Tag: Education

Categories
Crypto Videos

Crypto Mining With Renewable Energy Part 2!

https://youtu.be/aVLnMDP2LF0

https://youtu.be/aVLnMDP2LF0

Crypto Mining and Renewable Energy Part 2 – Renewable Energy Producers

En+ Group, the world’s largest producer of low-carbon aluminum as well as the largest private-sector hydropower generator, has entered its first crypto mining venture.
The new venture, named Bit+, will focus on creating crypto mining facilities that utilize alternative energy sources and have a low carbon footprint.

En+ Group has partnered with Bit+, a subsidiary to the Russian company BitRiver. BitRiver provides hosting services as well as turnkey solutions for institutional and large-scale crypto mining operations.

BitRiver is currently operating the largest data center offering colocation services for Bitcoin mining in Russia. It offers similar services across the country as well as to CIS neighbors.
The first effect of the venture Bit+ made is the installation of a brand new facility close to BitRiver’s existing data center in Bratsk, which is located in the Irkutsk region of Russia. En+ Group has committed 10MegaWatts of electricity to the facility, which is already operational and is composed of modular crypto-mining units. The two companies have plans to scale this facility’s capacity to roughly 40MegaWatts.
The facility is composed of 14 modular units for its initial phase. Each of the units is a converted shipping container as large as a full-scale cryptocurrency mining data center. Each unit should accommodate up to 400 of Bitmain’s S19 Pro miner devices.

En+ Group provided some context regarding how they chose the Irkutsk region and how this region is extremely viable for lower-carbon solutions to cryptocurrency mining in the recent statement:
“Our energy assets in the region produce low-carbon, as well as inexpensive electricity from renewable sources. We are able to offer a surplus of energy to these partnerships. On top of that, the low average annual temperature of the region reduces the energy required, making the process more efficient and further decreasing the carbon footprint.”
As we said in our previous article on renewable energy, high energy consumption remains a major Achilles’ heel for the crypto sector, particularly for proof of work consensus algorithms such as the one Bitcoin has.

Several energy experts have attempted to steer the debate on Bitcoin’s energy problems to another topic. Instead, they have tried to argue that it is extremely important where that energy is produced and how it is generated. They have argued that it is most important to make sure that less harmful choices are made when picking the source of power rather than to argue the whole premise of the whole proof of work consensus algorithm.
With financial and geopolitical forces now entering the sector, it remains to be seen how far renewable energy will improve Bitcoin’s standing if this slow but certain change will be enough to make the mining sector truly sustainable.

Categories
Forex Assets

AUD/TWD – What Should You Know Before Trading This Exotic Pair

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

The AUD/TWD is an exotic currency pair with the AUD representing the Australian Dollar, and the TWD is the Taiwan Dollar. Such exotic pairs experience high volatility in the forex market. In this pair, the AUD is the base currency, while the TWD is the quote currency. That means that the exchange rate of the AUD/TWD is the amount of TWD that can be bought by 1 AUD. If the exchange rate of the AUD/TWD pair is 20.091, it means that you can exchange 20.091 TWD for 1 AUD.

AUD/TWD Specification

Spread

The spread in forex trading represents the difference between the price at which you can buy a currency pair when going long and the price at which you can sell the pair when going short. The spread for the AUD/TWD pair is – ECN: 24 pips | STP: 29 pips

Fees

Holders of ECN type accounts are typically charged a fee for every position they open. This fee depends on the size of the positions and the broker. Traders with STP accounts usually don’t get charged trading fees.

Slippage

If your broker delays executing your trade or if the market is highly volatile, you will notice a difference between the price you placed on your order and the execution price. This difference is slippage.

Trading Range in the AUD/TWD Pair

When trading forex, you will notice that a currency pair fluctuates over time. The trading range shows the minimum, average, and maximum variation in pips over different timeframes. By analysis of the trading range, we can determine the potential profit from trading a particular pair across various timeframes.

The Procedure to assess Pip Ranges

  1. Add the ATR indicator to your chart
  2. Set the period to 1
  3. Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
  4. Shrink the chart so you can determine a larger period
  5. Select your desired timeframe
  6. Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
  7. Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
  8. Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

AUD/TWD Cost as a Percentage of the Trading Range

To establish the Percentage of the trading range for CAD/TWD, we will express the total trading costs for both ECN and STP accounts as a percentage of the trading range above. This analysis will show us the true costs of trading the AUD/TWD pair across different timeframes, which will aid in determining the best timeframe to trade.

ECN Model Account costs

Spread = 24 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 1 | Total cost = 27

STP Model Account

Spread = 29 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 0 | Total cost = 31

The Ideal Timeframe to Trade  AUD/TWD Pair

From this analysis, we can tell that as the timeframe becomes longer, the trading costs become lower. For both accounts, the highest trading costs are at the 1H timeframe, which coincides with the lowest volatility of 2.7 pips. The lowest trading costs are at the 1-month timeframe coinciding with when volatility is highest at 256.8 pips.

Overall, we can also notice that the trading costs reduce when volatility changes from minimum to maximum across all timeframes. Therefore, traders of the AUD/TWD pair can reduce their trading costs by trading longer timeframes or trading when volatility approaches maximum. Furthermore, using forex limit order types can remove slippage costs.

Here’s an example.

ECN Account Using Limit Model Account

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading fee

= 0 + 24 + 1 = 25

When the slippage costs are eliminated, the trading costs for the AUD/TWD pair drop. In this case, the highest cost dropped from 457.63% to 423.73%.

Categories
Forex Videos

USDCHF Sinks To Multi Year Lows Below 0.9000! What Should Be Your Next Move?

https://youtu.be/wxoxot8rkZA

https://youtu.be/wxoxot8rkZA

USDCHF sinks to multi-year lows below 0.9000. Where next?

Thank you for joining this forex academy educational video.

In this session, we will be looking at the USDCHF pair, which sank to a fresh low on Friday 6th November.

On this one-hour chart of the pair, we can see that on the 2nd of November, it had rallied to a high of 0.9207, before moving lower and where the market became extremely volatile on the 4th of November, but where the pair failed to re-establish itself at the previous high of just two days earlier. The size of the bars which have been highlighted can only mean that extra volume and volatility had crept in, and all of these moves can be associated with the lead up to and just after the US presidential election.
On Friday the 6th of November, the pair had moved over 200 pips lower to find support at 0.8982, a multi-year low, before recovering to the key 0.900 level.

In fact, we would need to go back to April 2014, which was the last time the pair had been so low. And much of this can be attributed to the strength of the Swiss franc, which is bought as a safe-haven asset by investors around the world who see value In the Swiss economy overall.
Although the chart is a monthly one, the huge swing in the price range of over 3000 pips in August 2014 worried institutional investors and traders, and that, ….

coupled with the Swiss National Bank’s abandonment of its cap on the Euro of 1.20 francs, which in January 2015 saw the EURCHF pair collapse to 0.8052 with some brokers, before recovering ground eventually to 1.04. Many traders were ruined by the unexpected move, and firms, including the Forex broker Alpari, went broke.
The Swiss National Bank has publicly stated on many occasions that it would defend the Swiss franc against strengthening with other currencies, especially the euro and the United States dollar because a strong Swiss franc means that exports become expensive and makes the country less competitive and that this is bad for the Swiss economy.
They either intervene to sell their currency or threatened to do so, and that coupled with the huge swings in price action which we have just shown you mean only one thing; traders are extremely cautious about trading the franc, which is prone to spikes, and shock moves caused by the Swiss National Bank intervening in the money markets.
That, however, has not stopped the Swiss franc being bought during this extremely volatile time, which has largely been brought about by the covid pandemic, where economies such as the United States and Europe have been badly affected, and of course, the current theme around the United States presidential election which has been the impetus for the push below 0.900 for the USDCHF pair.

This is certainly one pair to trade with tight stops and where the bias to the downside remains for the foreseeable future.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

USDX Wallet review 2020: How Safe is The USDX Wallet?

USDX wallet is a multi-coin storage vault and the official wallet for the USDX stable coin and the Lighthouse (LHT) Coin. It was developed by the Lighthouse Blockchain Technology GmbH company and introduced to the crypto world in 2017. According to the wallet developers, USDX is specially designed and dedicated to providing users with a platform that they could use to secure and process crypto payments at “lightning-fast” speeds while maintaining zero fees. They add that the innovativeness level that went into designing and coming up with the USDX wallet is aimed at transpassing the current restrictions (banks, borders, and fees) set by both traditional and digital payments platforms.

USDX Crypto wallet
USDX Crypto wallet

USDX wallet is a multi-coin storage vault and the official wallet for the USDX stable coin and the Lighthouse (LHT) Coin. It was developed by the Lighthouse Blockchain Technology GmbH company and introduced to the crypto world in 2017. According to the wallet developers, USDX is specially designed and dedicated to providing users with a platform that they could use to secure and process crypto payments at “lightning-fast” speeds while maintaining zero fees. They add that the innovativeness level that went into designing and coming up with the USDX wallet is aimed at transpassing the current restrictions (banks, borders, and fees) set by both traditional and digital payments platforms.

USDX wallet is a multi-coin storage vault and the official wallet for the USDX stable coin and the Lighthouse (LHT) Coin. It was developed by the Lighthouse Blockchain Technology GmbH company and introduced to the crypto world in 2017. According to the wallet developers, USDX is specially designed and dedicated to providing users with a platform that they could use to secure and process crypto payments at “lightning-fast” speeds while maintaining zero fees. They add that the innovativeness level that went into designing and coming up with the USDX wallet is aimed at transpassing the current restrictions (banks, borders, and fees) set by both traditional and digital payments platforms.

But how does the USDX wallet hope to solve this? How does it work? We answer these questions and tell you everything else you need to know about the USDX wallet in this user review. We will especially look at its key features, the security features in place, and outline the step-by-step guide on how to interact with the wallet.

USDX Wallet key features:

Mobile wallet: USDX wallet is purely a mobile app available for the Android and iOS operating systems.

Fee-free transactions: One of the USDX wallet’s biggest selling points is the fee-free transaction processing approach. The wallet doesn’t impose the transaction fee when you send USDX Stablecoins or LHT tokens from your USDX wallet to other wallets or exchanges.

Lightning-fast transaction processing: The ultrafast transaction processing and confirmation for both transfers to other wallets and cash withdrawals are another selling point for the wallet. According to the USDX wallet website, their servers can process 100,000+ transactions per second. This is more than the combined transaction processing speeds for Visa and MasterCard.

In-built exchange: USDX wallet integrates Alterdice Exchange that provides you with a platform for selling, buying, and exchanging cryptos and tokens without leaving USDX. The transaction processing speeds are fast and maintain highly competitive fees.

Portfolio tracker: On the USDX wallet’s user interface are the transaction history and balance buttons that you can use to view your recent crypto inflows and outflows as well as the value of your digital assets in real-time.

Charting tools: The third party wallet integrated into the USDX wallet – Alterdice Exchange – features market analysis and charting tools. These come in handy in tracking the value of different crypto coins and determining the best buy and sell points.

Address book: USDX wallet’s versatility makes it possible for users to send altcoins to phone numbers, QR codes, and wallet addresses. And by integrating your phone’s contact list in the featured address book simplifies the process of sending funds to a phone number while avoiding such threats as pastejacking.

USDX Wallet security features:

Password + Biometrics: The USDX wallet is secured with a PIN code that you create during app installation and user account creation. You are also free to boost this app security feature further by adding such biometrics as the Face or Fingerprint I.D on compatible devices.

Two-factor authentication: All outbound transfers to other wallets or exchanges must be subjected to two-factor authentication. You will need a phone number, email address, the Google Authenticator app to receive the transaction authorization codes.

Hierarchically deterministic: USDX wallet uses the hierarchically deterministic functionality to auto-generates a new wallet address every time you initiate a crypto transaction, effectively masking your real wallet address.

Enterprise-grade encryption: Your USDX wallet embraces enterprise-grade technologies in encrypting your user data. All of the wallet communications with the Lighthouse Company servers and all other third systems, especially the third party exchange and wallets, are also highly encrypted.

How to activate/setup the USDX Wallet

Step 1: Download the USDX wallet compatible with your device on either Google Play Store or Apple App Store

Step 2: Install and launch the wallet. Since you are new to USDX, choose to create a new wallet.

Step 3: Choose a unique name for your USDX wallet

Step 4: Create a strong and unique multicharacter password (with a minimum of 10 characters) for the wallet.

Step 5: Create and confirm a 4-digit PIN code for securing the app

Step 6:  Enter and verify your phone number using the confirmation code received

Step 7: Your account is now active and ready to use

Step 8: Log in to your new wallet and use the settings tab to personalize it by activating two-factor authentication and backing up your private keys

How to add/ receive Crypto into USDX Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your USDX wallet and hit “Receive” on the user dashboard

Step 2: The wallet will display the wallet address and its QR code. Copy either and forward it to the person sending you crypto

Step 3: Alternatively, hit the “Buy” button to buy from Alterdice exchange

Step 4: Follow the prompts to make your purchase.

How to send crypto from USDX Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your USDX wallet and hit the “Send” icon on the user dashboard.

Step 2: If you have multiple coins hosted therein, select the cryptocurrency you want to send

Step 3: On the transfer window that pops up, enter the receiving wallet address or choose to scan their QR code

Step 4: Enter the amounts you wish to send

Step 5: Check the accuracy of these transaction details and confirm the transfer

USDX Wallet ease of use:

USDX wallet incorporates several highly effective functional features that make it highly intuitive and beginner-friendly. It, for instance, integrates an inbuilt exchange that eases the process of buying and exchanging cryptos. But more importantly, it maintains a clean and easily navigable user interface.

It will also take you less than two minutes to activate the wallet and create a user account. Similarly, the processes of sending and receiving cryptocurrencies in and out of the wallet are easy and straightforward.

USDX Wallet supported currencies:

USDX Wallet currently supports two cryptocurrencies; the USDX stable coin and the LHT coin. However, you can exchange either of these with virtually any other crypto or token, as well as a few fiat currencies on the integrated Alterdice exchange.

USDX Wallet cost and fees:

Downloading and depositing funds into the wallet is free. Crypto transfers involving the USDX stable coin are also free.

USDX Wallet customer support:

Lighthouse Blockchain Technology maintains a responsive customer support team for the USDX wallet. You can start by consulting the elaborate FAQ page for troubleshooting tips and guides on how to interact with the different wallet features.

However, personalized queries should be directed to the automated Telegram assistant bots or the wallet developers on the wallet’s official social media pages.

What are the pros and cons of using USDX Wallet?

Pros:

  • Sending USDX coins from the wallet is free.
  • Translation processing on USDX Wallet is lightning fast.
  • It embraces highly effective security measures like 2FA.
  • Creating an account and activating the user account is easy and straightforward.

Cons:

  • It supports a too limited number of coins.
  • USDX doesn’t support anonymous user registration.
  • Only USDX coins are exempt from transaction processing fees.

Comparing USDX Wallet with other crypto wallets

USDX Wallet vs. eToro wallet

USDX and eToro wallets are both highly advanced cryptocurrency wallets. Some of the common features between the two include the integration of a crypto exchange and some highly advanced security features like two-factor authentication and enterprise-grade encryption. More importantly, they both maintain highly responsive customer support teams.

But they also differ significantly on how they operate and their mission. For instance, while eToro’s crypto wallet is ideally meant to help the online broker’s investment vehicles, USDX seeks to be the world’s leading payment processor.

Verdict: Is USDX Wallet safe and easy to use?

Well, activating the USDX wallet and creating a user account takes no more than a few minutes. The wallet then embraces a clean, easily navigable, and beginner-friendly user interface. But irrespective of embracing some highly effective safety and privacy measures like making two-factor authentication default and enterprise-grade encryption, USDX wallets are yet to overcome some security challenges. It is a hot wallet, which exposes it to the inherent threats facing online mobile apps and web wallets.

 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

BTC/USD Weekly Chart Overview + Possible Outcomes

In this weekly BTC/USD analysis, we will be taking a brief look at the most recent events, the current chart technical formations, as well as the possible BTC price outcomes.

In this weekly BTC/USD analysis, we will be taking a brief look at the most recent events, the current chart technical formations, as well as the possible BTC price outcomes.

In this weekly BTC/USD analysis, we will be taking a brief look at the most recent events, the current chart technical formations, as well as the possible BTC price outcomes.

Overview

Bitcoin has spent the week building an ascending channel that took its price from the $14,640 level all the way to $16,500. However, the new levels are mostly unexplored (apart from the late 2017 mini-bubble), and people that already invested in Bitcoin are either holding or taking profits, while new investors are wary of entering due to the price reaching this high. This left Bitcoin with a lot of people holding, a minority taking profit, and even a smaller minority wanting to buy it at $16,500 at the moment, which triggered a pullback. This doesn’t mean that $16,500 is an overestimate of Bitcoin’s worth, but rather that the economic uncertainty around the new US presidency, an unstable stock market as well as regulatory bodies honing in on crypto are all factors in the current minor pullback.

Our previous weekly analysis has predicted the price increase to $16,500 as well as the pullback. This doesn’t mean that the bull season has ended or that bears have taken over for good, but rather that BTC entered a healthy correction phase before establishing a new price target.

Technical factors



Bitcoin has continued moving along the ascending channel started on Nov 7 and gaining in value up until the $16,500 resistance level that we called out. This level has triggered a pullback as BTC could not pass the zone of resistance. While the pullback was mostly sideways and slow, a confirmation of a real pullback happening occurred on Nov 14, when Bitcoin dropped out of the ascending channel as well as below the $16,000 psychological level.

While Bitcoin’s sentiment is extremely bullish overall, its short-term overview points to a pullback that will most likely end at the zone of support near the $15,480 level.

The hash ribbons indicator is still showing miner capitulation (ever since Oct 29), sending out a major buy signal.

Likely Outcomes

Bitcoin has one main scenario that is most likely to play out, which is its price continuing down towards the $15,480 area where it will encounter strong support, which will most likely stop it from going further down. If this happens and Bitcoin does bounce off of the $15,480 area, we may expect another push towards the recently-made highs. In this case, traders should have a clear path towards $16,500 again, and they should pay attention to BTC, possibly making a double top at its most recent high rather than surpassing the level.

A move that will end up below $15,480 is highly unlikely, simply due to the overall sentiment currently surrounding Bitcoin. However, as unlikely as it is, anything is possible, and Bitcoin might fall below the support level. In that case, traders can expect a sharp price decrease and a possible push towards the $14,640.

Categories
Forex Elliott Wave Forex Market Analysis

Is GBPUSD Ready for a New Decline?

Overview

Overview

Overview

The GBPUSD pair advances in an incomplete bearish corrective formation that corresponds to a wave B of Minor degree. In this context, the completion of wave B could lead to a new decline, which could drag the price below Septembers’ low.

Market Sentiment

The GBPUSD pair suffered another drop for the second day in a row, falling from the extreme bullish to a bullish sentiment zone, where it found support in the psychological barrier of level 1.31.

The following daily chart illustrates the 90-day high and low range, revealing the mid-term market participant’s sentiment. The figure shows the price action moving mostly sideways in a range that oscillates between the bearish and bullish sentiment zones; that is, between 1.27204 and 1.32289.

Furthermore, the 60-day weighted moving average is seen moving below the Pound’s price, which confirms the short-term bullish bias that carries the price.

Considering the indecision, the cable is exhibiting since last August. The intraday bias will stay neutral until the GBPUSD pair confirms its next movement, for example, through a breakout.

