IoT to realize its highest potential, network devices should share and utilize resources more efficiently. The idea is for devices to acquire more resources, such as internet bandwidth, power, storage – only when they need them, and to sell excess or unwanted power at any given time.

Even the smallest IoT network’s implications would be tens of transactions every second, as devices relay info between and across each other. Such volumes of transactions are beyond the capability of the current blockchain model. For instance, the Ethereum blockchain can handle 15 transactions per second, while the Bitcoin blockchain can handle 7. This results in high transaction fees for priority transactions, while the rest of the transactions can take hours to be completed. As such, the blockchain, as it is, is simply not scalable enough to support the IoT economy.

IOTA and Scalability

Upon completion, IOTA anticipates having billions of interconnected nodes on its network. To this end, its processing power is designed to expand as more nodes join the network. Tangle’s consensus mechanism dictates that each transaction is linked to two other transactions – in the end, creating a web of transactions based on a verification history. As time goes on, every transaction becomes linked to the ones that verified it. This simple model removes the need for a blockchain.

In terms of computing power and securing the network, each time a new device submits a transaction – it contributes to the network in this way. Again, this removes the need for block miners.

IOTA and Transaction Fees

IOTA is also fee-free. As new devices contribute computing power when they submit transactions, the only cost they expend is the electricity they use to confirm the two previous transactions. This essentially makes IOTA free to use.

This absence of fees is intentional. The IoT network will comprise devices transacting with each other at fractional costs and a very high frequency. Levying charges on such transactions would render micropayments impractical. To serve as the backbone of the IoT economy, IOTA has to be a free network.

34% Attacks

As you already know, the blockchain is vulnerable to what is known as “the majority attack.” This describes the event when a party manages to control more than 50% of the network (51% attack). In such an event, the attacker can perform malicious transactions, stop miners, and so on. For its part, Tangle will be vulnerable if an entity were to control 34% (over ⅓) of the network’s computing power.

The IOTA network would be particularly vulnerable to such an attack when it’s still a small network with fewer nodes (i.e., now). It’s easier for a bad actor to gain control of 34% of the network at this time. To curb such an attack, the network is utilizing a Coordinator that synchronizes data across all nodes – cushioning the network against an attack.

The coordinator node is necessary to protect the early Tangle, and the network plans to get rid of it when it becomes robust and resilient enough. But that also means that the platform is not exactly decentralized right now.

In May 2019, IOTA announced the plan to kill the coordinator and implement ‘Coordicide’ – a new procedure that would make the network decentralized. The protocol, however, is yet to be implemented.

Who is behind IOTA?

The IOTA platform was launched in 2015 by David Sønstebø, Dominik Schiener, Sergey Ivancheglo, and Serguei Popov. Sønstebø and Schiener both serve as co-chairman of the board of directors. Ivancheglo departed from the organization’s foundation in June last year in seemingly amicable terms, but as the IOTA community came to discover, there was a ton of intrigue going on behind the scenes. See the full team here.

Concerns About IOTA

IOTA has faced criticism for its use of several new technologies instead of tested and tried technologies. Technology experts question if IOTA will really work to scale and if it will stand up to attacks even after more nodes join the network.

Michigan University’s Digital Currency Initiative published a paper outlining serious flaws in Curl, the network’s hashing function. After testing the hash function, they discovered it produced the same output when fed with two different inputs – a situation known as Collision and one that denotes a faulty hash code. The team added that a malicious actor could have manipulated the flaw to bring down Tangle or steal user funds. The IOTA team has since addressed the loophole.

Ethereum’s core developer Nick Johnson published a scathing article in which he delineated why he thought IOTA’s platform lacked “good technical judgment,” disregarded “cryptographic best practices,” is “a bad actor in the open-source community,” and that its integrity guarantees lack rigor.”

Tokenomics of IOTA

As of May 27, 2020, IOTA was trading at $0. 195231, at a market position of #24 and with a market cap of $542, 649, 121. The coin had a 24-hour volume of $14,089, 509. IOTA’s circulating supply is 2, 779, 530, 283, with a total and maximum supply of the same value. The currency’s all-time high was $5.69 (December 19, 2017), while its all-time high was $0.079620 (March 13, 2020).

Conclusion

The IOTA project takes the progressive idea of IoT and proposes to make it even better with distributed ledger solutions. For now, the project is far from perfect, or even near full-blown implementation. If everything goes as planned, IOTA will be an unstoppable idea, not just in the distributed ledger space, but in the world.

