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Crypto Guides

Decentralized File Sharing – An Efficient Approach To File Transfers?

Introduction

An efficient file storage method, decentralized file-sharing uses multiple nodes to store files instead of using a single centralized server. With the growing complexities on the internet due to the increasing rate of web data and files communicating through HTTP, it has become highly essential to use an efficient method to store data. When the online traffic is increased, the volume of information to be transferred mounts up automatically. As a result, if we want to transfer large files, we will need more bandwidth.

What Are The Issues And How Decentralized File Sharing Helps?

Addressing all these issues, decentralized file sharing emerged as a robust solution. Torrenting was the best solution for sharing available to the general public. It is used to transfer larger audio or video files over the internet without getting hampered by the challenges of HTTP. However, there were some drawbacks to the file-sharing protocols wherein the volunteers can restrict the services and disable the nodes that can limit the transfer.

With the help of blockchain technology, the decentralized file-sharing networks can be made robust. With this file-sharing network, users are provided with incentives for their contribution. This helps in ensuring that there are enough nodes to fuel the network.

The Potentials of MultiChain File Sharing

Multichain refers to an open-source structure, which enables users to deploy private blockchain for any enterprise. MultiChain supports Mac, Linux, and Window servers and offers a streamlined API as well as Command Line Interface.

This framework addresses the issues of privacy, openness, and mining through integrated user permission management. MultiChain is essentially a permission-based private blockchain that allows nodes to join and form a network. By enabling teams to create a well-integrated and secure network, MultiChain facilitates an efficient way of file-sharing.

Security Levels of Blockchain File Sharing

In the blockchain, we get enhanced security in file sharing. This technology offers multiple levels of security, including:

  • AES key encryption with RSA enables file access to merely by the receiver. Even if the files are accessible at all blocks, only specific receivers will have access to the file.
  • Files of equal size are divided and encoded through Hex encoding, which proves to be a potential way of sending files in the streams (blocks).
  • This is the most vital, powerful, and the highest level of security. Blockchain network offers the highest level of security by ensuring the fact that a file transfer occurs when all the nodes approve it within the network.
  • All nodes can certainly see when a transaction is happening between the senders and receivers without interfering with the process. The security level offers a guarantee that merely legitimate files can be transferred via the network.

The Bottom Line

By harnessing the full potentials of decentralized file sharing, we can enjoy stress-less and efficient file transferring that is not dependent on the nodes. Blockchain technology is an emerging technology that can make the file sharing process streamlined and more efficient. The above mentioned were some key highlights of decentralized file-sharing that we need to understand.

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Crypto Guides

A Quick Introduction to Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)

Introduction

The blockchain technology has been in the industry for quite a while. Cryptocurrencies were the first ones to experience the taste of blockchain technology. As years passed, many technologies were being prototyped using blockchain. Then came Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Many blockchain geeks would already be aware of it, while the rest are still clueless about this concept though they’ve heard it. So, if you are still one of those who doesn’t understand DAO, then this article might help.

What is DAO?

The meaning of DAO lies in its name. DAO is an organization that is both decentralized and autonomous. Back then, it was only an idea but became practical with the assistance of blockchain.

As mentioned, DAOs are organizations that run in a decentralized and autonomous fashion. In other words, they operate without a centralized party that makes decisions. In fact, all the growth and profit are managed without any central authority. When it implemented via blockchain technology, they are bound to follow programmatic rules that are granted through consensus.

DAOs can, in fact, be related to mainstream companies, as both have predefined goals. However, the goals of mainstream companies can be altered and may not be enforced. But in the case of DAOs, the goals are digitally enforced, and hence no alteration is possible.

Let’s consider an example illustrated by Mike Hearn to visualize the concept of DAO. He objectified DAO to a driverless car that acts like a taxi. It charges the passengers as a rental. After the journey, the profits are used to fuel the car at the gas station. In the whole process, the car does not require any human effort to figure out what to do, as everything is programmed initially.

Key Features of DAO

The first feature is obviously the autonomous nature of DAO. This means that any outside forces cannot corrupt a deployed function. In addition, their open-source nature makes it transparent. This eliminates the doubt for a trusted third party. There are tokens of all transactions, which are used for rewarding. With the non-hierarchical structure of DAO, all the funding takes place only during development and is distributed equally.