Technical Overview

The GBPUSD price reveals a yearly long-tailed candlestick that suggests the price will continue being dominated by the upward bias. As exposed in the following 2-day chart, the Pound erased the first 2020 quarter losses that reached up to 13.89%. The cable currently eases 0.67%(YTD).

The big picture of GBPUSD and under the Dow Theory unfolded in the next daily chart illustrates the cable developing a primary upward trend in progress, which currently could be forming a corrective secondary trend.

In this context, according to Dow Theory, the price retraced below 33% of the first upward movement, which accomplishes with the minimum requirement for a correction of the previous move of a similar level.

Nevertheless, considering that the price remains in a short-term downward trend, the price could continue developing a new bearish sequence.

Short-term Technical Outlook

The short-term Elliott wave outlook for GBPUSD unfolded in its 8-hour chart reveals the corrective rally that corresponds to an incomplete wave B of Minor degree identified in green, which leads us to expect a decline in a five-wave sequence for the following trading sessions.

 

The previous chart exposes a corrective structural series that began on September 01st when the price found fresh sellers at 1.34832 and dragged the cable until 1.26751 on September 23rd, where the pound started to advance in its wave B that remains in progress. 

In this regard, the current upward movement could find resistance in the first supply zone between 1.32069 and 1.32280. If the price extends its previous progression, creating a bull trap, it could climb until 1.33195. There, the price could start to decline in a five-wave sequence corresponding to wave C identified in green.

The potential next wave C could extend until the demand zone between 1.25658 and 1.24796, which corresponds with the mid-term descending channel’s base.

Finally, the bearish scenario’s invalidation level locates at 1.34832, which agrees with the origin of wave A in green. Nevertheless, before positioning on the downward side, the GBPUSD pair should confirm (or discard) the bearish entry. 

 

Categories
Forex Course

173. How To Trade Using Three Different Trading Timeframes?

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Our previous lesson covered how to use multiple timeframe analysis to find better entry and exit points. Timeframes in forex trading can be categorised into three: long timeframe, intermediate timeframe, and short timeframe. This lesson will illustrate how you can trade with three timeframes depending on the type of forex trader you are.

Depending on your forex trading style, the long timeframe is used to determine the prevailing market trend; the intermediate timeframe used to show the consistency of the observed trend, while the short timeframe used to determine the best entry and exit points for a trade.

Long Timeframes in Forex

The long timeframes are used to establish the prevailing primary trend of a currency pair. Depending on the trading style, the long timeframes in forex ranges from a 30-minute timeframe to a 1-month timeframe.

Day trader long timeframe: 1-hour GBP/USD chart

For a forex day trader, a 1-hour timeframe shows the prevailing and dominant downtrend in the GBP/USD pair. Using this timeframe, you can establish support and resistance levels.

Intermediate timeframes in Forex

These timeframes are used to establish the current market trend. The intermediate timeframe in forex helps you to determine the magnitude of the trend observed with the long timeframe. It is expected to see more price fluctuations when using this timeframe, but the general trend should align with the long timeframe.

Day trader intermediate timeframe: 30-minute GBP/USD chart

As can be seen, the price pullbacks are more visible using the intermediate timeframe. The price fluctuations are more pronounced as you can see how the primary trend observed with the long timeframe is broken down.

Shorter timeframes in Forex

Depending on your forex trading style, the shorter timeframes show the most current and shorter changes in the price movements.

The shorter timeframes are used to determine the best entry and exit points of a trade. With shorter timeframes, you can quickly establish whether the price has reached the support and resistance levels.

Day trader shorter timeframe: 15-minute GBP/USD chart

Using the 15-minute timeframe, the day trader can quickly establish the entry positions for shorting the EUR/USD when the price bounces from the resistance levels.

Trading three timeframes helps you establish the dominant trend, narrow this trend down while determining its magnitude, and finally establish the best entry and exit points.

[wp_quiz id=”89198″]
Categories
Forex Videos

Forex Forecast – EURUSD Approaching Resistance – Buyers Beware!

https://youtu.be/sFr3Oj_ly5E

https://youtu.be/sFr3Oj_ly5E

 

EURUSD approaching resistance – buyers beware!

 

Thank you for joining this forex academy educational video.
In this session, we will be looking at the EURUSD pair, which has found a recent bid tone at the time of writing and is approaching a significant area of resistance.

In this monthly chart, we can see the overall declining price action, which has been conforming to the trendlines from December 2007, where price reached a heady high of over 1.600 against the US Dollar, to a low in January 2017 of 1.0350. That’s quite a fall.

The continuation with the rejection of the declining resistance line and a failure at position A of price action to continue down to the support line gave rise to a lack of institutional sized sellers and a shallower support line forming around position B until price action reverted to the resistance line, where it eventually breached it at position C. This shows that institutional size traders were finding the Euro attractive than the US dollar at around the time of the Covid pandemic seriously affecting the United States economy, while the Europeans got to grips with the pandemic in terms of financial relief packages for EU citizens and businesses.
The big test for institutional size traders is whether or not this is just a breach and that price action will move back inside the channel to retest the shallower support line at position B or if there is a sustained move higher, which will be a failing of the monthly trend.

In this chart, we have reduced the monthly candlesticks to a daily chart to try and identify the section of price action which has been going on since the monthly resistant line was breached in order to try and ascertain where the levels are where we might find further resistance and which might cause price action to revert back into to the monthly channel or to try and identify if the price action will continue outside of that trend and form a new bid trend.

In this chart of the daily time frame, we have identified a clear area of resistance at around 1.1950, followed by a period of support at around 1.1717, which eventually is breached to just above 1.1600, only for price action to find support here and move higher.
Price action has currently reached a double top formation, and with the original area of resistance only around 50 pips above it, the next test will be to see if the price action will continue up to the resistance line, then move above it, fall back to it and where that then becomes an area of support – such as our hypothetical arrows – and that price action will conform a continuation to the upside and the end of the monthly bear channel.

Conversely, should price action move back below the support line, and then back up to it, and fall lower and where they support line becomes an area of resistance, again – such as our hypothetical arrows – this will tell institutional traders that the breach of the monthly trend may see price action fall back in line with the bear trend.

New traders are advised to look at the longer-term trading picture, such as the daily and monthly charts because this is where the swing traders look for trading ideas, and this includes institutional size investors, and these types of traders have big money to play with, which will have a major impact on price direction in the forex market.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

StakedWallet Review: Is Stakedwallet Legit Or Another Ponzi Scheme?

Stakedwallet is a DeFi-focused crypto project that provides you with a platform where you can securely store your digital assets and earn guaranteed interest. It is a highly innovative cryptocurrency wallet that integrates several operational and security features. And they all are aimed at ensuring the wallet is highly secure and easy to use. It works by providing wallet users with an opportunity to stake their cryptocurrencies and earn a fixed daily interest. The interest is deposited to your account daily, and the percentage earning for your staked assets is largely dependent on how long you have kept your funds on the platform.

Stakedwallet is a DeFi-focused crypto project that provides you with a platform where you can securely store your digital assets and earn guaranteed interest. It is a highly innovative cryptocurrency wallet that integrates several operational and security features. And they all are aimed at ensuring the wallet is highly secure and easy to use. It works by providing wallet users with an opportunity to stake their cryptocurrencies and earn a fixed daily interest. The interest is deposited to your account daily, and the percentage earning for your staked assets is largely dependent on how long you have kept your funds on the platform.

Stakedwallet is a DeFi-focused crypto project that provides you with a platform where you can securely store your digital assets and earn guaranteed interest. It is a highly innovative cryptocurrency wallet that integrates several operational and security features. And they all are aimed at ensuring the wallet is highly secure and easy to use. It works by providing wallet users with an opportunity to stake their cryptocurrencies and earn a fixed daily interest. The interest is deposited to your account daily, and the percentage earning for your staked assets is largely dependent on how long you have kept your funds on the platform.

A debate that questions the legitimacy of Stakedwallet has emerged online, especially on Reddit. Some crypto community members are now advising caution when dealing with the wallet, while others call it out as an outright Ponzi scheme designed to swindle naive crypto-enthusiasts.

In this Stakedwallet review, we will be vetting this passive income-generating platform cum crypto wallet to determine if it indeed is a secure crypto vault or another Ponzi scheme. And to achieve this, we detail all its features, a step-by-step guide on activating and using the wallet, check its ease of use and supported currencies, and compare it to other crypto wallets.

StakedWallet key features:

Cross-platform: Stakedwallet is a cross-platform crypto vault available as both a mobile wallet and a web wallet. Both the web wallet and the website associated with Stakedwallet are, however, inaccessible at the moment.

Inbuilt exchange: Within the StakedWallet user dashboard is the exchange icon that gives you access to the platform’s crypto exchange. You can use it to convert one supported crypto to another at a fraction of the cost charged by most other third-party exchanges.

Stake and Earn: You get to earn by engaging in the proof of stake programs offered by most blockchains networks and protocols through Stakedwallet. You can also earn by completing the numerous tasks on the platform, like inviting your friends and acquaintances to join the platform through its referral program. And for every successful referral, you earn SWL Tokens that you can then convert to any of the supported cryptocurrencies on the inbuilt exchange.

Multi-blockchain: Staked wallet is unlike most DeFi-focused crypto wallets that will only support Ethereum based DeFi apps and protocols. It supports a wide range of altcoins drawn from different Blockchains, including Bitcoin.

Portfolio/Income tracker: Stakedwallet integrates the “My Statistics” tool that you can use to monitor your crypto portfolio and earning trends. It is an automated tool that displays your crypto balances in real-time, transaction history to help you understand inflows and outflows, and the earning trend for all your staked coins on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis.

StakedWallet security features:

Password: Like most other crypto storage vaults, Stakedwlalet is secured with a multi-character password that you set when activating the app or web wallet and creating a user account.

Multi-factor authentication: Stakedwallet employs a three-step authentication process that integrates 2FA and multi-signature functionalities for your outbound transfers. Here, every transfer out must be subjected to two-factor authentication and signed by both the app and the company servers.

Enterprise-grade encryption: According to Stakedwallet, both the crypto app and web wallet use a 256-bit enterprise-grade encryption cipher and 25,000 PBKDF2 hash rounds in encrypting your PIN and all other user data in the wallet. They boldly claim that it would take a modern computer a million days to bypass these tools and hack into your account.

Non-custodial: Stakedwallet doesn’t collect any of your personal data, especially the PIN code or private keys. These are highly encrypted and stored locally on your computer or mobile device.

Vulnerability monitoring: According to Stakedwallet’s development team, both the wallet app and web wallet are being constantly monitored for bugs and vulnerabilities around the clock. It is subjected to regular security audits by some of the leading crypto security firms in the world.

VPN Access: Unlike most other crypto storage wallets that don’t support VPN access, Stakedwallet sets no restrictions on logging into your account via a VPN.

How to activate/  setup the StakedWallet

Step 1: Start by downloading the Stakedwallet app compatible with your phone on the Google play store or Apple app store.

Step 2: Launch the app and click on the “Create a New Wallet” on the installation page.

Step 3: Enter your email address and create a unique password for the account.

Step 4: Read and agree to the wallet’s terms of use and user privacy

Step 5: Verify that you are not a robot, and you want to proceed with the registration by clicking the verification button and completing the puzzle.

Step 6: Your account is now active and ready for use

Step 7: Click on the three bars on the top-left corner of the wallet app to access the settings section that you can then use to personalize the wallet.

How to add/receive Crypto into Poketto Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Stakedwallet app

Step 2:  Click on the three bars on the top left corner of the app’s user dashboard to access the app menu.

Step 3: Click on the “Deposit” tab and click on the “Add Money” on the deposit page that pops up.

Step 4: The wallet will now present you with a QR code representing the wallet address

Step 5: wait for the funds to reflect.

How to send crypto from StakedWalletwallet:

Step 1: Log in to the Stakedwallet app

Step 2: On the user dashboard, click on the “Send” button

Step 3: Select the altcoin you want to send and enter the recipient wallet address

Step 4: Decide on the amount you wish to send

Step 5: Confirm that the transaction details are correct and hit send.

StakedWallet ease of use:

Stakedwallet has a clean and intuitive user interface. You will find navigating through the app and interacting with most of its features, like depositing and sending crypto coins in and out of the wallet, quite easy. It also has a rather straightforward wallet activation and user account registration process.

It is quite beginner-friendly, and you don’t need help in staking different coins or monitoring your portfolio. The portfolio and earnings tracking processes are rather straightforward.

StakedWallet supported currencies:

Stakedwallet currently supports a significant number of the leading cryptocurrencies and tokens. These include Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Dash. Plus the wallet’s native token, SWL.

StakedWallet cost and fees:

Downloading the wallet app, creating a user account, and interacting with its features is free. You also get to earn 0.6% – 1.5% of the staked digital assets daily in addition to the bounty program earnings like inviting friends to join the wallet and other microtasks.

However, you will have to part with the blockchain network fees like GAS, charged when you send crypto in and out of your wallet to Stakewalet.

What are the pros and cons of using Stakedwallet?

Pros:

  • It presents wallet users with multiple streams of earning passive income.
  • It is a beginner-friendly wallet.
  • It supports some of the most popular crypto wallets.
  • It has highly advanced security measures around the website, web wallet, and wallet app.
  • It is a free wallet

Cons:

  • There have been a lot of negative reviews about the wallet.
  • One may consider the number of supported cryptos to be limited.
  • It has a poor and unresponsive customer support team.

Comparing StakedWallet with other multi-blockchain wallets

StakedWallet vs. DexWallet

Both Stakedwallet and Dexwallet help their users generate passive income from their digital assets. They, however, differ significantly in the income-generating strategy. While Stakedwallet earns you guaranteed interest via the proof of stake protocol, DexWallet integrates different DeFi apps to make you money by either staking or lending to other app users.

Stakedwallet, however, has a soiled reputation due to a lack of transparency on how they handle client funds and the effectiveness of this income-generating strategy.

Verdict: Is StakedWallet safe?

Staked wallet app has considerably effective and advanced security and privacy measures around the app and private keys. Questions are, however, abound concerning its legitimacy. Most reviewers on crypto discussion platforms like Reddit and Quora and user reviews on the app store pages have termed it a scam and a Ponzi scheme.

Twitter has even suspended the Stakedwallet account. And instead of addressing these allegations, the company has taken its website and web wallet offline. We recommend that our readers avoid the wallet until the company satisfactorily addresses all the allegations levels against their wallet.

Categories
Crypto Guides

Heard of Suterusu? One of the most interesting cryptocurrency!

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Cryptocurrencies have come into the limelight even since Bitcoin hyped in the market. As the demand for cryptocurrency increased, a few new names also joined the list. One of the well-known titles from those is Suterusu. It is a bit different from the usual cryptocurrencies, which makes it more exciting and beneficial for people.

You may or may not have earlier heard about Suterusu. Either way, we are here to help you out. Here, we have brought all the crucial information about Suterusu to help you learn more about it, making the concept clearer to you. So without further ado, let’s begin with the details.

What Is Suterusu?

Security and anonymity is a big concern for almost all blockchain platforms. In order to resolve this, Suterusu has brought in a new concept. It allows these blockchain developers to implement an additional layer of zk-SNARK-based privacy without any hassle. That is why its motto of “launchpad for privacy-preserving interoperable blockchain” gets appropriately fulfilled.

In other words, Suterusu helps bring new privacy to blockchain platforms or apps that match the ZCash level. Moreover, they need not implement this security layer to their protocol level. Therefore, even mainstream blockchains like Ether, Bitcoin, and Decentralized Finance can benefit from this new concept.

How Is Suterusu Different From Other zk-SNARK Implementations?

The other applications of zk-SNARK called for the need for one of the following:

  • Logarithmic proof sizes
  • Trusted setup: Under this, a set of original parameters are created. These are further used to generate a key, which makes and verifies the proofs of future transactions within the network.

These two factors contradict the anonymous cryptocurrency’s transparent and decentralized nature.

On the other hand, Suterusu undertakes zk-SNARK’s updated version to get rid of both of these concerns. This version is called zk-ConSNARK. So, basically, there is no trust set up promoted by Suterusu that destroys the trusted set up entirely and keeps the proof size low. It not only amplifies the throughput but also maintains security and privacy by keeping the transaction participants anonymous.

What Is Suterusu’s Cryptocurrency?

Suterusu runs its own cryptocurrency named the SUTER Token, which has a total of 10 billion supply. It is further divided into percentages made for different sections:

  • Suterusu’s team has over 4.8% of the tokens.
  • 2% of the tokes are specified for the foundation.
  • 16% of the total tokens are for participants of a private sale.
  • Stake miners can go up to 76% tokens.

Like any other cryptocurrency, SUTER is also subjected to an annual supply halve seen every couple of years. Moreover, these tokens have the lowest inflation rate as compared to other anonymous coins in the market.

In case you want to run a validator node for Suterusu, you will need to deposit at least 1 million SUTER Tokens. Based on your mortgage token and voting token, your mining power will be determined. Further, this will decide the total reward you can receive as a validator node.

Conclusion

By maintaining the anonymity factor, Suterusu has a high chance of becoming the next big thing in the cryptocurrency market. Now that you have learned its basics, we recommend you to get into more details and see how to benefit from this rising concept.

Categories
Forex Videos

How To Protect your Forex Trade With No Stop Loss With The Use Of Hedging!

https://youtu.be/0OtzJkyTa3A

https://youtu.be/0OtzJkyTa3A

How to save a forex trade with no stop loss with the use of hedging!

Thank you for joining this forex academy educational video.

If you are relatively new to trading, you will no doubt understand what it is like to be in a losing trade, and what it feels like losing money, and seeing your profit and loss fall. It is uncomfortable
Unfortunately, this is all a part of trading. Losing is a part of winning. The most important thing is that you win more money than you lose in order to sustain a profitable account.
One of the biggest areas that new traders fall down is a lack of understanding of leverage and a lack of understanding of money management, and risk management, all subjects for another video.
And the biggest aspect where traders lose money is because of a lack of setting a reasonable stop loss in accordance with their account size, and where quite often new traders will lose all of their money in their accounts on a single trade.
This is purely down to poor risk management and not incorporating a tight enough stop loss. But what if you have been implementing strict money management and tight stops, but simply forgot to put one on a trade which is running against you and where you are starting to worry. What are your options?

Let’s say that you identified a potential short trade, for example on this one-hour chart of the GBPUSD where you noted areas of support and resistance in a wedge formation and thought that the price action would punch through at position A, because the pair was also overbought. The technical analysis is not important.

And so let’s imaging that you have gone short in half a lot at 1.2939, and you forgot to put a stop loss for whatever reason, and the pair has shot out of the wedge formation so the upside. What are your options?

You already know the answer to this option: close the trade, take the loss, learn the lesson, and move on.

Another option would be to hedge the position, should your account size allow you to do so. This would mean that you simply buy a half a lot – the same size as your short trade, as we have done here at position B, at 1.3075. In which case, you have two open positions in the same lot size, which are effectively maintaining the losing position balance. However, this gives you an opportunity to have think about the trade and consider other options to try and salvage some of your losing funds.
The most important thing for any trader is to protect his or her profits and not how messy it might look with regard to winning and losing trades.


If you feel that the trade is running out of steam to the upside and about to reverse, you have the option of going short again at position B, in this example, in a minimum of a half of a standard lot, and in the event that the trade falls back 50% of the way to your original open position you will have a net position, which you can either close both trades, or let it run back down to the original opening trade at position A, where you will be in profit, and manage that trade should it come lower, which might mean closing trade A out and letting the second B trade run on.