Tags Crypto, crypto analysis, cryptocurrencies, Directed acyclic graphs, Internet of Things (IoT), iota, MIOTA, Tags, tangle

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 02 – Bitcoin Above $10,000; BTC Miners Selling More Than They Mine

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 2 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 02 – Bitcoin Above $10,000; BTC Miners Selling More Than They Mine

The crypto market has spent the day making moves to the upside as Bitcoin broke $10,000. Bitcoin is currently trading for $10,115, which represents an increase of 6.14% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 4.96% on the day, while XRP gained 3.68%.

Nexo took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 20.30%. Flexacoin lost 12.56% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance increased slightly since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.86%. This value represents a 0.24% difference to the downside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased drastically as most cryptos went up in price when compared to yesterday’s value, with its current value being $283.53 billion. This value represents an increase of $16.27 billion when compared to the value it had yesterday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

Miners selling more BTC than they created

A report shows that Bitcoin miners sold 11% more Bitcoin than they were able to generate over the same period. The report comes from the ByteTree chain analysis portal.

According to ByteTree’s metric that tracks Bitcoin wallet addresses that are associated with miners, somewhere around 5,800 BTC was generated in the past seven days, while over 6,500 were sold by performing so-called “first spend” transactions.

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization finally broke $10,000 in an explosive attempt. After days of consolidation around the $9,300-$9,800 level, Bitcoin soared and went past many resistance levels, only to land back in the ascending trend it was in a while ago. The trend clearly keeps Bitcoins price within it (as shown on the chart), which is certainly a good thing in the short-term. However, long-term, this trend will be unsustainable. Traders can look for the exit from the trend as an opportunity to make a trade.

Bitcoin’s volume increased greatly during the spike but has since returned to normal. Its RSI level is in the overbought territory at the moment.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $10,350 1: $10,010

2: $10,500 2: $9,870

3: $9,735

Ethereum

Ethereum followed Bitcoin’s spike and caught the train to the upside as well. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap managed to break the $240 resistance level and establish itself just below the $251.4 resistance, which it got rejected from overtaking.

Ethereum’s volume is currently normalizing, while its RSI level is walking on the overbought territory line.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $251.4 1: $240

2: $260 2: $225.4

3: $217.6

Ripple

XRP didn’t do anything out of the ordinary and followed Bitcoin’s initiative towards the upside as well. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is possibly creating a double top after being rejected from the $0.214 resistance level, which may open up short trades with the target of $0.205. However, traders may want to wait for confirmation in terms of volume or some other metric.

XRP’s volume increased (on average) in the past few days), while its RSI level is currently at 62.5.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.214 1: $0.205

2: $0.227 2: $0.2

3: $0.19

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Jun 01 – Ether and XRP making moves; McAfee Calls His Prediction Nonsense

Post author By Ilija Rankovic
Post date 1 June, 2020
No Comments on Daily Crypto Review, Jun 01 – Ether and XRP making moves; McAfee Calls His Prediction Nonsense

The crypto market has spent the weekend mostly without any big moves. Bitcoin is currently trading for $9,469, which represents a decrease of 1.75% on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum lost 4.2% on the day, while XRP lost 1.37%.

Zilliqa took the position of today’s biggest daily gainer, with gains of 8.93%. Matic Network lost 12.56% of its daily value, making it the most prominent daily loser.

Bitcoin’s dominance decreased slightly since we last reported, with its value currently at 65.62%. This value represents a 0.77% difference to the downside when compared to yesterday’s value.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization increased when compared to Friday’s value, with its current value being $266.8 billion. This value represents an increase of $1.3 billion when compared to the value it had on Friday.

What happened in the past 24 hours

John McAfee on his prediction

John McAfee, a controversial cryptocurrency advocate, posted a tweet stating that his previous prediction of Bitcoin reaching $1 million a nonsense and that people who believed his prediction are absurd.

He repeated that the prediction was a joke and that the statement is ridiculous, as “If Bitcoin ever hit $1 million, it’s market cap would be greater than the entire North American Continent GDP.”

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Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization spent the weekend without much movement, except for the one push towards $10,000, which got shut down pretty quickly. Bitcoin is currently almost at the same place as when we last reported on Friday. It is bound within the resistance level of $9,580 and support of $9,250.