The Reason of Existence

Apart from a predefined goal, DAOs contrast with other organizations. In the present world, every organization out there is centralized. So, the only reason for the existence of DAOs is to take advantage of a highly efficient, autonomous, and decentralized system of governance. If organizations work like the DAOs, then there would be no time wastage and effort from an intermediary to control the organization. Instead, all the work would be done by itself.

The Advantage Over Traditional Governance

Governance simply refers to the interaction between various entities based on specific rules and norms and on how they are regulated and structured. Every governance in a company follows a top-down approach. In such an approach, there arises issues and dilemmas. For example, an agent can make a decision with their own choice as a result would not affect them.

If the decision turns out to be risky for business and expensive, the one to suffer would be the principal (a higher position), not the agent from a lower position. But, with DAOs, the costs, as well as the principal-agent dilemma, would be reduced because DAOs utilize smart contracts and blockchain technology in its working.

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Crypto Guides

Beginners Guide To Atomic Swaps

Introduction

One of the features of cryptocurrencies is that they are decentralized. However, in reality, it is not completely decentralized. For the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies, the most popular option is to use a centralized exchange. Hence, adding an element of centralization in them.

Though this seems to be the best way to exchange cryptocurrencies, there are other better ways as well. This is because centralized exchanges sometimes possess big problems. There have cases where new exchanges have been hacked, which has caused losses for exchange and their clients. Moreover, the common issue with all exchanges is high withdrawal and trade fees. So, trading cryptos turns out to be expensive for clients with small capital.

Thus, the irony here is that cryptos that are known to be a peer-to-peer payment system requires users to go to a third party to exchange the coins. However, crypto analysts have taken this concern as a priority and have been able to come with something called “Atomic Swap.”

What is an Atomic Swap?

Atomic swaps are a solution to the above-discussed problem. Atomic Swap is a peer-to-peer exchange of cryptocurrency without the involvement of a middleman. If you are wondering what “atomic” means, it is a terminology used in computer science, meaning something would either completely happen or completely not.

Understanding Atomic Swaps

The main goal is to send someone cryptocurrency without the involvement of a third party. Let’s understand how the atomic swap makes this possible, with an example.

Assume Ron wants to send 1 Ether in exchange for 0.02 Bitcoins from Lisa. In atomic swap terms, we say that Ron has 1 ETH and wants to swap with Lisa for 0.02 BTC.

The key ingredient here is to create a smart contract called a hashlock. You may relate this to a container where the money is placed and is locked with a secret password.

How is the Hashlock made?

The hashlock, which is a smart contract that remains locked until the key is revealed, is made by Ron.

The hashlock is made using the following steps:

  1. A big random number is picked. It is called the primate. This is nothing but a secret password.
  2. This number is used to create another number called the A smart contract is created to send Lisa 1 ETH, locked with a hashlock created by him. This coin is accessible only when Lisa is able to figure out the preimage to the hash.

Note that calculating the hash from the preimage is easy, but determining the preimage from the hash is extremely challenging. In other words, Lisa cannot unlock the coins until she gets the preimage from Ron himself.

Role of Lisa

Now Lisa checks if she has received coins from Ron. This can be easily verified by checking on the public blockchain. After verification, Lisa creates a smart contract for 0.02 BTC with the same hash used by Ron.

Unlocking the coins

Now when Ron goes on to unlock the coins sent by Lisa, he uses the preimage he had created. But, in doing so, the preimage is recorded on the blockchain and becomes public information. Hence, Lisa can now use that preimage to unlock the coins sent by Ron.

Therefore, this completes the transaction without the involvement of a middleman.

This is a solution to the problem that exists in crypto exchanges. Since most users are still into exchanges, the idea of atomic swaps must be inculcated into exchanges and make them truly decentralized.

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Crypto Guides

What Should You Know About A Cryptocurrency Exchange?