Another option is to buy a standard lot at position B, in this scenario, which is double your original size, and will have the effect of reducing your loss to zero and even turning into a profitable trade should it move higher to a point being approximately 50% higher than total spread of your losing trade, less your original spread and commission.
You then have the option that if and when the trade becomes net, to close out both trades, or just close the losing trade from position A, and let the B trade run on. Use a tight stop loss at the net position to protect your profit.
All of these options are risky and with the exception of the original hedge, require tight stop losses. Again, the most critical factor is the protection of your profits, and quite often these options will help you out of a trading nightmare. Although this scenario was based on an original short trade going wrong, it applies to a long trade and any financial asset.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What’s Carry (CRE) All About? 

Today’s commerce environment is extremely fragmented: merchants don’t know what consumers want, consumers don’t have control over their own data, and advertisers’ campaigns are ineffective. It’s particularly unfair for consumers, who, by clicking “I agree” to terms and conditions, effectively hand over the rights to their data. 

Today’s commerce environment is extremely fragmented: merchants don’t know what consumers want, consumers don’t have control over their own data, and advertisers’ campaigns are ineffective. It’s particularly unfair for consumers, who, by clicking “I agree” to terms and conditions, effectively hand over the rights to their data. 

Today’s commerce environment is extremely fragmented: merchants don’t know what consumers want, consumers don’t have control over their own data, and advertisers’ campaigns are ineffective. It’s particularly unfair for consumers, who, by clicking “I agree” to terms and conditions, effectively hand over the rights to their data. 

Blockchain has the potential to change this skewed state of events. The Carry Protocol, launched in 2018, is a project that’s using blockchain technology to fulfill this endeavor. Carry allows every participant of the commerce ecosystem to benefit in a transparent, fair, and trustless environment. 

This article studies the Carry Protocol more closely. 

Understanding Carry 

Carry is a data management ecosystem where data owners are accorded complete control over their own data, plus the ability to monetize that data. On the Carry, the platform is consumers, advertisers, stores, and more players in a collaborative and transparent environment where everyone gets their fair share. 

Carry provides a bridge between offline merchants and consumers. This is in cognizance that despite a surge of e-commerce in recent years, most consumption still happens offline. And the offline market is, to a large extent, yet to embrace technology in so many ways. Offline commerce faces the following challenges: 

  • Due to fragmented data, merchants have very little understanding of the behavior and preferences of customers
  • Customers have little control over their own data, with powerful corporations benefiting from it instead
  • Offline advertising is ineffective and lacks transparency

Carry aims to solve this through the following initiatives: 

  • Provide an environment for merchants and customers to communicate and understand each other better
  • Empower customers to have full control over their own data and be able to monetize it 
  • Offer more effective and transparent advertisement channels

The Carry Protocol

As we’ve noted already, Carry brings together merchants and consumers through the blockchain. These two are the most important participants in the ecosystem. The other participants are advertisers. 

The protocol consists of two major parts: 

  • the blockchain, which hosts the transaction database and smart contracts
  • APIs that connect the blockchain to third-party applications such as wallets

The transaction database is the storage location where data is uploaded by consumers and generated by merchants. Carry smart contracts are in charge of issuing the protocol’s token: CRE. Carry wallets allow users to manage their crypto, control their transaction data, and manage their privacy. 

Carry’s Data Ecosystem

Carry wants to create a system where merchants, customers, and advertisers can all benefit. Stores can have a better understanding of their consumers with the purchase data they willingly share. Advertisers can create more effective ad campaigns, and consumers can own the rights to their data and monetize it. 

#1. Merchants

Merchants can better understand the preferences and expectations of consumers.

#2. Consumers

Consumers can control their information and get rewarded in CRE tokens for sharing it and viewing ads.

#3. Advertisers

Advertisers can better target the right consumers through better analysis of their information.

Smart Contracts

Users can get access to the Carry protocol features through smart contracts. To do so, they must first stake in Carry tokens (CRE). This can be done in a one-off or pay-as-you-go way. Staking in a certain amount of tokens, allows usage up to a certain level. When usage exceeds that level, the user must pay for excess usage. 

The rationale is that executing smart contracts uses up the protocol’s resources, which incurs costs. The staking model also protects the protocol from attacks – whether abuse by malicious participants or denial of service attacks. 

The per-use fee can always be set higher than the stake’s opportunity cost, which would encourage users to stake in more CRE. If a merchant wants to conduct more transactions than their stake allows, they can offer perks to other platform users, e.g., customers, who will then stake in more tokens on their behalf. 

Community Growth Strategies

The Carry team plans to expand the growth of their protocol by engaging in the following strategies: 

  • Participates in high-profile industry events and conferences
  • Conduct regular online and physical meetups
  • Conduct social media Ask Me Anything sessions
  • Monthly project updates through Medium posts and newsletters
  • Regular airdrops to reward top participants of community projects
  • Engage traditional companies looking to onboard blockchain services

Future strategies include: 

  • Engage in cross-marketing activities with other blockchain and crypto-projects 
  • Share data-sharing processes with the community

CRE Token Uses 

The CRE token is Carry’s native utility cryptocurrency, playing the following roles: 

  • As a staking mechanism to qualify to use various Carry features to build smart contracts
  • Merchants can use it to come up with their own branded tokens
  • Advertisers must pay CRE tokens to consumers for accessing the transaction history
  • As payment to consumers for watching ads

Token Distribution

The Carry token was distributed in the following manner: 

  • Token generation event tokens: 40%
  • Partner program tokens: 25%
  • Market activation tokens:15%
  • Team tokens: 10%
  • Reserve tokens: 5%
  • Advisors’ tokens: 5%

Key Metrics

CRE’s marketplace figures were as follows on Oct 28, 2020. The per-token value was $0.001614, with a market cap of $9,357,848 and a market rank of #528. The token’s 24-hour volume was $431,939, while its circulating and total supply were 5,799,469,081 and 7,329,872,058. CRE’s all-time high was $0.079546 (Jun 05, 2019), and its all-time low was $0.000810 (Mar 13, 2020).

Where to Buy and Store

The Carry token is listed against currencies such as KRW, USDT, BTC, and HT on several exchanges, including Upbit, Huobi Global, BiKi, Bilaxy, UPEX, and Oasis Exchange. 

You can store CRE in a wide range of wallets, including Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, MyEtherWallet, Ledger, and Trezor. 

Closing Thoughts

Carry is one of many blockchain protocols that want to do better for millions of consumers whose data is generally used without their authorization. And it doesn’t stop at just consumers; it aims to improve things for every other player in the commerce arena. Will it stand out in the years to come? That will depend on if they can continue to innovate. If not, they risk being phased out by more forward-thinking similar protocols. 

Categories
Forex Course

172. Using Multiple Timeframe Analysis To Identify Accurate Entries & Exits

Introduction 

Introduction 

Introduction 

At this stage, you are now familiar with how to conduct multiple timeframe analysis for the different type of forex trades. In the previous lesson, we covered why you should look at multiple timeframes when trading forex. Now, let’s narrow down to how you can use multiple timeframe analysis to determine which price levels make the best entry and exit points to match your trading style.

Why is it important? 

Using longer timeframes helps get the bigger picture while the shorter timeframes show you how the dominant trend is constituted. Support and resistance levels are used to determine the best entry and points of a trade. To properly illustrate this, we will use the example of a forex swing trader.

For a forex swing trader, positions are left open from overnight up to a few weeks. Daily timeframes are used to establish the dominant market trend for a currency pair. This timeframe will help you establish long-term support and resistance levels.

Forex Swing Trader Daily Timeframe for EUR/USD Primary Trend

The daily forex timeframe for the EUR/USD shows that the pair is on a downtrend, as evidenced by the lower lows and lower highs. The lowest low from the daily timeframe will enable the forex swing trader to establish the support level. Lower highs are formed when the price of the pair attempts a ‘pull-back.’ These lower highs will be used to set the resistance levels.

Since the dominant trend is downward, the resistance levels will be used as the ‘high swings, ’ which will be the best entry point for a short position. The resistance levels are used since the currency pair’s price is unlikely to break above this level.

Forex Swing Trader EUR/USD 4-hour Trigger Timeframe

To determine the best entry and exit points, as a forex swing trader, you use the 4-hour timeframe. When the 4-hour candles don’t breach the resistance level, you open a short trade and exit when the 4-hour candle touches the support level at the low swing.

This strategy can be adopted for the other type of forex trades.

Using multiple timeframe analysis for different forex orders

With a top-down analysis approach, different types of traders can use multiple timeframe analysis for executing different types of forex orders. Take a forex day trader, for example.

Forex Day Trader 1-hour Primary Trend Timeframe for EUR/USD

After establishing the support and resistance level, the forex day trader can use the resistance level to set the sell limit or the buy stop order. The support level is ideal to set the buy limit or the sell stop orders. The ‘stop-loss’ and ‘take profit’ levels can then be set to exit these trades depending on your risk management measures.

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Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Trust Wallet review: Safety, Ease of Use, Features, Pros, and Cons

Trust Wallet is a crypto mobile app developed and introduced to the crypto market in November 2017 by Viktor Radchenko. It is an open-sourced crypto project that seeks to provide users with a balance between trust, security, and usability. To this end, this crypto wallet app has embraced a wide range of highly advanced features that seek to boost user privacy and ease of use. Some of these include a Web3 Dapp browser, a decentralized exchange, block explorer, and biometric security features.

Trust Wallet is a crypto mobile app developed and introduced to the crypto market in November 2017 by Viktor Radchenko. It is an open-sourced crypto project that seeks to provide users with a balance between trust, security, and usability. To this end, this crypto wallet app has embraced a wide range of highly advanced features that seek to boost user privacy and ease of use. Some of these include a Web3 Dapp browser, a decentralized exchange, block explorer, and biometric security features.

Trust Wallet is a crypto mobile app developed and introduced to the crypto market in November 2017 by Viktor Radchenko. It is an open-sourced crypto project that seeks to provide users with a balance between trust, security, and usability. To this end, this crypto wallet app has embraced a wide range of highly advanced features that seek to boost user privacy and ease of use. Some of these include a Web3 Dapp browser, a decentralized exchange, block explorer, and biometric security features.

In July 2018, the Trust wallet was acquired by Binance, who made it the official wallet for the Binance Chain and Binance DEX. They also replaced the Kyber Network that previously powered its exchange with Binance decentralized exchange, enhanced the wallet’s security features, and revamped how different users interact with the wallet by cleaning up the user interface.

In this Trust Wallet review, we want to vet the wallet’s security and operational procedures while helping you determine if it is really safe and easy to use.

Trust Wallet key features:

Multi-blockchain wallet: Unlike most crypto wallet apps that will only support one coin or coins built on a specific blockchain, the Trust Wallet is a multi-coin crypto vault that supports a wide range of digital currencies drawn from multiple blockchains.

Buy with card: Trust wallet works in tandem with such payment processing companies as Changelly and Shapeshift that facilitate the purchase of crypto using a debit or credit card.

In-built exchange: Today, Binance DEX handles all the in-app crypto exchanges for the Trust Wallet. It is relatively fast in processing transactions and presents users with a wide range of crypto coins and tokens.

Integrates Wallet connect: Wallet connect is a crypto interaction tool that helps Trust Wallet interact with virtually any Dapp. It is relatively safe as wallet-to-Dapp communications are secured with end-to-end encryption.

Earn via staking: Trust wallet allows you to stake different altcoins and earn up to 7.21% APR. Use the staking calculator on the Trust wallet website to check the staking tokens and the maximum interest.

Portfolio tracker: You also get to track your crypto portfolio and digital asset balances using the transaction history and balance tabs on the Trust Wallet user interface.

Integrates block Atlas: Trust wallet features a blockchain explorer API that anyone can use to explore different blockchain and gain information about tokens, ICOs, Staking, and even track crypto prices.

Trust Wallet security features:

Password + biometrics: You will need to secure your Trust wallet with a strong multi-character password. You are also free to reinforce this with such biometric security features as Fingerprint and Face I.D on compatible devices.

Recovery seed: Trust wallet will also provide you with a recovery/backup seed phrase when you create a user account. Use it to backup your private keys and digital assets.

Non-custodial: Neither Trust wallet nor Binance will collect any information personally identifiable to your wallet. More importantly, the wallet developers do not store your private keys on your behalf. These are stored within your device.

Anonymous user registration: You can register and trade anonymously when using a Trust Wallet. The crypto vault-app doesn’t request any personal information during registration.

Open-source: Trust wallet is a fully open-sourced crypto project that allows both wallet users and crypto security experts to vet and audit the wallets source code for bugs and other vulnerabilities. This code is available on both the wallet website and the GitHub repository.

Regular security audits: In addition to the wallet’s open-sourced nature and the numerous integrated security features, it is also subjected to regular security audits led by some of the most popular crypto security firms.

Watch-only mode: You can log in to the Trust Wallet’s watch-only mode when using an unsecured internet connection. This allows you to view incoming crypto flows and monitor wallet without exposing such sensitive wallet information as your private keys and passwords.

How to activate/ setup the Trust Wallet

Step 1: Start by downloading the Trust wallet app compatible with your device on the company website.

Step 2: Launch the Trust Wallet and click on the “Create a New Wallet” tab on the installation page.

Step 3: Read and agree to Trust Wallet’s terms of use

Step 4: Create a strong multi-character password for the wallet

Step 5: You will now receive the wallet’s backup and recovery seed. Write it down and keep it safe offline.

Step 6: Verify the recovery phrase and click continue.

Step 7: Your Trust wallet is now active and ready for use

Step 8: Log in and personalize the wallet by choosing a username, reinforcing the password with biometrics, and create multiple wallets.

How to add/receive Crypto into Trust Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Trust wallet and click on the “Buy Crypto” tab on the user dashboard.

Step 2: Select the platform from whence you would like to buy cryptocurrencies from the drop-down list. You can choose Changelly or Shapeshift if you wish to buy it with a card.

Step 3: Follow the prompts to make the purchase.

Alternatively:

Step 1: Log in to the Trust wallet and click on the “Receive” tab.

Step 2: Copy your wallet address or the QR code displayed and forward it to the party sending you cryptos.

Step 3: Wait for the funds to reflect in your wallet.

How to send crypto from Trust Wallet wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Trust wallet and click on the “Send” tab on the user interface.

Step 2: If you have multiple crypto assets stored therein, select the altcoin you want to send

Step 3: On the transfer window, enter the recipient’s address or scan their QR Code and the amount you wish to send

Step 4: Review the transaction details and confirm the accuracy of these transaction details before hitting send.

Trust Wallet ease of use:

Trust Wallet has a highly intuitive and beginner-friendly user interface. It also provides you with easy access to most blockchain services, including the Dapp browser, an exchange that presents you with hundreds of cryptocurrencies and tokens. More importantly, you can easily integrate the Ethereum network that allows you to access and benefit from ICOs and token airdrops.

Setting up the wallet, creating a user account, and interacting with all the features and service offers integrated within the wallet is easy. Plus, the wallet is also multi-lingual (available in 10+ international languages).

Trust Wallet supported currencies:

According to the Trust wallet website, this crypto vault supports 160k+ assets drawn from 40 blockchains.

Trust Wallet cost and fees:

Trust Wallet is free to download and install. You will, however, have to part with the transaction-processing fee charged by the blockchain network.

What are the pros and cons of using the Trust Wallet?

Pros:

  • The wallet stores the widest range of cryptocurrencies
  • It embraces highly advanced security features, like ensuring the wallet is hierarchically deterministic.
  • Allows you to earn from the crypto-assets through staking
  • It is feature-rich yet easy to use
  • Encourages user anonymity

Cons:

  • It is a hot wallet
  • Some integrated services, like Changelly and Shapeshift, demand user verification.

Comparing Trust Wallet with other Multiblockchain wallets

Trust Wallet vs. eToro wallet

Trust and eToro are both highly popular and feature-rich crypto wallets. They both feature built-in exchanges and facilitate the purchase of cryptocurrencies using a debit or credit card. Both are also multi-coin and multi-blockchain.

There, however, are several fundamental differences between the two crypto-exchange-backed wallets. For instance, while Trust Wallet encrypts user private keys and stores them in the phone, eToro stores the digital assets on the user’s behalf. Similarly, eToro requires that all users satisfy the globally set KYC and AML requirements by verifying their identity when creating a user account, while Trust Wallet asks for no personal user information.

Verdict: Is Trust Wallet safe?

Well, the Binance DEX backed crypto wallet has put in place adequate security and protection measures around your private keys. These include embracing the hierarchically deterministic protocol when it comes to generating wallet addresses, open-sourcing the code for viewership and auditing by the crypto security experts, and integrating advanced deterrence measures for unauthorized access to the wallet. However, we must mention that the wallet is online-based, making it susceptible to online threats and malicious malware.

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

US Crude Oil Inventories – Understanding This Fundamental Forex Driver

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Oil is one of the most universally used commodity. Its uses span every aspect of our lives, and we can’t escape from not using it. In the US, for example, the transportation sector consumes about 68% of the total oil in the economy while industries consume 26%. Therefore, by monitoring the inventories of crude oil, we can be able to deduce the changes in economic activities.

Understanding US Crude Oil Inventories

As an economic indicator, the US crude oil inventories measure the change in the stockpile of crude oil in major oil deports in the US. The US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) publishes the crude oil inventories report weekly. This report tracks the changes in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil that is held by US firms.

The report is called Weekly Petroleum Status Report and is published on Thursday of every week. Below is a list of items from the report.

  • The US petroleum balance sheet
  • US crude oil refinery inputs
  • The daily average of US crude oil imports
  • The daily average of US commercial crude oil inventories. These inventories exclude those held by the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
  • The daily average of the total oil products supplied over the last four-week period

Using US Crude Oil Inventories

The uses of crude oil affect our daily lives. Although there has been a conscious shift towards green energy, crude oil, and its products are very much still part of our lives. To properly understand the implications of crude oil inventories on the US economy, we need to go back to supply and demand basics. Say that a supplier stocks inventory with the knowledge that there is consistent demand.

This demand is based on historical averages, of course. Now, if the supplier starts to notice that their inventory is increasing over time, it could mean that demand for their product is decreasing. Similarly, if their inventory gets depleted faster than average, it could indicate that demand for their product has increased over time. It is the same case with the US crude oil inventories.

When the crude oil invitatories increase, it is an indicator that demand for crude oil has gone down. The two significant consumers of oil in the US are the transportation sector and in industries. Suffice to say, when there is a substantial increase in the US crude oil inventories, the demand from these two sectors can be expected to have significantly declined. Let’s think about what we can infer about the economy using this logic. In nonfarm employment, the US industries are the largest employers in the labor market.

Since crude oil is used to run industries, crude oil inventories can be used as a leading indicator of economic health. A decline in demand for crude oil could mean that the industrial sector is cutting back on production and manufacturing. Being one of the largest employers in the US, scaling down industrial operations translates to massive job losses. There will be an overall increase in unemployment in the economy. The resultant unemployment also has its ripple effects on the consumer economy. Due to the decrease in disposable income, households will only spend on essential goods and services. As a result, the consumer discretionary industry will take a hit.

This increase in the US crude oil inventories can be witnessed towards the end of the first quarter in 2020. At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, lockdowns and social distancing guidelines halted industrial activities and traveling. The demand for US crude oil took a hit, and inventories dramatically increased.

Source: Investing.com

Conversely, a continuous decrease in the US crude oil inventories could mean that crude oil demand is increasing. Any significant increase in the demand for crude oil can be taken as an increase in economic activities in the US’s transportation and industrial sectors. An increase in crude oil demand in the transportation sector could imply that more people are buying vehicles, which is an indicator of improved household welfare. In the industries, an increase in demand for crude oil means that industrial activities are expanding. This expansion translates to increased job opportunities and lower unemployment rates.