Bitcoin’s volume is slightly lower than during the past week, while its RSI is currently at 55.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $9,580 1: $9,250

2: $9,735 2: $9,120

3: $9,870 3: $8,980

Ethereum

Ethereum has, unlike Bitcoin, made some moves over the weekend. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization surpassed its $225.4 resistance level, turning it into support. The push towards the upside even broke $240, but quickly returned below it. The move was accompanied by soaring volume.

Ethereum’s volume is currently normalizing, while its RSI level came back from the overbought levels and is now at 60.

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $240 1: $225.4

2: $251.4 2: $217.6

3: $198

Ripple

XRP’s chart showed us quite a bit of volatility throughout the weekend. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap had a bull run, which broke the $0.2 resistance without any effort, $0.205 resistance with a bit of effort, and then stopped at $0.214 when the bulls ran out of steam. The price has since returned to the $0.205 levels, where XRP is fighting for whether the price will end up above or below it.

XRP’s volume increased when compared to the previous week, while its RSI level is currently at 53.5

Key levels to the upside Key levels to the downside

1: $0.205 1: $0.2

2: $0.214 2: $0.19

3: $0.227 3: $0.1785

Tags bitcoin, BTC, Crypto, Crypto Trading, cryptocurrency, Daily Brief, ETH, Ethereum, Fundamental Analysis, Ripple, Technical Analysis, trading, XRP

Crypto Daily Topic

6 Online Stores Where You can Buy Games with Bitcoin

Post author By Edith M.
Post date 29 May, 2020
No Comments on 6 Online Stores Where You can Buy Games with Bitcoin

The number of service providers that accept Bitcoin grows day by day. Nowadays, you can use Bitcoin to pay for all manner of things, from furniture to food to laptops to college. And now, Bitcoiners who are also gaming enthusiasts have a reason to celebrate.

While some gaming vendors allow you to purchase games directly, they are very far and between. Some platforms have stepped in to fill this gap – enabling you to buy your favorite games with zero hassle.

Below are the places where you can buy games with Bitcoin:

1. Bitrefill

Bitrefill is a marketplace that allows you to purchase gift cards and mobile refills from more than 1650 businesses in 170 countries – and pay safely, privately, and quickly with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. With the gift card, you can purchase what you want – in this case, games – from your platform or store of choice.

The platform allows you to purchase video game gift cards for the following stores:

Steam
Amazon
PlayStation
ROBLOX
Nintendo
Xbox
Apple app store
Google Play
Wargaming.net
RuneScape

On the Bitrefill website, select the gift card for your desired game, and how much amount you wish to buy. Then, choose your preferred paying method. Bitrefill supports payment via Bitcoin, Litecoin, the Lightning Network, Dash, Dogecoin, and Ethereum. There is also the option of paying for your gift card from your Coinbase account.

After you complete your transaction, Bitrefill sends you the gift card code. The platform also allows you to purchase non-digital games such as console, and so on.

2. JoltFun

JoltFun allows you to purchase any of 1000 games across several popular gaming platforms – via Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Some of the popular game choices include Assetto Corsa, Gears of War 4, Grand Theft Auto V GTA 5, Overwatch, PlayerUnknown’s Battleground, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls and random picks such as One Final Chaos, Cossacks, and American Conquest Park, Azuran Tales, Quarantine, Total War: Warhammer – Call of the Beastmen.

On JoltFun, you can purchase your video game directly and get to playing already. You can choose games from:

Origin
Battle.net
PlayStation
Steam
Rockstar Social Club (Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption)
UPlay
Xbox

JoltFun lists all the games that you will find in the actual store. When you choose a game, JoltFun sends you a Bitcoin invoice, after which you have two hours to complete the transaction.

3. Keys4Coins

Keys4Coins allows you to buy gift cards that you can use to buy games from your favorite platforms, as well as purchase games directly from them (Keys4Coins) with cryptocurrencies. You can access your favorite titles including Atlantis 3, Atlantis 5: The Secrets of Atlantis, Bulletstorm, Corsairs Gold, Curse – The Eye of Isis, Destination Treasure Island, Disciples II: Dark Prophecy, Dracula2 – The Last Sanctuary, Dracula 5- The Blood Legacy, Empire Earth, Evil Genius, Haegemonia – The Solon Heritage, Knights of Pen and Paper and many more from either of these platforms:

Steam
Origin
Uplay
Xbox Live
PSN
Battle.net
GOG.com

You can also purchase web hosting crypto conversion services and antivirus programs. Keys4Coins supports payments via Bitcoin, DASH, Dogecoin, Vertcoin, Monero, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.