Introduction

The cryptocurrency exchange is a place that allows trading cryptocurrencies through a trading platform. These are platforms where people can exchange one cryptocurrency for another one, and even for fiat currencies, for that matter. Their operation is very similar to a traditional financial exchange. The cryptocurrency exchange’s primary operation is to allow the buying and selling of digital assets as well as other assets (fiat currencies). Note that digital cryptocurrency (DCE) is another reference to a cryptocurrency exchange. These exchanges can be like a stock exchange or a currency exchange.

Cryptocurrency Exchange Explained

As mentioned, these exchanges are similar to traditional financial exchanges. To clearly understand this, we may bring out the differences between the crypto exchanges and the conventional exchanges. I a cryptocurrency exchange, buyers, and sellers trade based on the current market price of the cryptocurrencies. Here, exchanges play the role of the middleman. Just like on the stock market, there is some fee charged on each transaction.

Some exchanges deal only with cryptocurrencies, while others that deals with the exchange of both cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies. For example, in these exchanges, you can trade the US dollar for Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrencies are typically unstable in terms of value and sourcing. For instance, cryptos like Bitcoin have been under major dispute events where the value of Bitcoin changed dramatically in a very short time, or incidents where the major exchanges went down due to thefts and frauds.

Talking about the most popular and reliable exchanges, Coinbase’s GDAX (AKA Coinbase Pro) is an example of that. Also, there are exchanges run by third parties where there is a middleman, and  decentralized exchanges that mimic traditional exchanges like IDEX. In decentralized systems, trading is based on smart contracts and is not powered by a centralized third party system for the most of it. Trading with centralized exchanges will require a lot of information to be produced. However, they do allow the trading of fiat currencies. DEX exchanges, one the other hand, require lesser information but they do not allow exchanging of fiat currencies.

Classification of Cryptocurrency exchanges

Based on the exchange’s organizational hierarchy and overall controlling bodies, we can classify them as Centralized Exchanges and Decentralized Exchanges.

The Working Of A Centralized Cryptocurrency Exchange

Since these exchanges are centralized, they are run by a third-party or other organizations. More like a bank for exchanging fiat currencies. Here, the middleman takes control over whatever the assets are being traded on the network.

The Working Of A Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchange

A decentralized exchange (DAX) is a cryptocurrency exchange which operates without the existence of a third party, or a central authority. In simple terms, decentralized exchanges allow peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies. However, there have been signs that these exchanges have been suffering from low trading volumes and market volatility. And to solve this issue, protocols like 0X, Stellar, and Bitshares are being implemented.

Top Cryptocurrency Exchanges

There are several crypto exchanges to from, but not all have the features and technicalities. Below are the exchanges we have listed out by considering factors like user-friendliness, accessibility, security, and fees.

  • Coinbase
  • Kraken
  • Poloniex
  • Bitstamp
  • Coinmama
  • Bitsquare
  • Binance
  • Bitbuy.ca

These exchanges and many more are discussed in other articles, and you may find them here. So watch out this space for more great crypto content.

 

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Crypto Guides

Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) – The Back-end Of Decentralized Systems

Introduction

A distributed ledger or DLT is simply a database that exists across several locations or among various participants. But, in the case of centralized databases, it lives in a fixed location. A distributed ledger eliminates the need for a central authority or intermediary to validate or authenticate transactions. This property makes DLT a trending technology.

Technically speaking, DLT is a digital system for keeping track of transactions in which the transactions and its details are recorded in multiple places at the same time. Here, there is neither a central data storage system nor an administrating functionality. Each node in the distributed ledger processes and verifies each item and creates consensus on each item’s veracity. Also, transaction information is securely stored using cryptography that can be accessed using keys and cryptographic signatures.

Blockchain and DLT: Are they the same?

The most popular application of the distributed ledger is the Blockchain. However, blockchain and distributed ledgers are not the same. Blockchain is just a type of distributed ledger. Blockchain is basically a sequence of blocks, which is in a chain. But, distributed ledgers don’t really require a chain. Therefore, Blockchain is a bit different from the typically distributed ledger. So, note that all blockchains are distributed ledgers, but all distributed ledgers are not blockchains.