However, note that it is more plausible that a decrease in oil inventories can be a direct result of cutbacks in oil production by drilling companies. Back to the basics of the economy, the laws of supply and demand. It is inherent for any producer to strive to obtain the highest possible price in the market. According to the laws of supply and demand, oil producers might be attempting to stabilize the oil prices by cutting back on production. When prices are falling due to a decrease in demand, crude oil producers will try to cut back on drilling to stabilize the price. After all, it doesn’t make any economic sense to oversupply the market at lower prices while operation costs remain the same. This scenario was witnessed at the beginning of the second quarter of 2020. The graph below shows the decline in oil rigs that were operational in the US at the beginning of Q2 2020.

Source: Trading Economics

Due to depressed crude oil demand, crude oil prices were on a freefall, which led to cutbacks in production, hence a significant decline in inventories. Note that this decline in the US crude oil inventories does not coincide with economic expansion.

Impact of US Crude Oil Inventories on USD

We have observed that the increase in inventories can be associated with a decline in demand for crude oil. This decline in demand can imply that operations in major crude oil dependent sectors are scaling down. These are signs of economic contractions, which will make the USD depreciate in the forex market.

Conversely, when the inventories decrease, it could mean that the demand for crude oil has increased significantly. For economic sectors that are heavily dependent on crude oil, it means that they are expanding. Since this can be an indicator of economic growth, the USD can be expected to increase in value in the forex market.

Sources of Data

The US Energy Information Administration publishes the US crude oil inventories every week. Trading Economics has in-depth and historical time series data on the US crude oil inventories.

How US Crude Oil Inventories Release Affects The Forex Price Charts

The latest publication of the US Crude Oil Inventories was on October 21, 2020, at 9.30 AM EST. This release is available at Forex Factory. When the US crude oil inventories are published, low impact is expected on the USD.

In the latest release, the US crude oil inventories decreased by 1 million barrels compared to 3.8 million barrels in the previous week. This change was more than analysts’ expectations of a 0.5 million barrels decline.

Let’s see how this release impacted the USD.

GBP/USD: Before US Crude Oil Inventories Release on October 21, 2020, 
just before 9.30 AM EST

The GBP/USD pair was trading in a steady uptrend before releasing the US crude oil inventories data. The 20-period MA is seen to be steadily rising with candles forming above it.

GBP/USD: After US Crude Oil Inventories Release on October 21, 2020, 
at 9.30 AM EST

The pair formed a 5-minute bullish candle indicating the weakness of the USD. It continued trading in the steady uptrend for a while before adopting a neutral trend.

The US crude oil inventories data is a low impact indicator in the forex market. As shown above, the release of the data had no impact on forex price action.

Categories
Forex Assets

Trading Costs Involved While Trading The AUD/PKR Forex Exotic Pair

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

In this exotic, AUD is the Australian Dollar, and PKR is the Pakistani Rupee. Trading exotic currency pairs can be highly volatile compared to major currency pairs. The AUD is the base currency, and the PKR is the quote currency. That implies that the exchange rate of the AUD/PKR is the number of Pakistani Rupees that a single Australian Dollar can buy. Thus, if the exchange of AUD/PKR is 112.584, it means that with 1 AUD, you can buy 112.584 PKR.

AUD/PKR Specification

Spread

The spread in forex trading represents the value difference between the buying price of a currency pair and its selling price. These prices are referred to as “bid” and “ask.” The spread for the AUD/PKR pair is – ECN: 32 pips | STP: 37 pips

Fees

Some forex brokers charge a fee whenever a trader opens a position. The fee is not standardized and depends on the broker and the size of the trade. Note that STP accounts normally don’t attract broker fees.

Slippage

Whether long or short, when you open a position, it can be executed at a different price than what you requested. This price difference is called slippage in the forex market and is a direct result of extreme volatility or broker delays.

Trading Range in the AUD/PKR Pair

If you observed a currency pair’s price movement, you’d notice the difference in price changes across different timeframes. That is the trading range and is used to determine the volatility of a pair.

The Procedure to assess Pip Ranges

  1. Add the ATR indicator to your chart
  2. Set the period to 1
  3. Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
  4. Shrink the chart so you can determine a larger period
  5. Select your desired timeframe
  6. Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
  7. Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
  8. Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

AUD/PKR Cost as a Percentage of the Trading Range

When you combine the total trading costs of a currency pair, you can analyze the percentage costs across different timeframes. This analysis can help you determine the best time to trade a currency pair.

ECN Model Account Cost

Spread = 32 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 1 | Total = 35

STP Model Account Cost

Spread = 37 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 0 | Total cost = 39

The Ideal Timeframe to Trade the AUD/PKR

As seen above, trading the AUD/PKR pair on shorter timeframes is costlier. In both the ECN and the STP accounts, it is cheaper trading the pair over longer timeframes since the trading costs are lower. Note that the trading costs decrease with an increase in volatility. The lowest trading cost for the AUD/PKR pair is when volatility is at the highest 852.4 pips.

The ideal trading time is evidently on the longer timeframes. But shorter-term traders can open positions when volatility is maximum across 1H, 2H, 4H. and 1D timeframes. Traders can also employ the use of forex pending order types, which eliminate the cost of slippage. Here’s an example with the ECN account.

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading fee = 0 + 32+ 1 = 33

Notice how the trading costs have been reduced across all timeframes when forex pending orders are used. The maximum cost, for example, has reduced from 593.22% to 559.32%.

Categories
Crypto Guides

What Should You Know About Non-Fungible Tokens?

Introduction 

Introduction 

Introduction 

The word tokens mostly bring the concept of currency in our minds, i.e., something that we can exchange for something else. However, this isn’t entirely correct. Rather than just being a currency, a token represents any fact, feeling, quality, etc. visibly and tangibly. A few common examples of a token can be:

Voters ID: It is a token of the fact that you are eligible to vote.

Driving License: It is a token that shows you have undergone the process of proving that you can dive responsibly.

Coins: These are the tokens that show the value of something like a pair of glasses is $10 worth.

There can be several such things that can be considered as tokens. Now, these tokens can be divided into two categories: Fungible and Non-Fungible. You must be aware of the concept of fungible tokens that can be exchanged for something. Let’s now learn what Non-Fungible Tokens are.

What Are Non-Fungible Tokens?

If we dive into the cryptocurrency market, you will see that the most prominent tokens are fungible. For instance, you can exchange a Bitcoin for another Bitcoin without affecting its price. On the other hand, Non-Fungible Tokens are the ones that don’t hold this property of being exchangeable. Each of them has its own value, like your car and watch has its own.

In simple words, fungible tokens can be replaced by something identical to it, while Non-Fungible Tokens can’t be. Another difference between the two is divisibility. Like you can divide a Bitcoin into two parts, you can’t split a non-fungible token due to its uniqueness.

Where Did The Concept Of Non-Fungible Tokens Arise?

Many people still don’t know how Non-Fungible Tokens came into the market. If you are one of them, then it is time to get aware of this factor. Non-Fungible Tokens’ concept came into notice when a blockchain-based platform, CryptoKitties, made $12 million worth of transactions of virtual kittens. As each cat has its own features and traits, it was sold and bought at different prices.

Therefore, these kittens followed with the two essential qualities of Non-Fungible Tokens:

  • One kitten can’t get exchanged with another one as their price differs.
  • One kitten can’t get divided into two or more parts.

And all these transactions took place in Ethereum. After CryptoKitten came into the limelight, several gaming platforms seem to opt for this method of transaction.

What Is The Future Of Non-Fungible Tokens?

Non-Fungible Tokens or NFTs hold a significant market in the gaming industry. Plus, more and more gaming platforms are now incorporating cryptocurrencies, giving more space for the use of NFTs. Players can make in-game purchases conveniently with the help of these NFTs, just like the kittens were sold on CrytoKitten. For example, buying and selling game skins, armours, and other similar assets will become even more accessible. But this isn’t the only use case of NFTs. With their advancements, they indeed will find a place of their own in the world.

We hope all this information will make the Non-Fungible Token’s concept clear to you. So now you can see how you can benefit from them and use them wherever possible.

Categories
Forex Daily Topic Forex for Beginners

How To Trade The Markets Now- Joe Biden The President Elect Is In Play!

https://youtu.be/R8be9WtTVcU

https://youtu.be/R8be9WtTVcU

Joe Biden President-Elect? How might the markets react long term?

Thank you for joining this forex academy educational video. In this video, we will be looking at the present, with Joe Biden of the democratic party as President-elect.

At the time of writing, Joe Biden would appear to have an unassailable lead in the US presidential elections. No doubt, President Trump will use every tool and trick at his disposal to try and hang on to power, including legal intervention in what he calls fraudulent voting, which, according to the press, is totally unfounded.
However, with votes still being counted in a handful of remaining states, and with Joe Biden well out in front, it would appear ear that he has one foot in the White House already.
What would this mean for the financial markets?
The Democrats, headed by Joe Biden, have lambasted Trump’s policies over the last 4 years. They will likely try and reverse many of the policies implemented by the Trump administration. One of the Democrats’ election pledges was to impose extra corporate regulation, taxes, and healthcare spending, all of which would be negative for the stock markets in the United States unless, of course, they are healthcare-related, or in the green sector, where Joe Biden has pledged to spend more money, to reduce greenhouse gases. Joe Biden has pledged to give the country a leading role in global efforts to curb climate change, a reversal in direction from the Trump administration where Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement in 2017.
Another policy that has helped Joe Biden gain votes is his pledge to penalize companies, presumably by taxation, that moved jobs abroad. This will undoubtedly have been why the Midwest saw a surge in Democratic votes because it is the industrial heartland of America, the so-called Rust Belt.
In a twist, where investors might have bailed out of stocks due to a potential shift in policy under a new administration, with regard to higher taxes for corporations and more regulations, which would tie the hands of corporate companies and potentially affect their earnings capabilities, the markets have been airing on the side that a potential democratic party victory may be the quickest route to a generous government stimulus continuation package, and this of course, in the current economic uncertainties, would be a welcome thing.

In the lead up to the election, we can see here that the US dollar index, which is a measure of the dollar value against the basket of major currencies, the price has fluctuated between 92.00 and 94.00 since mid-August, with pressure currently to the downside at the time of writing.

One of the biggest gainers against the Dollar has been the Swiss franc, where the USDCHF pair fell below the 0.900 level on Friday 6th November as the franc was being bought as a safe-haven asset. The last time the pair hit this level was in 2014.

Another asset that is bought in times of uncertainty is the Japanese yen. Here we can see that also on the 6th of November, the USDJPY currency pair fell below the key 104.00 level to reach 103.37, and analysts will be looking to the low in March of this year where the pair fell below the 102.00 level and possibly a test of the 101.00 exchange rate.

And while the euro and pound have also made gains against the United States dollar, the Dow Jones 30 industrial index has flattened just above 28,000, as buyers try to figure out the actual winner of the presidential election, which as mentioned looks very much like Joe Biden, and what the democratic policies are likely to do for the American economy as previously stated.
Extreme volatility has prevailed over the last few weeks, and that is likely to do so in the following days and weeks until whoever actually wins the next president of the United States.
Longer-term, the markets will be looking at Democratic policies if they officially win the election and be looking for them, will they, won’t they, covid stimulus package to be agreed upon by the Democrats and Republicans.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

Introducing Certik (CTK): Bringing Safety to DeFi

The blockchain is a new and welcome idea: decentralizing transactions, securing funds with high-level cryptography, and more. The only problem is that today’s blockchains exist in separate environments, hindering interoperability. There’s also the issue of security concerns. While cryptography goes a long way, blockchain transactions are still vulnerable to security threats, such as the hypothetical 51% attack and malicious actions by network participants. 

The blockchain is a new and welcome idea: decentralizing transactions, securing funds with high-level cryptography, and more. The only problem is that today’s blockchains exist in separate environments, hindering interoperability. There’s also the issue of security concerns. While cryptography goes a long way, blockchain transactions are still vulnerable to security threats, such as the hypothetical 51% attack and malicious actions by network participants. 

The blockchain is a new and welcome idea: decentralizing transactions, securing funds with high-level cryptography, and more. The only problem is that today’s blockchains exist in separate environments, hindering interoperability. There’s also the issue of security concerns. While cryptography goes a long way, blockchain transactions are still vulnerable to security threats, such as the hypothetical 51% attack and malicious actions by network participants. 

The Certik Protocol is a blockchain-based interoperability and security solution for blockchain networks. On the network, users can access various security solutions to protect their crypto assets. Certik launched its testnet in March 2020 and its mainnet on October 24, 2020. 

This article is a closer examination of the Certik Protocol. 

Breaking Down Certik

Certik is a blockchain effort that wants to build a safer blockchain infrastructure and decentralized applications’ environment. Based on a Delegated Proof of Stake, Certik wants to offer a more trusted and safer environment for executing decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and even IoT applications. 

The project will offer cross-chain compatibility so that blockchain projects are better off with the Security Oracle, which provides a real-time and thorough check on all transactions by flagging down any potential security threats. Below, we’ll look more closely at the Security Oracle and other key features of the Certik ecosystem. 

Certik: Key Components

#1. Security Oracle

The Security Oracle is a combination of decentralized network operators who rely on cutting-edge security technologies to identify any security threats on the protocol. These operators receive CTK tokens as a reward for this contribution. The Security Oracle can work with various blockchains, allowing users to make informed decisions before interacting with on-chain smart contracts. Smart contracts incorporated into the Security Oracle can flag and prevent malicious transactions from taking place, preventing funds’ potential loss. 

#2. CertikShield

This is a tool that enables flexible and decentralized reimbursements of crypto losses. These losses could have arisen from theft or pure inaccessibility due to security breaches. The CertikShield is made of a decentralized network of members who combine the Security Oracle’s scores with the governance system to provide collateral and vote on claims to protect blockchain networks. 

The CertikShield system is made of two types of members: collateral providers and shield purchasers. 

Collateral providers are members that deposit crypto funds into the CertikShield pool. These funds can be used to reimburse valid claims, meaning the providers can exit with less crypto than they deposited – in case of major security breaches. However, they get to earn staking rewards and a portion of the fees paid by shield purchasers. 

Shield purchasers are members who pay for the protection of their funds. Shield purchasers need to decide how much protection they want for their assets and pay a fee that directly corresponds with the level of protection. This fee goes directly to collateral providers. 

The CertikShield utilizes several safeguards to prevent manipulation. These safeguards include the following: 

  • A voting threshold that meets a majority
  • Claim requests must pay a fee to be processed
  • Approved claim requests are processed over 56 days
  • Claim requests can be stopped through a veto voting proposal of at least a 75% majority
  • Only projects with a security score of more than 80% can become CertikShield members
#3. DeepSEA

This is a secure programming language and compiling tool compatible with the Certik virtual machine, Ethereum’s WebAssembly, and Ant Financial’s Antchain. DeepSEA is the recipient of funding from Ethereum, IBM-Columbia, and Qtum so that it can accelerate its extremely secure programming language. 

#4. Certik Virtual Machine (CVM): 

The Certik Virtual Machine, which is also compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine, allows users to access, check, and utilize security info to gauge smart contracts’ safety. This enables smart contracts to adjust their behavior to the security record of other smart contracts. For example, a lending contract can only approve a loan to a DAO contract if the latter provides a provable security record. Also, CVM supports a smart contracts sandbox system, whereby smart contracts whose security is yet to be verified operate in a separate environment from the rest of the network. 

The CTK Token 

CTK is the native utility cryptocurrency of the Certik platform, and it fulfills the following roles: 

  • As gas fee for executing smart contracts
  • As governance mechanism to participate in the network’s governance 
  • As a rewards mechanism for participating in the Security Oracle
  • As collateral and reimbursement for the CertikShield system
  • As a staking mechanism to participate in network consensus

The CTK token was distributed in the following manner: 

  • Binance launchpool tokens: 1.50%
  • Private sale 1 tokens: 29%
  • Private sale 2 tokens: 9%
  • Team tokens: 10%
  • Foundation tokens: 25%
  • Community pool tokens: 25%
  • CertikShield pool tokens: 8%

Community Growth Strategies of Certik

The Certik team will carry out various activities in a bid to expand the growth and reach of Certik: 

  • Collaborating with various blockchain protocols to provide security scores for users in those protocols
  • Partner and integrate with various Binance Smart Chain projects 
  • Conduct tutorials, digital and physical meetups
  • Regularly update the public through social media

Future strategies include the following: 

  • Partner with crypto aggregator sites to integrate security scores
  • Conduct both local and global hackathons

Tokenomics of CTK

As of October 28, 2020, CTK traded at $0.945717, with a market cap of $20,900,338 and a market rank of #318. The token has a 24-hour volume of $7,979,974, a circulating supply of 22,100,000, and a total supply of 100 million. CTK’s highest price ever was $1.94 (Oct 27, 2020), while its lowest ever was $0 (October 23, 2020), according to Coinmarketcap. 

Where to Buy and Store CTK

Currently, CTK is listed on the Binance exchange as a market pair of USDT, BTC, BNB, and BUSD. 

Certik provides its official wallet, the Deepwallet. 

Closing Thoughts 

Certik is a welcome idea in what’s a fragmented blockchain space, where every network operates as a lone island. This lack of interoperability holds back the mainstream success of blockchain. Certik’s solution, along with its industry-leading security offerings, puts it in an interesting position. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this project. 

Categories
Forex Market Analysis

NZDUSD Bullish ahead of the RBNZ Meeting

Overview

Overview

Overview

The NZDUSD cross advances in the extreme bullish sentiment zone before the RBNZ monetary policy decision, to be held during the overnight trading session. The intraday Elliott Wave view reveals its progress in an incomplete five-wave sequence, which could boost the price toward a new high.

Market Sentiment

The NZDUSD cross waits for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) interest rate decision, as it moves on the extreme bullish sentiment zone. Although the kiwi’s high volatility during this year made it drop over 18.7% in the first quarter of the year, the NZDUSD is still up by 1.44% (YTD).

The next chart illustrates the NZDUSD in its 8-hour timeframe. The figure unveils the price action developing a short-term rally that pushed it from the extreme bearish till the extreme bullish sentiment zone.

Moreover, the consecutive intraday higher high could make the market participants expect further upsides during the interest rate decision, which will take place in the overnight trading session.

In this context, the analysts’ consensus foresees that the RBNZ official cash rate (OCR) will remain unchanged at 0.25%. However, considering that during the latest Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) broad meeting, the policymakers decided to cut the interest rate to 0.10%, it is possible that the RBNZ would follow the same direction.

In consequence, although the NZDUSD moves in the extreme bullish zone, a drop below 0.67635 could be a signal the pair might start developing a downward corrective movement during the following trading sessions.

Technical Overview

The big picture of the NZDUSD cross exposed in the 2-day log-scale chart reveals its advancement in an incomplete impulsive sequence, which looks moving on its fifth wave of Minute degree labeled in black. 

According to the Elliott Wave theory, considering that the price action developed a third extended wave, the fifth wave should have a limited upside. Thus, the extension of the current upward movement could end soon.

On the other hand, the bearish divergence observed in the MACD oscillator confirms that the cross’s current 5th-wave upward sequence is in an exhaustion stage. 

Likewise, the long-term descending trendline suggests that the price action currently tests a dynamic resistance, which could be surpassed backed by increasing volatility. Nevertheless, this potential breakout could end being a fake-out

Short-term technical Outlook

The intraday outlook for NZDUSD under the Elliott wave view and illustrated in its 4-hour chart exposes its progress in the third wave of Minuette degree labeled in blue, which could retrace to the area between 0.6785 and 0.67562.