4. GamesPlanet

GamesPlanet is a video games website that offers some of the most popular titles across a range of categories, including action, adventure, roleplay, MMO, strategy simulation, arcade and indie, and sport. Some of the most popular titles include Quantum Break, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Alan Wake, Darksiders Genesis, Hunt: Showdown, Two Point Hospital, Ori and the Blind Forest, Stellaris: Lithoids Species Pack, Crusader Kings, Call of Cthulhu, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and more.

GamesPlanet currently accepts Bitcoin payments via BitPay. First, you need to set up an account on BitPay, after which you can come back and purchase any game of your choice.

5. Purse.io

Purse.io is a service that allows Bitcoin holders to indirectly purchase products and services from Amazon. The service works by bringing together bitcoin holders and Amazon gift cardholders. If you are a Bitcoin holder and wish to purchase something on Amazon, you can swap your bitcoins for the gift card – whereby the cardholder will make your purchase on your behalf.

Of course, you can utilize the platform to access the countless number of games on Amazon. The most popular providers are on Amazon, including Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, Square Enix, and more.

Amazon hosts fan favorites such as Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars Jedi, Grand Theft Auto, Halo 5: Guardians, Naruto Shippuden, Disney Infinity, and so on.

6. Moon

Moon is a browser extension available for Chrome, Opera Mini, and Brave Browser. It supports fast and seamless payments via Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash, and the Lightning Network. The extension notifies you whenever there is an option for paying with Bitcoin.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Moon CEO said: “(The extension) will pop up a QR code and it will have the lightning invoice, which you could also copy and paste if you can’t use the QR code for some reason, and you’ll be able to pay with your favorite lightning wallet. “

Moon supports the purchase of games from various platforms, including Amazon.

Final Thoughts

Are you a Bitcoin lover and a gaming enthusiast? If that’s your combi, then you’re right at home with these platforms. Even Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, Ethereum, Vertcoin, DASH, and Dogecoin holders will strike luck. Get to browsing now and pick your selection.

Tags Bitcoin and games, Bitcoin gaming, Buy games with Bitcoin, Buy games with crypto, Crypto, cryptocurrencies, Education

Is There No Way to Cash Out From Grayscale’s BTC Trust

What is LISK?

How Does Lisk Work

How is Lisk Different?

Delegated Proof of Stake

The Lisk Team

What’s the Market Look Like for LSK?

Where to Buy and Store LSK

Final Words

What is Theta?

Who is Behind Theta?

How Does Theta Work?

What is Theta Token?

What is Theta’s Consensus Mechanism?

Tokenomics of Theta

Where to Buy and Store Theta Token

Final Words

What is Ontology?

What’s the Deal with Ontology and Neo?

Ontology’s Trust Framework

Ontology’s Tokens

Tokenomics of Ontology

Where to Buy and Store ONT

Final Words

What is Electroneum?

History of Electroneum

How Does Electroneum Work?

The Electroneum Team

Coin Supply

Tokenomics of ETN

Where to Buy and Store Electroneum

Final Words

The Current State of Accounting And Blockchain’s Potential

Will Bitcoin Replace Accountants and Auditors?

Takeaway: Embrace and Win

How it works

The Oracle Problem

Types of Blockchain Oracles

Software Oracles

Hardware Oracles

Inbound and Outbound Oracles

Consensus-based Oracles

Conclusion

What’s VeChain?

History of VeChain

VeChain’s Team

VeChain’s VET and VTHO

Proof of Authority

The VeChain Foundation

Tokenomics of VET

Where to Buy VET

Final Words

How Blockchain can help

Real-world Applications of Blockchain in Journalism

Conclusion

Introduction

The Right Trading Mindset

Self-knowledge

Ego by a winning streak

Hopping when things go wrong

Losses are part of the business

Avoid Martingale position sizing

Trading systems could fail

Diversify the risk

Making Money by trading is a long road

The importance of a trading plan

A comfortable trading strategy

The importance of discipline

The Importance of Number Three

Conclusions

Suggested Readings

Introduction

Understanding XMR/USD

XMR/USD specifications

Spread

Fee

Example

Trading Range in XMR/USD

Procedure to assess ATR values

XMR/USD Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range