Benefits of Distributed ledger

  • The primary feature of DLT is itself a great advantage. A distributed ledger gives full control to the information and transaction to the users. This promotes absolute transparency.
  • Distributed ledgers such as Blockchain find great applications in financial transactions. They cut down operational inefficiencies, which ultimately reduces cost on transactions. Moreover, it provides greater security due to its decentralized nature.
  • DLT offers means to securely and efficiently create a tamper-proof log of activities. Be it international fund transfer or shareholders records, its security and efficiency are unmatchable.

Types of Distributed ledgers

Blockchain hit the headlines when Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, surged in the market. Several interesting developments were made in the past decade. However, due to systematic inefficiencies and scaling issues, developers were in search of new solutions outside the blockchain. This search led to the development of Holochain, Hashgraph, and Directed Acyclic Graph.

With the arrival of these solutions, which significantly differ from the blockchain technology, has brought discussions regarding which is the best. Below is a brief comparison of these different types of DLTs.

The use cases of DLT are tremendous. Here, we shall take into account the use cases across the industrial, financial, and consumer sectors.

  • Using Smart Contracts to streamline Industrial processes
  • Immutable ledgers enable more secure financial transactions
  • Blockchain Authentication for identity theft prevention

While the distributed ledger has great advantages, which can considerably affect the present technology, it is in a growing stage and is still being explored to bring the best out of it. However, the decentralized future has at least begun for real.

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Cryptocurrencies

Decentralized Financial Systems: What Are Their Benefits?

The current financial system is centralized. Currency is issued and regulated by governments or central banks. We also entrust our assets to finance firms so that we can get returns on savings. This translates to our financial systems being centralized. And therein lies the problem. Not only do centralized systems have a single point of failure, but they also comprise humans who are prone to making mistakes.

It also means many people are excluded from the financial system. For example, to qualify for a loan, one must have a bank account and a good credit score. And to have a bank account, a person must comply with the bank’s KYC procedures. For someone who doesn’t have the necessary KYC documents, it’s impossible to open a bank account and hence get access to banking services such as a credit card, savings account, loans, etc. 

In a centralized system, there is too much power in the hands of institutions, while a big chunk of people is excluded from financial services that would allow them to engage in activities of economic value. Also, entrusting our money in centralized financial institutions means we have very little say in how it is invested and handled – meaning there is no transparency.

So what can we do to solve the centralization problem? The solution is decentralized finance. Decentralized finance is an idea that has caught on, especially in the last couple of years. Crypto ‘purists’ are mainly responsible for pushing the concept into the fore, as they strive to accomplish ‘’Satoshi’s vision.” Bitcoin’s founder – Satoshi, had this as the very first line in the Bitcoin white paper: “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.”

In this article, we deconstruct decentralized finance, its inherent features, its defining principles, and the benefits that it could herald for the finance world. 

What is Decentralized Finance?

When we take away all the buzz, “decentralized finance” comes down to mean financial access for all, without the middlemen. It’s the idea of handing economic power back to the people.

It’s another application of blockchain technology that aims to expand financial services to more people. Decentralized finance includes digital assets, smart contracts, protocols, and decentralized applications built on public blockchains. After all, blockchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin are more than the driving technology of cryptocurrencies. They are open sources whose concept could change how the world economy works. 

The decentralized financial system movement has three core principles:

☑️Interoperability and Open Source – this means decentralized finance projects should be woven together on a technical level to strengthen their effects as a whole

☑️Accessibility and Financial Inclusion – this means the end goal is to have a financial system that’s accessible to at least everyone with internet connectivity, no matter their geographical location

☑️Financial transparency – this means that the market level of information of services is transparent to all participants while still preserving their privacy

Decentralized finance has six defining characteristics that set it apart from the private networks used by the traditional financial system:

  • Permissionless – this means anyone can connect to the network regardless of their social status or location
  • Decentralized – there is no central authority overseeing transactions. Records are kept simultaneously across numerous computers across the world
  • Trustless –  there is no need for a central authority to validate transactions as they are automatically validated
  • Transparent – all transactions are publicly available and auditable
  • Censorship resistant – interference by a central authority is not possible
  • Programmable – developers can code business logic into affordable financial services