If the price confirms the bounce from the demand zone between 0.67562 and 0.67850, the kiwi could advance toward the long-term supply zone, which corresponds to a potential target area between 0.69311 and 0.69780.

Once the fifth wave of Minuette degree, which belongs to the fifth wave of Minute degree, completes, the cross could start developing a corrective sequence with length and time proportional to the structural series of Minute degree.

Lastly, the invalidation of this intraday upward scenario is a drop below 0.67242.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

NAGA Wallet Review 2020: Features, Security, Customer Support, Pros and Cons

Naga Wallet is described as the ultimate simple and secure storage for your fiat and cryptocurrency assets on the Naga.com website. It is a hybrid custodial vault for digital assets that integrates a wide range of highly advanced and innovative features. For instance, it is one of the few digital wallets that allows users to send crypto via email and provides users with a social investing platform for crypto, stock, forex, and commodity traders. Naga wallet also provides users with real-time access to the markets and equips you with the necessary investing and portfolio monitoring tools.

Naga Wallet is described as the ultimate simple and secure storage for your fiat and cryptocurrency assets on the Naga.com website. It is a hybrid custodial vault for digital assets that integrates a wide range of highly advanced and innovative features. For instance, it is one of the few digital wallets that allows users to send crypto via email and provides users with a social investing platform for crypto, stock, forex, and commodity traders. Naga wallet also provides users with real-time access to the markets and equips you with the necessary investing and portfolio monitoring tools.

Naga Wallet is described as the ultimate simple and secure storage for your fiat and cryptocurrency assets on the Naga.com website. It is a hybrid custodial vault for digital assets that integrates a wide range of highly advanced and innovative features. For instance, it is one of the few digital wallets that allows users to send crypto via email and provides users with a social investing platform for crypto, stock, forex, and commodity traders. Naga wallet also provides users with real-time access to the markets and equips you with the necessary investing and portfolio monitoring tools.

NAGA wallet started as an online forex and commodity trading platform, created and launched by NAGA Markets LTD in 2015. For the past few years, the online broker has reported explosive growth that saw it incorporate such new features as social investing tools and a crypto wallet to the platform.

But how safe is this multi-asset investing and storage platform? How do you activate and use NAGA wallet, what are its pros and cons, and how much does it cost? We answer all these and tell you everything else you need to know about NAGA Wallet in this review.

NAGA Wallet key features:

Cross-platform: Naga Wallet is a cross-platform storage vault currently available as a web wallet and a mobile app. It is also available on the MT4 and MT5 desktop and web terminals.

Multi-currency wallet: Naga is a hybrid and multi-asset wallet that stores both Fiat and cryptocurrencies. These are mainly major international fiat currency, popular cryptos, and tokens.

Send crypto via email: You don’t have to memorize an acquaintance’s wallet address when you can send cryptocurrencies and tokens via the email address used to create a Naga investor account.

Buy crypto with card: Naga wallet integrates a payment gateway that allows the residents of over 100 countries to purchase cryptos instantly with a credit/debit card. The payment gateway also facilitates the purchasing of crypto via bank transfers and e-Wallets as Neteller and Skrill.

Instant crypto transactions: The custodial nature of the Naga Wallet ensures that cryptocurrency transfers from one Naga account to another are free and instantaneous.

Social investing: Social investing is an interactive trading tool that allows you to engage other Naga Wallet users. It makes it possible for pro crypto traders to share insights with the rest of the community. You can even copy the trades or portfolios of these traders and replicate their success in your account.

Free curated investment portfolios: In addition to copying highly successful trades and portfolios of the pro traders, Naga wallet also presents you with expertly curated crypto portfolios that you can invest in while incurring zero administration fees.

Inbuilt exchange: Naga wallet also features a built-in exchange where you can buy, sell, and exchange cryptocurrencies and tokens with other platform users.

Integrates NAGA Card: Naga Markets LTD recently launched the contactless NAGA prepaid card. They have since integrated it with the Naga wallet, allowing you to load it with cryptocurrencies before using it to pay for goods and services at thousands of crypto-friendly stores across the world.

NAGA Wallet security features:

Password: Naga Wallet is secured with a strong multi-character password that not only seeks to deter unauthorized access to the wallet but also encrypts user data.

Identity verification: Naga Wallet requires that all users verify their identity and pass the KYC and AML verification protocols before they start using the platform.

Two-factor authentication: The wallet allows you to tweak its settings and create a two-step login guide that requires a user password and an authentication code received via SMS or Google Authenticator.

Decentralized data storage: Unlike most other custodial crypto wallets that store your cryptocurrencies in centralized company servers, Naga Wallet embraces the decentralized data storage system. This means that it stores its client funds and private keys in highly decentralized servers.

Backup 2-step key: Naga wallet makes it possible for you to create a backup for your wallet’s login verification code. It comes in handy if you ever change or lose your phone or can’t access the google authenticator.

Highly regulated: Naga wallet is the product of a highly regulated online trading/investment company, NAGA Markets LTD, which is registered in Cyprus and St. Vincente and Grenadines. The company is also authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CSEC).

How to activate/setup the NAGA Wallet

Step 1: Open the Naga wallet website and click on the “Sign up” icon on the top left corner of the web page

Step 2: Complete the user profile by keying in your personal details (name, email, country of residence, and phone number) on the account registration page.

Step 3: Answer the query about your trading experience and start the platform tour.

Step 4: Complete the detailed investor profile that asks for more detailed personal information and personal finance information like income and tax details in U.S residents.

Step 5: Verify your identity and country of residence by uploading a Driver’s license

Step 6: Allow them time to verify your identity and activate the account while you practice trading and familiarize yourself with the web wallet using the free Demo account

Step 7: You will receive a confirmation email notifying you that your account is now active and ready for use

Step 8: You will have 14 days to make your first deposit

How to add/ receive Crypto into NAGA Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Naga wallet and click on the “Add Funds” tab on the user dashboard’s top left corner.

Step 2: Choose your preferred deposit method from the list provided. You could choose to deposit funds using a credit/debit card, wire transfer, or transferring cryptocurrencies.

Step 3: If you choose crypto, select the coin that you would like to add to your New Naga wallet and hit the “Receive” button

Step 4: Copy the wallet address or QR code and forward it to the person sending you crypto and wait for the funds to reflect.

How to send crypto from NAGA Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your NAGA wallet and click on the ”Send To” icon.

Step 2: Select the destination of the funds. It could be an exchange or another wallet via wallet address or email.

Step 3: If you choose the send by email option, enter the receiving email address and the amount you want to send

Step 4: Select the mode of payment for the network fee and the message accompanying the transfer (optional)

Step 5: Confirm that these transfer details are correct and hit send.

NAGA Wallet ease of use:

Naga wallet embraces a simplistic design that is characterized by a clean and decongested user interface. When you create a user account, you will be given a free demo trading account that you can use to practice crypto investing and to familiarize yourself with the wallet’s most popular features.

NAGA Wallet supported currencies:

Currently, Naga wallet supports 15 popular cryptocurrencies and all ERC-20 tokens and is available in over 200 countries.

NAGA Wallet cost and fees:

Naga wallet is free to download. You also won’t be charged for opening an account here, depositing, and storing your cryptocurrencies therein. You will only be charged network fees when you send crypto from your wallet to another wallet or exchange. Plus, you stand to benefit from a 10% reduction in transaction fees when you choose to pay for the transfer using NAGA coins.

NAGA Wallet customer support:

Naga wallet maintains a highly responsive customer support team that is available online 24/7. You can contact them via email or the live chat tool on the company website, web app, and the wallet app.

What are the pros and cons of using the NAGA Wallet?

Pros:

  • It is highly innovative and allows traders to send crypto to email addresses.
  • It a multi-asset wallet that hosts numerous forex pairs, popular cryptocurrencies, and ERC 20 tokens.
  • The wallet embraces highly effective safety features, including decentralizing data storage.
  • Naga Markets LTD is authorized and regulated.
  • You get to interact with such revolutionary trading tools as social investing.

Cons:

  • It doesn’t support anonymous crypto trading.
  • It supports a limited number of cryptocurrencies.

Comparing NAGA Wallet with other Multi-Asset wallets

NAGA Wallet vs. eToro wallet

Naga and eToro multi-asset wallets were both started by online brokerage service providers. Other similarities include the fact they both support a limited number of cryptocurrencies, encourage social investing, store the private keys on behalf of their clients, and allow wallet users to purchase crypto with a card, bank wire, or eWallets. Both are also maintained by highly regulated online trading platforms.

Naga, however, goes a step further when they introduce and integrate the NAGA contactless card into the wallet. It also facilitates free crypto transfers within the network while discounting outbound transfers paid by Naga Coin. Plus, unlike eToro, it provides users with a backup for the 2FA key/code.

Verdict: Is NAGA Wallet safe?

Well, Naga Markets LTD has put in place several highly effective security and privacy measures around the Naga Wallet. And it all starts with the online brokerage-cum-crypto wallet demanding that all prospective wallet users verify their identity and complete the KYC and AML protocols. It then extends to storing private keys in decentralized data centers on behalf of their clients and activating two-factor verification for wallet logins. The only downside to using Naga Wallet is that it deprives you of control over your private keys.

Categories
Forex Course

171. The Best Timeframe for Forex Markets

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

In our previous lesson, we looked at which timeframes you should trade in the forex market. We established that the timeframes you trade depend on the type of forex trader that you are. This lesson will cover the best timeframes to trade using illustrations depending on the type of forex trader you are.

Best Timeframe for Forex Position Trading

1-Month EUR/USD Primary Trend Timeframe

The monthly timeframe shows a downtrend in the pair.

1-Week EUR/USD Trigger Timeframe

For a forex position trader, the 1-week timeframe can be used to establish the support level. This level will make the best entry point when the price trends below it.

Best Timeframe for Forex Swing Trading

Daily EUR/USD Primary Trend Timeframe

Forex swing traders trade in the direction of the preceding trend, which in this example, is a downtrend.

4-hour EUR/USD Trigger Timeframe

For a forex swing trader, using the 4-hour timeframe is the best to identify the ideal entry and exit points.

Best Timeframe for Forex Day Trading

1-hour GBP/USD Primary Trend Timeframe

For a forex day trader, the dominant market trend is a downtrend. With this chart, the day trader can establish multiple support and resistance levels. The 15-minute timeframe is used to establish the best market entry positions.

15-minute GBP/USD Trigger Timeframe

With the 15-minute timeframe, multiple entries and exit points can be established.

Best Timeframe for Forex Scalping

15-minute EUR/USD Primary Trend Timeframe

For a forex scalper, the 15-minute timeframe shows an uptrend. The 5-minute timeframe will be used to establish the best points of entry into the market.

5-minute Trigger Timeframe

The 5-minute timeframe presents the forex scalper with the best points for entry into the uptrend market.

Best Timeframe for Fundamental Forex Traders

Fundamental forex traders can also use timeframe analysis to establish the magnitude and volatility resulting from the release of an economic indicator. Therefore, depending on whether the indicator is high- or low-impact, you can determine which timeframe is best to trade.

With high-impact indicators, you can trade from the 30-minute timeframe.

30-minute timeframe for Australia’s GDP data release. September 2, 2020, 1.30 AM GMT

Furthermore, the price action from the release of a high-impact economic indicator can persist in the market for the long-term.

30-minute timeframe for Australia’s GDP data release. September 2, 2020, 1.30 AM GMT

The 4-hour chart shows that the AUD/USD pair continued trending downwards due to the less than expected GDP growth data.

For low- to medium-impact economic indicators, it is best to trade shorter timeframes from 1-minute to 15-minutes.

5-minute timeframe for Australia’s retail sales data release. August 21, 2020, 1.30 AM GMT

At longer timeframes, the effects of these indicators on the price action dissipates.

1-hour timeframe for Australia’s retail sales data release. August 21, 2020, 1.30 AM GMT

[wp_quiz id=”89173″]
Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What’s Troy Trade (TROY) All About?

With decentralized finance edging closer to the mainstream every day, all manner of DeFi products have been launched to cater to a fast-growing user base. You can now carry out your usual trades and a raft of other activities in a decentralized, secure, and borderless environment powered by the blockchain. 

With decentralized finance edging closer to the mainstream every day, all manner of DeFi products have been launched to cater to a fast-growing user base. You can now carry out your usual trades and a raft of other activities in a decentralized, secure, and borderless environment powered by the blockchain. 

With decentralized finance edging closer to the mainstream every day, all manner of DeFi products have been launched to cater to a fast-growing user base. You can now carry out your usual trades and a raft of other activities in a decentralized, secure, and borderless environment powered by the blockchain. 

Troy, launched in 2018, is one such platform. Troy claims to “redefine trading beyond exchange,” signaling to the many possibilities it avails to users. Troy incorporates modern technology like artificial intelligence to achieve safe and frictionless interactions with its products. The Troy platform currently runs on Ethereum but plans to switch to its mainnet in December 2020. 

This article is a deeper dive into the Troy ecosystem. 

Breaking Down Troy 

Troy is a full-stack, blockchain-powered environment for financial and brokerage services. Both individual and institutional traders can access a raft of services such as spot and margin trading, derivatives, lending, borrowing, and staking. Troy wants to achieve this main objective: provide users with decentralized, diversified, and affordable brokerage services for people of all regulatory backgrounds and financial habits.

Some of the project’s highlights include: 

  • Aggregated trading: Troy offers users direct access to the aggregated liquidity of multiple exchanges. Some of the functions on offer include dark pools, assignment services, and smart order routing. 
  • Data analytics: Troy helps customers make informed trading decisions by providing them with blockchain, trading, market, and media data. This data is optimized by artificial intelligence and quantitative models. 
  • Diversified brokerage services: Users can access a range of brokerage services from real-time fund transfer to settlement to OTC trading
  • Broad range asset management solutions: Troy users have access to a full-stack solution complete with straight-through processing, historical data, and a strategy assessment tool

Troy: Architecture

The Troy network is divided into smaller core subsystems, with each running independently of the other but all interoperable. Some of the core subsystems include, but are not limited to: user subsystem, market subsystem, trade subsystem, management subsystem, and gateway subsystem.

The trade subsystem is the most important of the subsystems, hosting the order transaction module,  scheduled scheduling module, etc. Users can create new trading accounts on the platform and immediately get to depositing, withdrawing, and sending and receiving crypto assets. They can also link existing trading accounts on various crypto exchanges to the Troy protocol through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). 

You can also authorize other users to trade using your account and generally manage your account using the risk management module. Troy’s trading interface also allows you to move seamlessly between accounts and carry out cross-exchange trades. 

The platform’s data monitoring interface allows you to keep tabs with real-time market movements and utilize the mainstream trading execution algorithm to make better trades. And lastly, the data analysis module allows you to access real-time data from the most popular exchanges, as well as spot and margin trading data. 

Community Growth Strategies of Troy

The Troy team will deploy several strategies to expand the project’s growth and recruit more members into its fold. The Troy community is made of these participants:

  • Crypto investors, which are the main user base of Troy
  • Stakers and relayers: Network participants who update and record orders on the blockchain
  • Exchanges: These are liquidity and custodial service providers
  • Ecological partners: These are projects both in the blockchain and traditional finance space which contribute to the Troy ecosystem one way  or another

Troy will engage with these community groups in the following ways: 

  • Partner with programs such as the Global Financial Partnership Program to help expand global reach
  • Expand user base through programs like the Troy Token Challenge and the Troy Hercules Ambassador Program
  • Offer users incentives like mining rewards, staking rewards, etc. to attract more users

Future strategies include the following: 

  • Partner with product-oriented platforms such as quantity providers, wallets, and exchanges 
  • Open access for more Fiat channels such as JPY, EUR, USD, etc

The Troy Token

The native token of the Troy network is stylized as TROY. The token has these use cases: 

  • As a means of access to various Troy services 
  • As a deflationary mechanism: the Troy token will be occasionally burnt to rebalance supply and demand
  • As gas fees for interacting with the protocol
  • As fees for various functions, like trading and settlement
  • As an incentive mechanism for brokers for their contribution in maintaining the platform
  • As an incentive mechanism for relayer nodes to update, broadcast and  synchronize orders in a timely and accurate manner
  • As a staking mechanism for brokers to maintain global networks

Token Distribution

The Troy token was distributed in this fashion: 

  • Private sale tokens: 12%
  • Binance launchpad sale tokens: 8%
  • Team and advisors’ tokens: 10%
  • Ecosystem tokens: 10%
  • Mining rewards tokens: 60%

As of 27th October 2020, the TROY token traded at $0.002708, with a market cap of $24,854,424 that placed it at #293. The token had a 24-hour volume of $828,108, with a circulating and total supply of $9, 176,552, and 10 billion, respectively. TROY’s highest-ever price was $0.010834 (Dec 06, 2019), while its lowest-ever was $0.001330 (Mar 16, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store TROY

TROY token is listed as a market pair of BNB, USDT, BNB, and KRW on exchanges such as Bilaxy, Binance, Binance DEX, XTheta Global, Bitribe, and HBTC. 

Troy is an ERC-20 token, meaning you can store it in any Ethereum-compatible wallet. Great choices include MyEtherWallet, MetaMask,  Ledger, Parity, Guarda, Atomic Wallet, Coinomi, and Trust Wallet.

Categories
Crypto Guides

Brief Introduction To Flexa And SPEDN Crypto Payment Apps

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Cryptocurrencies are becoming bigger and bigger with each passing year. While they were an unknown topic a decade back, they have now become a prominent income source for many. But have you imagined if these cryptocurrencies overtake the physical currencies entirely? Well, Flexa has made this possible by bringing in the use of crypto payments in the retail world.

This means the cryptocurrency usage won’t be limited to investment purposes, and retailers will benefit from it. Flex has now begun its work with a mobile application named SPEDN. There is nothing to worry about if you haven’t heard about Flex and SPEDN before because we will provide you with all the necessary details on these two.

What Are Flexa And SPEDN?

As stated above, Flexa is a mobile payment startup that has been working to develop a unique cryptocurrency payment network for retailers. Its primary motive includes the following factors:

  • Reduce frauds
  • Eliminate processing costs
  • Build better relationships between buyers and sellers
  • Preserve privacy

Flexa offers one of its kind platform for payments that is entirely decentralized, making commerce more efficient and accessible. In straightforward terms, it can be stated that Flexa works to cut out the unnecessary hassle that is often incorporated into the payment processes of retailers. Thus, reducing the overall complexity and costs of conventional payment systems.

The startup is doing so with its first app called SPEDN. The application will be available for both Android and iOS platforms. It will serve as a digital wallet that uses cryptocurrency as the payment method. So you can use it for direct payments in retail stores.

Which Cryptocurrencies Are Supported By SPEDN?

The very first factor people notice in a digital wallet is the type of currencies supported by it. And it is the same for SPEDN. It is vital to know whether this platform provides you with the flexibility to use your preferred cryptocurrency for the purpose.

Currently, it supports the following cryptocurrencies:

  • Bitcoin
  • Bitcoin Cash
  • Ethereum
  • Gemini

However, Flexa has assured the users that they will soon be able to use a variety of coins on SPEDN as they are working towards the development.

How To Use The SPEDN App?

Using the SPEDN application is as simple as using any other digital wallet. You just have to follow four simple steps:

  • Deposit Money: You first need to have enough cryptocurrency in the app to function further. For this, you can choose the amount that has to be deposited, and SPEDN will provide you with a deposit address.
  • Shop: Once you have enough cryptocurrency in the wallet, you can shop for whatever you want from any specific retail store.
  • Get Barcode: You will then have to select the store name from the app, and you will receive a unique barcode.
  • Scan: The shop’s cashier will then scan the code, and the payment will get debited automatically.

Currently, it may be challenging for you to spot retail stores that accept cryptocurrency payments. But once this platform becomes popular and people become aware of its benefits, you will be able to use it like any other digital wallet.

Conclusion

Flexa is working to change the entire retail shopping experience for you. Plus, they are making the transactions more beneficial for the shopkeepers. SPEDN is its first app to fulfill the initiative. However, this is just the beginning, and people expect Flexa to bring up more ideas to make the platform even more convenient.

Categories
Forex Elliott Wave Forex Market Analysis

Euphoric Market’s Sentiment Pushes GBPCHF Up

Overview

Overview

Overview

The GBPCHF cross began the current trading week, advancing over 1.30%, boosted by the U.S. post-election rally and Pfizer’s Covid vaccine upbeat results. However, the Elliott Wave view anticipates that the euphoric rally could soon end, and the cross could reverse its course toward new lows.

Market Sentiment

The week started with a risk-on U.S. Presidential post-election stock market rally, driving the risk-off currencies to drop. In this context, the GBPCHF cross advances over 1.30% to its highest level since late September.

The following 8-hour chart displays the intraday market sentiment. Although the sideways movement predominates since late September, the strong bullish move developed in the Monday trading session takes the GBPCHF cross to the extreme bullish sentiment zone.

Likewise, we can see the price action developing above the 60-period weighted moving average, which confirms the intraday upward bias that could hold during the following trading sessions.

On the other hand, the euphoric sentiment bolstered by news media’s coverage of the U.S. elections and the continuation of the stock market rally added to the news of the promising vaccine results developed by Pfizer and BioNTech leads us to expect a limited upside in the risk-on currencies.

Technical Overview

The big picture of the GBPCHF under the Elliott wave perspective reveals its progress in a descending broadening formation. Its latest downward sequence began on December 13th, 2019, when the price found fresh sellers at 1.33113. We can see, as well, that this leg still remains in progress.

The following daily chart unveils the advance in the fifth wave of Minute degree labeled in black, which started on 1.22224, where the price action declined in a bearish impulsive movement reaching a new lower low. This decline that ended on 1.15989 completed the first wave of Minuette degree labeled in blue.

Currently, the GBPCHF cross moves in its second wave (in blue). Nevertheless, the psychological barrier of 1.20 could represent a significative intraday resistance.

Technical Outlook

The intraday outlook of the GBPCHF cross reveals the bullish continuation of the current upward momentum. The next 2-hour chart exposes the supply and demand zones according to the potential next move that the cross could develop in the coming trading sessions.

On the one hand, the price advances in its wave c of Subminuette degree identified in green, developing the third internal wave. Likewise, the retracement that should correspond to its fourth internal wave could retrace to the area between 1.19292 and 1.19694. This zone could back the possibility of a new rally that would boost the price toward 1.21012 and 1.21306. 

On the other hand, our first scenario considers the bearish continuation. In this case, if the price action penetrates and closes below 1.1803, the cross could see further declines toward the zone of 1.1650.

Finally, our second scenario considers that if the GBPCHF cross continues its advance beyond 1.22224, the cross could extend its gains toward the descending upper- trendline shown in the daily chart.

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

What Should You Know About ‘Mortgage Market Index’ Macro Economic Indicator

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

In the recent past, the real estate market has been a critical indicator of economic performance. As with any other aspect of the financial market that intertwines with consumer demand, the significance of the mortgage market cannot be overstated. Knowing if mortgage applications have increased or reduced can tell a lot about the demand in the housing market and households’ welfare. This index can be a leading indicator of demand in the economy.

Understanding the Mortgage Market Index

Primarily, the mortgage market index tracks the number of mortgage applications over a specific period. In the US, for example, the mortgage market index is compiled by the US Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA mortgage market index is released weekly. MBA has an association of about 2200 members encompassing the entire real estate financing industry. The companies included in the association are deal originators, compliance officers, deal underwriters, servicers, and information technology personnel. These companies are active in residential, multi-family, and commercial real estate.

Owing to its vast network of real estate companies across the country, MBA is in the best position to provide comprehensive coverage of the mortgage applications made. The published data shows both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted changes in the US’s number of mortgage applications. Furthermore, the report also includes the Refinance Index,  which shows the number of applications made by households wishing to refinance their mortgages. The report also includes seasonally adjusted and unadjusted ‘Purchase Index,’ which shows the number of outright purchases in the real estate sector during that week.

Furthermore, this weekly report analyses the change in the Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) applications. As the name suggests, the ARM is a mortgage in which the interest rate payable on the balance varies throughout its life. The number of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans are also included in the report. It further analyses the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with Jumbo loan balances and conforming loan balances. Jumbo loan balances are those above $510,400 while conforming loan balances are less than this amount. Finally, the MBA mortgage market weekly report analyses the change in the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages.

Using the Mortgage Market Index in Analysis

The change in the number of mortgages in an economy tells a lot about the prevailing economic conditions. These conditions range from demand in real estate to prevailing monetary policies. Both of these aspects are integral in the growth of an economy.

When the mortgage market index is rising, it means that the number of mortgage applications has increased. The increase in mortgage applications could imply that there is a growing demand for real estate. One thing you have to know, when people decide to invest in the housing market, it normally means that they have increased disposable income and have thus fulfilled all other intermediate needs.

An increase in disposable income in the economy means that more people are gainfully employed or that wages have increased. In both these circumstances, we can deduce that the economy is expanding. The reason for this deduction is because when demand in the real estate market expands, it means that demand in the consumer discretionary industry has also increased. Thus, the output in the economy is higher.

More so, when the mortgage market index rises, it could mean that households and investors in the economy have access to cheap finance. Either they are creditworthiness has improved, or the market interest rates are lower. When the interest rate is lower in the market, it is usually due to the central banks’ expansionary monetary policy.

Such expansionary policies are adopted when the central banks aim to stimulate the growth of the economy. It means that people have access to cheap money and can borrow more. When there is a growing money supply in the economy, households can increase their consumption, and investors can scale up their operations. Overall, the economy will experience an increase in output, thus in the GDP.

Furthermore, it could also mean that households who previously could not afford to service a mortgage can now be able to afford mortgages due to low-interest rates. This scenario played out towards the end of the first quarter of 2020 when the US Federal Reserve made a series of interest rate cuts. The MBA mortgage market index is seen to have hiked. This hike can be taken as a sign that households and investors were taking advantage of the expansionary policies by increasing their holding in the real estate sector.

Source: Investing.com

On the other hand, a drop in the MBA mortgage index means that the demand for demand in the housing market is waning. The decrease in demand could be synonymous with an overall contraction of demand in the economy. The contraction of aggregate demand can be taken as a sign that the overall economy is also contracting. Similarly, it can also be taken as a sign that the public has lost confidence in the housing market as during the 2007 – 2008 housing market crash.

Source: Investing.com

Impact of the Mortgage Market Index on Currency

In theory, the domestic currency should be susceptible to fluctuations in the mortgage market index.

When the index increases, it can be taken as a sign that there is an increased money supply in the economy. Under such circumstances, contractionary monetary and fiscal policies might be implemented, such as hiking the interest rates. When such policies are adopted, the domestic currency tends to increase in value compared to other currencies in the forex market.

Conversely, when the index is continually dropping, it can be taken as an indicator of overall economic contraction. In this instance, expansionary policies might be implemented, like lowering interest rates to encourage consumption and prevent the economy from slipping into a recession. These policies make domestic currency depreciate.

Sources of Data

In the US, the mortgage market index is compiled and published weekly by the Mortgage Bankers Association. A historical time series of the data is available at Investing.com.

How the US Mortgage Market Index Affects The Forex Price Charts

The latest publication by the MBA was on October 21, 2020, at 7.00 AM EST. As seen in the screengrab below, a low impact on the USD is expected when the index is published.

For the one week to October 21, 2020, the mortgage market index was 794.2 compared to 798.9 in the previous publication.

Let’s see how this publication impacted the USD.

GBP/USD: Before US Mortgage Market Index Release on October 21, 2020, 
just before 7.00 AM EST

Before the publication of the US Mortgage Market Index, the EUR/USD pair was trading in a weak uptrend. In the above 5-minute chart, the 20-period MA is almost flattened with candles forming slightly above it.

GBP/USD: After US Mortgage Market Index Release on October 21, 2020, 
at 7.00 AM EST

The pair formed a 5-minute bearish candle after the release of the index. It later traded in a neutral trend as the 20-period MA flattened, and candles formed around it.

Bottom Line

This article has shown that the US MBA Mortgage Market Index plays an essential role as an indicator of demand in the housing market. But as shown by the above analyses, this economic indicator has no significant impact on price action in the forex market.

Categories
Forex Assets

Understanding The Fundamentals Of AUD/KES Forex Currency Pair

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

In the AUD/KES pair, the AUD represents the Australian Dollar while the KES is the Kenyan Shilling. When buying and selling this exotic currency pair, forex traders should expect instances of high volatility. In the AUD/KES pair, AUD is the base currency, and KES is the quote currency. The price attached to this pair is the amount of KES that 1 AUD can buy. For example, if the price of AUD/KES is 76.399, it means that if you have 1 Australian Dollar, you can buy 76.399 Kenyan Shillings.

AUD/KES Specification

Spread

When you want to buy a currency pair in forex trading, you buy it from the broker. If you sell the pair, you sell it to the broker. The difference between these two prices is the spread. The spread for the AUD/KES pair is – ECN: 25 pips | STP: 30 pips

Fees

Most brokers charge a commission when you open a position. This commission varies from broker to broker and also depends on the size of your position. STP accounts are usually commission-free.

Slippage

In times of high volatility, or when your broker delays executing a trade, you will notice that the price at which you open a position is different from the exertion price. This is slippage in forex trading.

Trading Range in the AUD/KES Pair

In forex trading, trading range refers to the fluctuation in a currency pair’s price across different timeframes. Analysis of the trading range provides a powerful tool for deriving the volatility of a currency pair.

The Procedure to assess Pip Ranges

  1. Add the ATR indicator to your chart
  2. Set the period to 1
  3. Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
  4. Shrink the chart so you can determine a larger period
  5. Select your desired timeframe
  6. Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
  7. Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
  8. Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

AUD/KES Cost as a Percentage of the Trading Range

The total trading cost involved in buying and selling a currency pair includes the spread, slippage costs, and brokers’ fees. Using the total trading costs, we can establish the percentage costs of a currency pair in pips.

ECN Model Account Cost

Spread = 25 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 1 | Total = 28

STP Model Account Cost

Spread = 30 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 0 | Total cost = 32

The Ideal Timeframe to Trade the AUD/KES

These analyses show that trading the AUD/KES pair on larger timeframes carries lower costs than smaller timeframes. Notice that on longer timeframes, volatility is higher. We can thus say that higher volatility corresponds to lower costs. For both the ECN and the STP accounts, costs are highest when volatility is at four pips and lowest when volatility is 737.1 pips.

To determine the ideal trading will depend on your trading style. Generally, longer-term traders enjoy low costs for both types of accounts. For the shorter-term traders, waiting for when volatility is at the ‘maximum’ will help lower the costs. Traders can also use forex limit orders to lower trading costs since using such orders eliminates slippage. Here’s one example using the ECN account.

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading fee = 0 + 25+ 1 = 26

With no slippage costs, notice how costs have significantly dropped. The highest cost for the AUD/KES pair has dropped from 474.58% to 440.68%.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Omni Wallet review 2020: How Safe is Omni Wallet?

On the web wallet website, this crypto storage vault is described as a web wallet dedicated to bridging the gap between “security, usability, and multi-currency support.” It is an open-source web wallet developed by OmniLayer Technology Company in 2013.  Originally referred to as Mastercoin, the Bitcoin-based protocol rebranded to Omni in 2016. Since then, Omniwallet’s development team has committed to the continued improvement of this multi-currency wallet’s features and functionalities that the team considers a work in progress.

On the web wallet website, this crypto storage vault is described as a web wallet dedicated to bridging the gap between “security, usability, and multi-currency support.” It is an open-source web wallet developed by OmniLayer Technology Company in 2013.  Originally referred to as Mastercoin, the Bitcoin-based protocol rebranded to Omni in 2016. Since then, Omniwallet’s development team has committed to the continued improvement of this multi-currency wallet’s features and functionalities that the team considers a work in progress.

On the web wallet website, this crypto storage vault is described as a web wallet dedicated to bridging the gap between “security, usability, and multi-currency support.” It is an open-source web wallet developed by OmniLayer Technology Company in 2013.  Originally referred to as Mastercoin, the Bitcoin-based protocol rebranded to Omni in 2016. Since then, Omniwallet’s development team has committed to the continued improvement of this multi-currency wallet’s features and functionalities that the team considers a work in progress.

On the Omniwallet website, this crypto vault is described as a protocol layer that is built on the Bitcoin blockchain. It is a custodial wallet that stores digital assets in highly secure company servers but also allows you to create personalized servers to host your private keys.

In this Omniwallet review, we want to determine if the wallet lives up to its security and usability promise. And to achieve this, we will detail its key features, the safety measures it has put in place, provide you with a step by step guide on how to use Omninwallet, and tell you everything you need to know about this hot wallet.

Omni Wallet key features:

Multicurrency support: Though it is built on the Bitcoin blockchain, Omniwallet is considered a multicurrency wallet that supports both Bitcoin and Omnilayer native tokens.

Built-in exchange: OmniLayer runs a decentralized crypto exchange that it has integrated on the Omniwlalet. It is fast in processing crypto transactions, maintains competitive transaction fees, and introduces wallet users to a wide range of cryptocurrencies, tokens, and stable coins.

Web-based: Omniwallet is purely web-based and compatible with virtually all popular browsers. Therefore, you don’t have to download or install crypto apps to access the wallet or interact with its services.

Own hosting: Omniwallet stores all the data, especially the private keys, in the highly secure OmniLayer servers. You nevertheless are free to create personalized servers like Amazon AWS that you can then use to host your private keys.

Omni Wallet security features:

Password: Like virtually all other cryptocurrency vaults, Omniwallet is secured with a wallet that you set when creating a user account. You will need it, alongside the wallet ID, to access the Omnilayer servers and interact with your private keys.

Open-sourced: According to Omniwlalet, everything about their wallet “is open source from the ground up.” Anyone can, therefore, view and critique their source code that is currently accessible on both the company website and GitHub repository.

Multifactor authentication: You can add a second and even a third layer of protection around your wallet using compatible platforms like Google Authenticator or email address to receive special codes that you can use to log in to the wallet.

Integrates Bitcoin armory: Bitcoin Armory is a specialized online Bitcoin wallet that stores your private keys in offline cold storage. Bitcoin armory also allows you to transact offline and only come online to broadcast the transaction.

Client-side encryption: The fact that Omniwlalet stores private keys on your behalf implies a lot of communication between the wallet and company servers. Client-side encryption here implies that communications between your Omni wallet and Omnilayer servers, as well as third-party systems, are encrypted before they leave your browser.

Hierarchically deterministic: By ensuring that the process of generating new wallet addresses is hierarchically deterministic, Omniwallet helps you mask your online crypto transactions by hiding your real wallet address, effectively throwing off crypto trackers.

Watch-only mode: When logging into your Omniwallet from an unsecured browser or compromised internet connections, you can opt to log in to its watch-only mode. This allows you to view crypto balances and crypto history but makes it impossible to view the private keys, alter the wallet settings, or transfer cryptos out.

How to activate/ setup the Omni Wallet

Step 1: Open the Omniwlalet.org website and click on the “Create Wallet” tab

Step 2: Create a unique password for the wallet and enter a valid email address

Step 3: You will receive your unique wallet ID in your email. You will need it together with the password to log in to your user account.

Step 4: Log in to the Omniwallet. Click on the three bars on the top left corner of the user dashboard, and under wallet options, select Backup to generate the backup for your wallet.

Step 5: You will be prompted to enter the wallet password for verification, after which you can download the wallet backup. Copy it to a USB stick or PC and store it safely offline.

Step 6: Your Omniwallet is now active and ready for use

How to add/ receive Crypto into Omni Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Omniwallet and click on the My Wallet tab.

Step 2: Use the My Address tab to see all the wallets hosted on the wallet.

Step 3:  Select the coin you want to receive to reveal the wallet address and QR code

Step 4: Copy either and forward them to the individuals sending you cryptocurrencies.

How to send crypto from Omni Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Omniwallet and click on the My Wallet tab.

Step 2: Use the My Address tab to see all the cryptocurrencies hosted on the wallet

Step 3: Click on the “Send” button at the far right of the user dashboard.

Step 4: On the “Send from” section, select the wallet address from whence to send the cryptos, then enter the recipient’s wallet address and the amount to send

Step 5: Confirm that the transaction details are correct and hit send.

Omni Wallet ease of use:

The process of creating a user account on Omniwallet is easy and straightforward. The wallet also maintains one of the cleanest, intuitive, and beginner-friendly user interfaces. The fact that it is a web wallet also means that it is easily accessible from virtually any browser and on the move.

The process of sending and receiving cryptocurrencies in and out of the wallet or backing up its contents is also easy and straightforward.

Omni Wallet supported currencies:

Omniwlalet will only support three cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Omni token, and Test Omni Token.

Omni Wallet cost and fees:

Omniwallet is free. However, you will be required to pay a small and highly variable transaction fee every time you send cryptos out to another wallet or exchange.

Omni Wallet customer support:

On the Omniwallet website is the FAQ section that hosts how-to guides for the wallet. It also highlights some of the common challenges faced by Omniwallet users and how to overcome them.

You will also find the ‘Contact Us’ page that provides users with the support email and hosts the wallet’s knowledge base. For technical queries, consider direct messaging Omniwallet’s customer support team on Facebook or Twitter.

What are the pros and cons of using the Omni Wallet?

Pros:

  • It is ultralight and doesn’t require you to download a node or app.
  • It is highly transparent as it embraces an open-sourced design.
  • It embraces such advanced crypto security features as client-side encryption and Bitcoin Armory.

Cons:

  • It stores private keys on your behalf.
  • It will only support a limited number of crypto.

Comparing Omni Wallet with other Custodial crypto wallets

Omni Wallet vs. eToro wallet

Omni and EeToro are similar because they both are custodial wallets, storing private keys and other sensitive data on your behalf. They have also integrated similar functional and security features, such as a decentralized exchange. They are also free and maintain very competitive transaction fees.

However, while Omniwallet is a Bitcoin-only crypto storage vault, eToro is more versatile and supports 100+ cryptos and tokens. Similarly, Omniwlallet’s customer support team may be considered a little lackluster and sluggish than the highly responsive team maintained by eToro.

Verdict: Is Omni Wallet safe?

The most significant blow to Omniwlalet’s claim of maintaining one of the most secure crypto wallets is that it is a web-wallet exposed to the inherent threats facing hot wallets. It has tried to address this challenge by introducing client-side encryption, self-hosted servers, and even the ultra-secure Bitcoin Armory.

Categories
Forex Course

170. Why Consider Analysing Multiple Timeframes When Trading Forex?

Introduction 

Introduction 

Introduction 

Our previous lessons have covered trading multiple timeframes in forex and which timeframes are suitable for your trading style. To some forex traders, trading multiple forex timeframes can seem tedious and time-consuming. Here are some of the most important reasons why you should look at multiple timeframes when trading forex.

1. To easily identify trends and their momentum

Depending on the type of forex trader you are, multiple timeframes will enable you to see the prevailing market trends at a glance by filtering out periodic price spikes. It is easier to identify the direction of the market trends and consolidations, whether in the short- or long-term.