Pros of a Decentralized Financial System

A decentralized financial system has a whole host of benefits that could change not only how we interact with money, but also improve the very premise that it originated from – namely cryptocurrency. The following are the advantages of decentralized finance:

Expanded financial access

With decentralized finance, anyone with a smartphone and internet connection has access to financial services. Currently, several barriers prevent a section of the world’s population from accessing financial services:

  • Status – lack of citizenship, identifying information, etc.
  • Wealth – high fees required to sign up for access to financial services
  • Location – long distances from financial service providers

A decentralized financial system equalizes finance such that a top financial trader at a global firm has the same access to financial services as a storekeeper in a remote area of Kazakhstan

Affordable Cross Border Payments

A decentralized financial system removes the need for costly intermediaries, making sending money to loved ones overseas more affordable.

In the current remittance system, there are too many intermediaries involved, making cross border payments too expensive. The current global remittance fee is roughly 7%. In a decentralized financial system, remittance fees could well be below 3%.

Improved Privacy and Security

In decentralized finance, individuals have full control and custody of their wealth. There are no intrusive KYC procedures, and transactions can take place without validation from a third party. This is unlike the current system where users’ wealth and personal information are stored in institutions where it is at risk.

Censorship-resistant

Decentralized finance has censorship-resistant financial products. Transactions are in unchangeable records, and the network cannot be shut off by governments or central banks at a whim. The decentralized finance system is entirely independent of existing legal or regulatory structures.

Simple to Use

A decentralized financial system would feature plug and play applications free of any complexity.

For example, a user in Morocco could receive a loan from India, invest in a business in the US, pay off their debt, etc., – all through interoperable applications.

Improving the Crypto Ecosystem

Decentralized finance solves several problems in the crypto ecosystem. Unlike many cryptocurrencies that grapple with scalability problems, decentralized finance payment products are helping in making micropayments fast, low-cost, and convenient. For example, decentralized exchanges are helping drive liquidity for the crypto market.

Driving Innovation

Decentralized finance helps to drive innovation. People can create financial products whose rules will be coded in a smart contract, and offer them to the world. This leads to not only diversified financial products suitable for different financial needs but also more improved ones as developers compete to unleash the next superior product.

New Forms of Value

Decentralized finance products also contribute to the crypto ecosystem by creating new forms of value and expanding the original idea of cryptocurrencies. Thus, a decentralized financial system helps the crypto ecosystem expand and diversify – all for the benefit of users.

Conclusion

Decentralized finance is an exciting idea and one that could finally equalize financial services. What the internet has done for information could be what decentralized finance does for the global financial system. With rapid developments like digital assets, smart contracts, decentralized exchanges, etc., Satoshi’s vision may very well be an idea whose time has come.

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Forex Course

19. Decentralized Forex market and its hierarchy

Introduction

It is a known fact that the forex market is the market for trading currencies, and the stock market is for trading shares of a company. This being the major difference between the two, there is another significant difference you must know. The stock market is fully centralized, while the forex market is decentralized. In this lesson, let us discuss how different a decentralized market is to a centralized one. Apart from that, let us also understand the structure of the forex market.

The Centralized Market

In a centralized market (stock market), there exists an intermediary between the buyer and seller to trade in the market. There is an entity called the central exchange, which facilitates the transactions between the two parties. In the present day, ECNs on stock markets have brought this to an end as they connect both the parties directly, which ensures the bid and ask prices are unified. Also, the competition between ECNs and direct traders tighten spreads and increments the available volume, making harder the manipulation of the prices.

The Decentralized Market

In a decentralized market, there is no concept of centralized exchanges. With the absence of a central intermediary, there is direct trading between buyers and sellers among top institutions. However, by default, retail traders will have to approach a broker to facilitate their transactions. Depending on the liquidity provider, the quotes of the currencies typically vary from broker to broker. That makes accounts open on non-ECN brokers suitable for price and spread manipulation. There is a possibility that a retail trader won’t be guaranteed the real bid and ask prices in the market. However, though there is manipulation, the volume of traders in the forex market is much higher when compared to the stock market. This could be due to the fact that the leverage in the forex market is considerably higher than the stock market.