For the long-term market trend, you can use the weekly and the monthly timeframes, while the intermediate market trend can best be identified by the 4-hour to daily timeframes. Timeframes of between five minutes and one hour can be used to determine the short-term market position.

The longer timeframes filter out the short-term price fluctuations, which might otherwise result in trend inconsistencies when viewed alone. The periodic fluctuations in the short-term add up in the long-term. With multiple timeframe analysis, the strength and consistency of the short-term trend can be compared to that in the long-term. This comparison is made by observing whether the prevailing long-term trend was dominant in the short-term as well.

2. To establish the significance of fundamental indicators

Using multiple trend analysis, you can easily establish the magnitude that news release of economic indicators has on a given currency pair. To determine the significance of the economic indicators, you can use different timeframes to establish how long the news release affected price action. The effects of high-impact fundamental indicators can be traced from the shorter timeframe to the longer timeframes. Low-impact indicators only affect price action on the shorter timeframe.

3. Identifying the support and resistance levels

Based on the forex trading style you choose, you can use the more extended timeframe within your category to establish the support and resistance levels in the market trend. Shorter timeframes can then be used to trigger entry and exit points for a trade.

These support and resistance levels are crucial in deciding the forex order type you want to execute. Say, for example, you want to use a buy limit order. You will use the support level as your trigger price. Similarly, the support level can be used as the trigger price for a sell stop order. You can use the resistance level as the trigger price for the sell limit and buy stop orders.

4. To avoid the lagging effects of technical indicators

Technical forex indicators are lagging since they derive their properties from the price action of a forex pair. Therefore, the forecasting significance of multiple timeframe analysis in the forex market can be said to be leading that of the technical indicators. Furthermore, some technical forex indicators can produce conflicting signals. Thus, trading with multiple timeframes improves your forex analysis.

We hope you understood why it is crucial to consider analyzing various timeframes while analyzing the Forex market. Please take the below quiz to know if you got the concepts correctly. Cheers!

[wp_quiz id=”89156″]
Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Luno Wallet Review: Here Is Everything You Need To Know About The Multi-Asset Wallet?

Luno Wallet is a fast-growing crypto storage vault created by Timothy Stranex, an ex-Google engineer. The wallet seeks to provide its users with a balance between security and ease of use. It is the official crypto wallet for the Luno crypto exchange that started in 2013 as BitX before rebranding to Luno in 2016. Both the Luno exchange wallet and exchange are headquartered in London but maintain satellite offices in South Africa and Singapore.

Luno Wallet is a fast-growing crypto storage vault created by Timothy Stranex, an ex-Google engineer. The wallet seeks to provide its users with a balance between security and ease of use. It is the official crypto wallet for the Luno crypto exchange that started in 2013 as BitX before rebranding to Luno in 2016. Both the Luno exchange wallet and exchange are headquartered in London but maintain satellite offices in South Africa and Singapore.

Luno Wallet is a fast-growing crypto storage vault created by Timothy Stranex, an ex-Google engineer. The wallet seeks to provide its users with a balance between security and ease of use. It is the official crypto wallet for the Luno crypto exchange that started in 2013 as BitX before rebranding to Luno in 2016. Both the Luno exchange wallet and exchange are headquartered in London but maintain satellite offices in South Africa and Singapore.

Luno started as a Bitcoin-only wallet. Over time, however, it has incorporated Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash cryptocurrencies as well as a few more Fiat currencies like the Indian Rupee, Nigerian Naira, and the European Pound.

In this Luno wallet review, we want to ascertain if Luno is indeed safe and easy to use as advertised. We will be looking at the security and operational features put in place by the company while providing you with a step-by-step guide on how to activate and use the wallet.

Luno Wallet key features:

Cross-platform: Luno is a cross-platform crypto wallet available for iOS and Android devices and a web wallet.

Inbuilt exchange: Luno integrates a built-in crypto exchange to buy, sell, and exchange different cryptocurrencies. It is fully-fledged and fitted with basic and advanced crypto investing tools like the real-time order book and risk management tools such as Limit and stop-limit orders.

Buy crypto with fiat: Luno wallets makes it possible for users to buy crypto with fiat via debit/credit cards, direct wire transfers, or e-wallets like PayStack.

Portfolio trackers: On the Luno wallet user interface is the crypto history and balance tabs that let you monitor your crypto transactions and portfolio values in real-time. And in addition to the two is the chart that shows you the price performance of each of the supported cryptocurrencies and value changes per day, week, month, and year. You are also free to set automated price alerts for this crypto.

Block explorer: The wallet also integrates a blockchain explorer that users rely on to get crypto news and events and expert analysis on how either is expected to disrupt the crypto industry.

Trading insights and market reports: Luno has partnered with a crypto-focused Intelligence Company – IntoTheBlock – and launched a series of premium indicators and market analysis tools that they believe will be instrumental in helping users make informed crypto trading decisions. This is then complimented with the Daily Market Update blog that analyses and predicts the price performance of featured cryptos.

Savings wallet: Luno recently introduced the BTC Savings Wallet that earns you a 4% annual interest for saving your BTC in the account. There are no fixed terms, and you are free to withdraw either the profit or clear the wallet at any time.

Luno Wallet security features:

Password: Like any other cryptocurrency wallet, Luno is password secured. You get to set the password when creating a user account, and it doubles as the encryption tool.

Two factors authentication: When creating your Luno wallet user account, the wallet will ask for such personal information as your email and phone number. You will need either of these or the Google Authenticator tool to activate two-factor authentication.

Non-custodial: Luno wallet doesn’t store the private keys for the digital assets on your behalf. Rather, it encrypts them and stores them within your device, giving you absolute control over their use.

Monitor active devices: In the settings section of your Luno wallet’s user interface, you will see all the devices currently connected to your wallet in real-time. You can use this tab to log out, block, or disassociate the wallet from certain devices.

How to activate/setup the Luno Wallet

Step 1: Download the Luno wallet app from either the wallet website, Google Play Store or Apple App Store

Step 2: After launching the app, click the “Create a new wallet” tab

Step 3: Fill the registration form by entering your email, creating a unique wallet password, and selecting your country of residence

Step 4: Confirm that you are not a robot via the reCAPTCHA button that also doubles as agreeing to the wallet’s terms of use and privacy policy.

Step 5: Verify your identity by furnishing the Luno Wallet team with a copy of your ID and proof of address

Step 6: You will receive a confirmation email informing you that your account is now active and ready to use

Step 7: Log in to your Luno wallet and use the settings button to personalize the vault by activating two-factor authentication and depositing cryptos.

How to add/receive Crypto into Luno Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Luno wallet account and tap the “Buy” or “Receive” tabs, depending on how you want to fund your account.

Step 2: If you chose to buy, you will be redirected to the crypto purchasing page that requires you to enter the amount of USD you would like to deposit, select the preferred payment method, and initiate the purchase

Step 3: If you choose to receive crypto, the Luno wallet will display your address and QR code that you can send to the individual sending you coins or have them scan your QR code

How to send crypto from Luno Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Luno wallet, and on the user dashboard, tap “send.”

Step 2: If you have multiple wallets, select the wallet from whence to draw crypto

Step 3: Select the crypto you wish to send

Step 4: Enter the crypto recipient’s wallet address and the amount you would like to send

Step 5: Confirm the transaction details and hit send.

Luno Wallet ease of use and customer support

Luno wallet embraces a minimalistic user interface design that is easy to interact with for both crypto-investing veterans and beginners. The Luno development team also maintained a regularly updated blog and a learning portal that you can use to better understand how the site works. You will even find some how-to and troubleshooting guides in here. Plus, both the wallet and website are multilingual – available in English, Italian, Indonesian, and French.

Technical queries can be forwarded to Luno Wallet’s customer support team via the website’s help center page or by direct messaging them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Luno Wallet supported currencies:

Luno Wallet currently supports 5 cryptocurrencies; Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, and Ethereum.

Wallet services are available in 50+ countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Luno Wallet cost and fees:

Downloading Luno Wallet and creating a user account here is free. You will, however, need to factor in the transaction fee charged on crypto transfers in and out of your Luno wallet. Bank and debit card transfers attract an average 1.58% fee, while credit cards attract a 5% deposit fee. Withdrawals and outbound transfer fees are highly variable and are largely dependent on the type of currency preferred and the amounts involved.

What are the pros and cons of using the Luno Wallet?

Pros:

  • It is highly versatile and accepts multiple funding options (both Fiat and crypto)
  • Luno wallet is hosted on an advanced and feature-rich trading platform.
  • It integrates effective security features.
  • Luno wallet’s transaction fees are quite competitive.

Cons:

  • It has a complicated fee structure.
  • It will only host a limited number of cryptocurrencies.

Comparing and contrasting Luno Wallet with other Multi-Asset wallets:

Luno Wallet vs. eToro wallet

The primary similarity between Luno Wallet and eToro is that both are offshoots of online trading multi-asset trading platforms. They also maintain highly advanced and feature-rich yet beginner-friendly user interfaces. More importantly, they both support the purchase of crypto with fiat while charging competitive rates.

But while the eToro wallet supports 15+ cryptocurrencies and a host of fiat currencies, Luno Wallet will only support five cryptocurrencies. Additionally, eToro hosts such advanced trading/investment tools as copy trader, auto-trader, and demo accounts. Nevertheless, we appreciate Luno’s wallet commitment to reach out to crypto enthusiasts in developing countries, who have been neglected by the larger crypto exchanges and wallets for the longest time.

Verdict: Is Luno Wallet safe?

Key security and privacy measures that Luno Wallet has embraced in safeguarding your crypto wallets’ integrity include activating two-factor authentication and blocking IP addresses. It also secures the wallet with a password, encrypts user’s data, and gives you absolute control over your digital assets. It can thus be said to have met the unofficial industry standard for wallet apps and web wallets. However, the fact that it is a hot wallet means that the wallet is constantly exposed to the inherent threats facing online crypto wallets like phishing attacks.

Categories
Forex Course Guides Forex Daily Topic

The right ways to Stop-loss Setting

We, at Forex.Academy, try to help novice, and not so novice, traders the best ways to trade in this Forex jungle.  Many novice traders put their focus on entries, thinking that to be profitable, you need to be right. Right? – Wrong!  in his book “Trade your way to your financial freedom,” Van K. Tharp proposed a random entry system as an example to show that trade management is more important than entries. The stop-loss setting is a key part of trade management, so, let’s have a look at how to optimize them.

We, at Forex.Academy, try to help novice, and not so novice, traders the best ways to trade in this Forex jungle.  Many novice traders put their focus on entries, thinking that to be profitable, you need to be right. Right? – Wrong!  in his book “Trade your way to your financial freedom,” Van K. Tharp proposed a random entry system as an example to show that trade management is more important than entries. The stop-loss setting is a key part of trade management, so, let’s have a look at how to optimize them.

We, at Forex.Academy, try to help novice, and not so novice, traders the best ways to trade in this Forex jungle.  Many novice traders put their focus on entries, thinking that to be profitable, you need to be right. Right?

– Wrong!  in his book “Trade your way to your financial freedom,” Van K. Tharp proposed a random entry system as an example to show that trade management is more important than entries. The stop-loss setting is a key part of trade management, so let’s have a look at how to optimize them.

Stop-loss placement is the part of the system that decides when the current trade setting is no longer valid, and the best curse is to cut losses. Of course, there are lots of ways to do that, and we at forex.academy have published several articles regarding stop-loss definition. This is a kind of entry point for you to have it easy.

Usually, new technical traders trust stops placed below easily seen supports or above resistance levels. If all participants see them, why would this be a good method? Surely not. Therefore, we suggested a better solution: ATR-Based stops.

An improved method for the ATR Stops is the Kase-Dev Stops. Kese stated that a trade is a bet on a continuation of a trend. The ideal trend is a straight line, but the market has noise. The aim of a well-placed stop-loss order is to set it away from the noise of the market.

Shyam, while writing the Forex course, teaches his learners that Fibonacci levels are not only meant for entries but serve quite well to define Fibonacci-based stop-loss levels.

Arthur Simmons, another of our excellent writers, explains how you can set stop-loss orders using point and figure charts.

Finally, if you are statistically oriented, you may be interested in the Maximum Adverse Excursion (MAE) stops. The concept of Maximum Adverse Execution was introduced by John Sweeney. The idea is simple: If your entry system has merit, successful trades behave differently than losing trades. The MAE level defines the point beyond which it is likely the current trade would belong to the losers set, and thus, it is the optimal level to place the stop-loss.

I hope this gives you nice ideas for your stop-loss orders and helps you avoid being a victim of the market makers and institutional hawks.

Good trading!

Categories
Crypto Videos

Microstrategy Will Hold $250 Million Worth Of Bitcoin For 100 Years!

https://youtu.be/upjPzFUWBCM

https://youtu.be/upjPzFUWBCM

 

This company will hold $250 million worth of Bitcoin for 100 years!

Microstrategy has announced that it has purchased a whopping 21,454 Bitcoin (worth $250 million) on Aug 11. The company’s CEO, Michael Saylor, announced publically that he will hold his company’s Bitcoin for 100 years, and that he has no intention of selling it.
This investment is now worth more than $290 million, representing a 16% increase in just over two months. On top of that, Microstrategy has purchased even more Bitcoin since.
In an interview with Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal, Saylor stated that the investment was not speculation, nor a hedge, but rather a deliberate corporate strategy with the goal of adopting the Bitcoin standard. The decision to invest over $250 million was discussed between its board of directors and the firm’s investors, as well as auditors.

Microstrategy decided to restructure its investment strategy in response to recent global economic uncertainty. The company is looking to explore assets better-suited to providing a long-term store of value, and they stated that Bitcoin is one of them.
After considering a variety of options and looking at it from a 100-year investment perspective, Saylor decided that Bitcoin was the only option. Taxes and fees kill almost all other assets, he concluded, and those that remain are instead severely crippled because they are controlled by either a CEO, government, or country.

Bitcoin, however, is evolving and gets harder, stronger, and faster over time, Saylor concluded. He described Bitcoin as a “hive of cybernetic hornets that are protected by a wall of encrypted energy.”
When asked about Ethereum as an alternative to Bitcoin, Saylor told Pal that it didn’t compare, as Ethereum is “still chasing after functionality.” He added that “it still has to be proven, as there are centralized competitors to it.”
Saylor’s bullishness on Bitcoin is clear, especially when he said that the fact that Bitcoin is so big when compared to all other cryptocurrencies, literally, “the market is screaming to you that this is a winner and that it’s eating the world.”

Saylor asserted that Bitcoin is the world’s best collateral and that it doesn’t even compare to gold or any other commodities in the long run. He said that if you hold $100 million in fiat currency for 100 years, you will lose 99% of it. If you held gold, you would still lose 85% at best.
Saylor described Bitcoin as an asset that is performing similar monetary utilities as gold, except better and without the fear of dilution.
Among many things he likes about Bitcoin, Saylor said that he thinks it’s important that anybody can inspect the fact that he owns the Bitcoin in one second and that it can be sent anywhere in the world for not even $5. He added that he could if he wanted, liquidate $100 million Bitcoin on “a Saturday afternoon.”

His thoughts about the crypto community were that many people believe he has weak hands, as they were saying that he will dump it very soon. However, Saylor added that the people calling him out don’t understand the mindset of long.
Saylor finished the two-hour-long interview by stating that his executives are paying close attention to developers in the crypto space and that any further opportunities will be exploited by him and his team.

Categories
Crypto Videos

The UK Bans Retail Investors From Using Crypto Derivatives!

https://youtu.be/uM5UC93NUsI

https://youtu.be/uM5UC93NUsI

The UK Bans Retail Investors From Using Crypto Derivatives Starting January 2021

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has banned the sale of cryptocurrency derivative products to retail investors. This move was followed by the statement that the ban will save its targeted customers £53 million (or $68.9 million) of losses each year. The ban will be in effect starting Jan 6, 2021.
In a statement that came out on October 6, the FCA declared that the sale, marketing, as well as distribution of any derivatives by any local or foreign company operating in the UK is banned. This includes contracts for difference, futures, options, and exchange-traded notes.
The Authority said that derivatives based on digital assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum are “ill-suited for retail consumers due to the risk they pose.” The FCA outlined numerous risks that it considers are originating from trading such products, including a lack of “reliable basis for valuation,” possible market manipulation, as well as “extreme” price volatility.

It stated that retail clients generally lacked a “legitimate investment need to invest in these products,” as well as that the average retail investor did not fully understand derivatives trading. The ban was first proposed in July 2019, and it doesn’t affect the trading of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which are not FCA regulated, but only the derivatives of such assets.
Retail investors currently holding crypto derivatives will be allowed to keep them for as long as they want. Sheldon Mills, FCA’s interim executive director of strategy and competition, said that the significant price volatility, combined with the difficulties of valuing crypto assets reliably place retail consumers at a high risk of suffering major losses from trading crypto derivatives.

Shares of companies that offer the banned derivatives plummeted in London trading on Tuesday, Oct 20. CMC Markets dropped 2.8%, Plus500 fell 2.1%, while IG Group Holdings slid as much as 3.3%. An executive at Coinshares, a UK-based exchange that offers a variety of crypto derivatives, criticized the FCA’s decision. They also stated that the ban “will not result in more savings and benefits, but it will rather simply drive UK retail investors to unregulated crypto exchanges.”

The FCA ban can be seen as further evidence of the UK turning its back on innovation and on regulatory coordination with other jurisdictions,” said the aforementioned executive.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Muun Wallet Review:  How Safe Is Muun Bitcoin And Lightning Wallet?

Muun is a bitcoin and Lightning wallet that strives to presents its users with a balance between usability and security. It integrates highly intuitive usability features with advanced security features to achieve this. The wallet was developed and maintained by a team of 15 highly experienced blockchain technology and crypto security experts based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some of their strengths include maintaining the most responsive customer support team and their commitment to transparency.

Muun is a bitcoin and Lightning wallet that strives to presents its users with a balance between usability and security. It integrates highly intuitive usability features with advanced security features to achieve this. The wallet was developed and maintained by a team of 15 highly experienced blockchain technology and crypto security experts based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some of their strengths include maintaining the most responsive customer support team and their commitment to transparency.

Muun is a bitcoin and Lightning wallet that strives to presents its users with a balance between usability and security. It integrates highly intuitive usability features with advanced security features to achieve this. The wallet was developed and maintained by a team of 15 highly experienced blockchain technology and crypto security experts based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some of their strengths include maintaining the most responsive customer support team and their commitment to transparency.

According to the wallet’s development team, the Muun project started in 2013 as a ”commitment to building the most secure and easy-to-use mobile wallet” in the world. Seven years on, and though Muun is still a work in progress, the team has made significant strides towards accomplishing this goal.

In this review, we will be vetting this progress by looking at the quality of the integrated features and determining if Muun is indeed the safest and easiest to use Bitcoin and lightning wallet.

Munn Wallet key features:

Mobile wallet: Muun wallet launched as a crypto app for both android and iOS devices. And even though the same team developed both iOS and Android Muun wallets, we couldn’t help but notice a difference in the number of integrated features.

Transaction tracking: Muun wallet’s user dashboard features the transactions history tab that outlines all your recent crypto inflows and outflows. This, plus the balance tab, play a crucial role in helping you track your expenditure and portfolio.

Address book: Muun wallet also features an address book that integrates your phone’s contact list, effectively making it possible for you to send Bitcoins to another mobile number while avoiding pastejacking. The feature is, however, native to the android app.

Off-chain payments: The wallet is compatible with the lightning network and makes it possible for users to make instant payments and pay off-chain invoices with zero-channel configuration by leveraging submarine swaps. The wallet is, however, yet to allow users to create lightning invoices.