Hierarchy of the forex market

Banks and retail traders are not the only ones who contribute to the Forex Market. In fact, there is a linear organization in the contributors to the forex. The hierarchy for the same is given below based on their significance in the market.

  • Major Banks ( Central banks + Top Commercial Banks)
  • Electronic broking services (EBS) | Reuters dealing
  • Medium-sized banks and small-sized banks
  • Hedge funds and commercial companies | retail ECNs
  • Retail traders

From the above hierarchy, it is clear that the major banks are the largest contributors in the market. Major Banks consist of the largest banks around the world. The uniqueness of the major banks is that they trade directly with each other or via the EBSs or the Reuters dealing. Hence, it is also referred to as the interbank market. And this interbank market includes the medium-sized banks as well as the small-sized banks.

Next up in the line come the hedge funds, commercial companies, and retail ECNs. These sets of traders don’t make the transactions with the interbank market, but, instead, they get it done via commercial banks. Typically, the quotes offered here are much higher than that of the interbank market.

Finally, last up in the line stand the retail traders. Retail traders are the ones who place their trades via forex brokers. The number of traders in this hierarchy is extremely high. However, when it comes to the volume they trade, it is significantly lesser when compared to banks and hedge funds. Back in the day, it was not possible for small retail traders to enter the market. But, nowadays, anyone can trade the Forex market by depositing as low as $100 into their account.

Hence, this completes the lesson on the forex market hierarchy. In the following lesson, we shall take this topic forward by as we’ll be covering the different types of players in the forex market in detail.

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Crypto Guides

Why Do We Need Cryptocurrencies? What Is Their Purpose?

Introduction

Cryptocurrencies are digital tokens used in the place of conventional fiat currency for the exchange of goods and services. The digital tokens are generated and regulated using encryption techniques called cryptographic hash functions, ensuring security and anonymity.

Why do we need cryptocurrency?

We are living in the digital era, where everything around us is changing swiftly. Not only our phones are smart now, but also our homes. We can speak and see people using video calls at a very cheap rate now. With virtual reality, we can create a different world around us by sitting on a couch. All of these weren’t even possible just a decade ago. But technological innovation has bought us to where we are today. We are amid the fourth industrial revolution today, which fundamentally changes the way we live, work, and relate to each other. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Blockchain technologies pave the way for the same. Hence came the age of digital currencies, and they are transforming the way we transact with each other throughout the world.

Let us see in a particular way below on how cryptocurrencies can solve the problems that our traditional fiat currencies cannot solve.

Fraudulent currency

Cryptocurrencies solve the issue of fraudulent currencies. As they are generated and regulated using cryptographic hashing techniques, it is highly impossible to create counterfeit currencies. They are not being minted to create a hard copy of the same type with the same feature. These digital tokens are stored in the blockchain platform, where there is no worry of duplicity.

Double spending

The concept of digital currencies was there even before Bitcoin, but they couldn’t be attained in reality. The obstacle was the double-spending. A digital asset shouldn’t be spent twice to different persons at the same time. Today’s cryptocurrencies operate on blockchain technology. Blockchain technology effectively deals with the double-spending problem as there is a validation procedure involved using a consensus mechanism.

Transferring funds

We can transfer vast amounts of funds to any country around the world in less than 10 minutes. There is no limit to the transaction. The transaction fees are low when we compare with the traditional transaction charges. It takes around 3 to 5 days when we transact using a fiat currency of that size. Taking this much time is not efficient in this age of digital, and cryptocurrencies came to the rescue.

Decentralized network

Cryptocurrencies are generated in a decentralized network without any central bank controlling the system. Since there is no one controlling it, the currency will be stable if the credibility and maintenance of the system are good.

Bottom line

It is time for us to at least try using these cryptocurrencies. Traditional currencies are not going anywhere in the near future, but some credible cryptos are already proving their purpose by solving the problems that fiat currencies couldn’t solve.  Governments have also recognized the huge benefits that these currencies offer and are making or changing laws to favor cryptocurrencies. Not many governments have regulated these digital tokens yet, but the move has started.