Segwit enabled: Muun integrates the Segwit bitcoin wallet technology that makes it possible for users to send Bitcoins to Bench32 addresses and saves them on the transaction costs.

Munn Wallet security features:

Password + Biometrics: Munn wallet requires that you set a highly unique password for your wallet when creating a user account. Plus, you can always boost the wallet’s safety by integrating Face and Fingerprint I.Ds on compatible devices.

Two-factor authentication: One of the personal details Muun wallets asks for when creating a user account is the email address. You can use it to activate two-factor authentication or simply integrate the Google authenticator app.

Backup and recovery: Unlike most other Bitcoin or lightning apps that provide you with a recovery seed for the wallet, Muun backs up the wallet to your email with a special recovery password. You will need these two to restore lost private keys or login to your Muun wallet on a different phone.

Multi-signature: Muun wallet is a multi-signature Bitcoin and lightning wallet that requires two signatories for transaction confirmation. One is created by your phone while the other is provided by Muun. Both are highly encrypted and stored within your device to ensure that you never get locked out of your wallet, even if the Muun servers were compromised.

Open sourced: Muun Bitcoin wallet is designed using a fully open-sourced technology. Anyone can view and audit their source code by clicking on the “Audit Us” icon on the top right corner of the Muun wallet website that directs you to Muun’s repository on GitHub.

Non-custodial: Muun Bitcoin and Lightning wallet won’t store private keys on your behalf. Rather, all the wallet data, especially the private keys and passwords, are highly encrypted and stored on your phone.

Hierarchically deterministic: Every time you initiate a crypto transaction, Muun Wallet will open a new hierarchically deterministic wallet address. This masks your real wallet address and makes it possible for crypto trackers to monitor your crypto activity.

Secure enclave: When using a Muun wallet, your private keys will always be stored in a secure enclave. You will need to enter the wallet password or use the Fingerprint to view this key.

How to activate/setup the Munn Wallet

Step 1: Start by downloading the Muun Wallet app on Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Step 2: Install and launch the app. Muun wallet will now ask to create and confirm the PIN code for the wallet.

Step 3: A new window will pop up, displaying a congratulatory message informing you that your Muun wallet has been successfully created.

Step 4: You will now want to backup your wallet. Provide the Muun Wallet app with a valid email address and follow the link sent to the mail to verify it.

Step 5: Proceed to create a strong and unique backup password.

Step 6: On the next page, read and agree to Muun wallet’s terms of use and the privacy policy

Step 7: Your wallet is now active and ready to use

How to add/receive Crypto into Muun Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Muun wallet and click the “Receive” tab on the user dashboard.

Step 2: Decide if you want to load funds to the Bench32 Native Segwit or legacy wallet.

Step 3: Copy the wallets address or its QR code and send either to the party sending you Bitcoins

Step 4: Wait for the funds to reflect in your Muun wallet.

How to send crypto from Munn Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to the Muun wallet and on the user dashboard, click the “Send” icon

Step 2: Decide if you want to pay a lightning wallet through the Segwit wallet or transfer funds from the legacy wallet.

Step 3: On the transfer window, enter the recipient’s wallet address, the amount you want to transfer, and select the transaction fee

Step 4: Alternatively, use the drop-down menu on the “send to” section to choose the recipient’s phone number from your phone’s contact list

Step 5: Check the transaction details and confirm that they are correct before hitting send

Munn Wallet ease of use:

Muun wallet has one of the straightforward app activation and account creation process. You also don’t need an expert to teach you how to interact with some of the wallet’s key features. We especially appreciate the integration of an address book and ability to send Bitcoins to a phone number. Similarly, we like the fact that one can pay Lightning wallet invoices using onchainBTC through the Submarine swap transaction technology.

Munn Wallet supported currencies:

Muun is a Bitcoin-only wallet. You are, however, able to send and receive different Bitcoin denominations, including Millbitcoins, Microbitcoins, and Satoshis.

Munn Wallet cost and fees:

Muun wallet is free to download and install. You will nevertheless pay the highly variable transaction fee every time you send cryptos out. The fee is also dynamic and allows you to decide how much you want to pay for a transaction depending on urgency. In such a case, priority transactions attract higher pay and have faster confirmation speeds than regular transactions.

Muun Wallet customer support:

Muun wallet has one of the most responsive customer support team. Write them an email or direct message them on Twitter or better still, address your concerns on the comment section of their wallet’s page on google play store.

What are the pros and cons of using the Muun Wallet?

Pros:

  • Customer queries are addressed fast and satisfactorily.
  • It hosts both Segwit and legacy wallet addresses with automated payment conversion.
  • Transaction processing fees on Muun wallets are incredibly low and dynamic.
  • It embraces highly effective security features like biometric support and multi-signature functionality.

Cons:

  • It is a hot wallet and, therefore, exposed to the inherent threats facing hot wallets.
  • It will only support Bitcoin cryptocurrencies.

Comparing Munn Wallet with other Bitcoin-only wallets

Munn Wallet vs. Mycelium wallet

Muun and Mycelium are both Bitcoin-only wallets. Other similarities between the cryptocurrency wallet apps include the fact that they both have host Legacy and Sewit addresses. They are highly transparent as they have open-sourced their code. And they are non-custodial.

However, they differ significantly when it comes to wallet backup and recovery strategy whereby, Muun Wallet uses an email address and password while Mycelium provides users with a recovery seed. Muun Wallet, nevertheless, carries the day when it comes to responsiveness to customer queries and transparency on the features supported by the different phone operating systems.

Verdict: Is Munn Wallet safe and easy to use?

Yes, Muun wallet has a very intuitive and beginner-friendly user interface. Most app users have reported having an easy time interacting with the wallet’s key features, especially when sending funds to the native bench32 Segwit address. However, while the wallet developers have integrated some highly advanced security features around, two flaws about the wallet stand out; its insistence on backing up the Muun wallet with an email and password and the fact that it is online based and, therefore, exposed to such online threats as phishing and malware.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Counter Wallet Review 2020: Is It Safe? Is It Easy To Use? Here Is What We Found Out

CounterWallet is the official crypto wallet for Counterparty – a peer-to-peer financial services provider launched in January 2014. It is highly innovative and seeks to revolutionize how we store and interact with crypto wallets and private keys by providing an alternative to standard backup or recovery options. It is built on the bitcoin blockchain and is one of the few crypto wallets, and protocols by extension, that provides users with the tools required to create Bitcoin network tokens.

CounterWallet is the official crypto wallet for Counterparty – a peer-to-peer financial services provider launched in January 2014. It is highly innovative and seeks to revolutionize how we store and interact with crypto wallets and private keys by providing an alternative to standard backup or recovery options. It is built on the bitcoin blockchain and is one of the few crypto wallets, and protocols by extension, that provides users with the tools required to create Bitcoin network tokens.

CounterWallet is the official crypto wallet for Counterparty – a peer-to-peer financial services provider launched in January 2014. It is highly innovative and seeks to revolutionize how we store and interact with crypto wallets and private keys by providing an alternative to standard backup or recovery options. It is built on the bitcoin blockchain and is one of the few crypto wallets, and protocols by extension, that provides users with the tools required to create Bitcoin network tokens.

In this Counterparty wallet review, we will be expounding on these features. We will also vet the safety measures put in place by Counter wallet and tell you everything else you need to know about the Bitcoin focused crypto-storage vault.

Counter Wallet key features:

Light node: Unlike most crypto wallets that require you to download apps or desktop clients to store private keys, Counterwallet is a light wallet. It is web-based and accessible via any browser. You are, however, free to create personalized servers for hosting your Counterwallet.

Built-in exchange: Counterwallet integrates a crypto exchange within its platform that allows for the purchase, sale, and exchange of bitcoins and tokens. Unlike most other wallets with proprietary exchanges, however, Counterwallet integrates ShapeShift – a third-party fiat-to-crypto exchange.

Buy crypto with fiat: Counterwallet users can leverage Shapeshift to buy cryptocurrencies and tokens using fiat currencies via card or bank transfers. And though it isn’t as liquid as most proprietary crypto exchanges like Binance, it is highly convenient.

Custom build tokens: Counterwallet is one of the few Bitcoin-focused crypto vaults that provide you with the necessary app builder tools to build tokens for the bitcoin network.

Counter Wallet security features:

Passphrase: The Counterwallet passphrase is the single most important security feature for your wallet. It does not store your private keys in any device. Rather it calculates them every time you log in to your wallet. Anyone who has the password can, therefore, access and interact with the private keys.

Open sourced: Counterparty has open-sourced the technology used to create the Counterwallet. Crypto security experts can view and audit this code for vulnerabilities, while wallet users can use it to create personalized servers for holding their private keys.

Hierarchically deterministic: Counterparty is hierarchically deterministic. It automatically generates a new wallet address for every crypto transaction. This masks your real wallet address and makes it hard for crypto trackers to monitor your crypto activity.

Multi-signature: You can create a multi-signature Counterwallet that requires signatures from several Bitcoin private keys to spend the wallet’s funds. This increased safety feature comes in handy when setting a multiuser and institutional wallets.

Client-side encryption: The wallet data and all communications with Counterparty foundation servers or other third party systems are highly encrypted. Client-side encryption implies that information is encrypted before it leaves your wallet.

Anonymous user registration: Counterwallet encourages anonymous user registration and bitcoin trading. It does not ask for your personal information when creating a user account.

Integrates Bitcoin Armory: Not satisfied with Counterwallet’s no backup policy or worry about forgetting the passphrase and losing your Bitcoins forever? Take advantage of their collaboration with Bitcoin Armory – a cold storage Bitcoin wallet – that stores your private keys in ultra-safe, air-gapped, and distributed cold storages.

How to activate/setup the Counter Wallet

Step 1: Open the Couterwallet.io website and choose between Official Counterparty or CoinDaddy Counterwallet servers.

Step 2: Since you are creating a new wallet, click on the “Create a new wallet” icon

Step 3: The wallet will now provide you with a PASSPHRASE required to access your wallet and calculate your digital asset balances

Step 4: The wallet will then provide you with a choice of creating a Quick Access Code. You don’t need to create one.

Step 5: The wallet is active and ready to use. Login using the Counterwallet’s keypad to fund the account and start interacting with some of its features

How to add a wallet address on Counterwallet

Your Counterwallet will have one Bitcoin wallet address automatically generated during account creation. Here is how to create a new wallet address for XCP altcoin and supported tokens:

Step 1: Log in to the wallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: Click on the “Create New Address” icon on the top left corner of the user dashboard.

Step 3: Select the type of wallet address you want to create from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: On the popup menu, enter the name of the new address on the “Description” section and click on “Create New Address” to finish

How to add/receive Crypto into Counter Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Counterwallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: From the list of wallet addresses, select the wallet to which you would like to deposit funds

Step 3: A popup window will provide you with an address and QR code for the wallet.

Step 4: Send either to the party/individual sending you bitcoins.

How to send crypto from Counter Wallet:

Step 1: Log in to your Counterwallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: From the list of wallet addresses hosted on the wallet, select the crypto/token you want to send

Step 3: Click on the “Address Actions” tab on the far right of the wallet address section.

Step 4: From the drop-down menu, select send and both the wallet address and the number of cryptos to transfer

Step 5: Check the accuracy of the transaction details before hitting send

How to Backup and Restore Counterwallet

Step 1: Log in to your Counterwallet and click on the “My Balances” tab.

Step 2: Click on the “Address Actions” tab on the far right of the ‘My Address’ bar

Step 3: Select the “Show Private Key” option to reveal your wallet’s private key. Copy it and keep it safe offline

Step 4: To restore your digital assets, open a new account and click on the “Import Funds” tab on the user dashboard and select “From Old Wallet” on the drop-down menu

Step 5: Paste the private key.

Counter Wallet ease of use:

Cunterwallet is quite easy to use as it features one of the most intuitive user interfaces. Creating a user account on the Counterwallet and the processes of sending, receiving, and backing your account is straightforward.

Counter Wallet supported currencies:

Counterwallet supports Bitcoin cryptocurrency, Counterparty’s native token XCP, and 500+ tokens. You are also free to create customized Bitcoin network tokens and add them to the wallet.

Counter Wallet cost and fees:

Counterwallet is free to use. However, you will be charged the transaction processing fees that go to the Bitcoin network miners every time you send crypto from the crypto wallet to another wallet or exchange.

Counter Wallet customer support:

There are three primary ways of contacting Counterwallet’s customer support team. You can use the Live chat feature on the wallet and counterpart website, interact with both wallet developers and experienced users on the Counterparty Forums, or direct message them on such social media platforms as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

What are the pros and cons of using Counter Wallet?

Pros:

  • It is highly intuitive and beginner-friendly
  • It is feature-rich and makes it possible for users to custom-build Bitcoin-based tokens.
  • Counterwallet is security-focused and integrates a wide range of advanced security features.
  • It integrates the Bitcoin Armor cold storage.

Cons:

  • It will only support Bitcoin-based cryptos and tokens.

Comparing Counter Wallet with other Bitcoin-only wallets

Counter Wallet vs. Mycelium wallet

Both Mycelium and Counterwallet are highly intuitive and beginner-friendly crypto wallets. They are Bitcoin focused, implying that they will only support cryptocurrencies and tokens built on the Bitcoin blockchain.

But while Mycelium will only support Bitcoin crypto, Counterwallet supports Bitcoin, XCP, and hundreds of tokens built on the Bitcoin network. Counterwallet also supports a wide range of features, including the custom token builder tools and the Bitcoin Armor cold storage integration.

Verdict: Is Counter Wallet safe?

Well, the open-sourced wallet embraces highly innovative privacy and security features. For instance, it doesn’t keep a copy of your private keys on either your device or the counterparty servers. Rather, it calculates the balances of your assets when entering the wallet passphrase. The process of generating crypto addresses is hierarchically deterministic and the Bitcoin armory cold storage.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

How Coti (COTI) can change Payments and Money Transfers

The traditional payment system is defined by long waiting periods, expensive fees, and error-prone transactions due to the single point of failure inherent in centralized systems. Blockchain was supposed to help with most of these problems, e.g., by facilitating peer-to-peer, fraud-free transactions. However, the first and second-generation blockchains, i.e., Ethereum and Bitcoin, face challenges like low scalability that prevent them from competing with the fastest traditional models such as Visa. 

The traditional payment system is defined by long waiting periods, expensive fees, and error-prone transactions due to the single point of failure inherent in centralized systems. Blockchain was supposed to help with most of these problems, e.g., by facilitating peer-to-peer, fraud-free transactions. However, the first and second-generation blockchains, i.e., Ethereum and Bitcoin, face challenges like low scalability that prevent them from competing with the fastest traditional models such as Visa. 

The traditional payment system is defined by long waiting periods, expensive fees, and error-prone transactions due to the single point of failure inherent in centralized systems. Blockchain was supposed to help with most of these problems, e.g., by facilitating peer-to-peer, fraud-free transactions. However, the first and second-generation blockchains, i.e., Ethereum and Bitcoin, face challenges like low scalability that prevent them from competing with the fastest traditional models such as Visa. 

However, it’s doubtless that blockchain tech offers the best possible alternative to the traditional payment models. For this reason, a litany of blockchain projects seeking to provide better scalability, security, etc. than Ethereum and Bitcoin’s blockchain has sprung up over the years. 

Coti is one of these. Formed in 2018, Coti wants to fix traditional finance issues such as high fees, low latency, and lack of inclusiveness. 

This article is a deep dive into the Coti ecosystem. 

Coti: Core Elements

COTI supports the following elements to realize a safe and cost-efficient payment structure:

  • Scalability: The COTI network can support up to 100,000 transactions per second (TPS), which is incomparable with the 25,000 TPS managed by traditional payment systems and 20 TPS by most blockchain protocols
  • Simplicity: COTI has designed its user and merchant-facing tools to be friendly and very easy to use
  • Buyer-seller protections: COTI provides a dispute resolution system to act as a safeguard against fraud, errors, and so on
  • Cost-effectiveness: On the COTI platform, there’s no need for intermediaries or power-intensive mining, which drastically cuts costs.
  • Price stability: The COTI team is creating price stability technology, an indispensable factor for blockchain to realize wide adoption
  • Instantaneity: COTI’s architecture makes for fast transactions, payments, and remittances, as opposed to the hours or days common with the traditional system
  • Security

Thanks to its use of a distributed ledger, COTI eliminates the possibility of a single point of failure

COTI: Infrastructure

Below, we’ll be taking a look at some of the core technologies on the Coti platform.

#1. Trustchain

This is a consensus algorithm based on machine learning. Trustchain decreases transaction costs while increasing transaction processing speed. Trustchain utilizes a directed acyclic graph (DAG) data structure to maximize scalability, supporting up to 100,000 TPS. The Coti team wants to revolutionize crypto by having decentralized payment solutions built on Trustchain. The Trustchain will offer the following innovations: 

  • Single-click payment requests

Coti will use the Trustchain to realize one-click payments. Merchants will be able to embed the functionality on the websites for easy checkouts.

  • Buyer-seller protection

The Coti team has developed an arbitration service in readiness for potential disputes. The arbitration service is made of a decentralized collective of trusted network members.

  • Node manager

Through the node manager, anyone can join the network as a node operator and start running various types of nodes.

  • Privacy

Coti has enabled privacy specifications that prevent transactions from being tracked down to their originator. These specifications include implementing a multi-address for transactions through a one-way hash function.

  • Proof of Trust (PoT) consensus

Coti implements a DAG-based decentralized ledger that achieves scalability through the use of Trust Scores. The higher a user’s Trust Score, the faster the confirmation time.

  • Fees

Coti implements a transparent and equitable fee structure where all fees are distributed in a balanced manner amongst network participants.

  • Trust Score Update Algorithm (TSUA)

This tool is designed to collect data on user behavior and transfer the info to Trust Score Nodes. Trust Scores are used by Trustchain Algorithm to verify and confirm transactions quickly.

  • Smart contracts

Coti will introduce smart contracts for a DAG distributed pledger, the first-of-its-kind. Smart contracts are recorded in the MultiDaG Cluster and are verified severally before being confirmed. 

  • Stablecoin framework

COTI’s MultiDAG, coupled with Coti smart contracts and the infrastructure for genesis transactions, creates the possibility for high-performance stablecoins

#2. Loyalty Networks

Coti has developed an end-to-end solution on which businesses can build blockchain-enabled loyalty networks. Such networks allow businesses to retain customers and earn more revenue. 

Marketplaces are currently proliferated with loyalty programs, which lead to customers accumulating loads of loyalty cards, all with different terms and conditions. 

On their part, businesses have to manage their own loyalty programs, a task that’s often demanding in terms of money and time. And even those loyalty programs often never maximize their potential due to low account activity, low redemption rates, account maintenance costs, and time limitations.

Coti’s solution

Coti provides cheaper, time-saving, and more interactive solutions for loyalty programs. These solutions are as follows: 

  • Branded wallet and token

Coti will allow businesses to build a branded wallet complete with customized tokens. Users will be able to hold multiple loyalty tokens from different businesses.

  • Simple integration

Businesses will have the ability to create a loyalty program fast and easily. 

  • Tradability

Users will have the ability to trade their loyalty tokens. 

  • Earn tokens

Uses will be able to earn tokens as a reward for purchases, referrals, and engaging with businesses.

  • Global alliance

Businesses will be able to collaborate with other companies to exchange tokens and share ways to enhance customer loyalty and retention.

#3. Stablecoins

Coti also provides the first-ever blockchain-powered environment for creating stablecoins. Users can issue their own stablecoin that they can have total control over. Stablecoins are a kind of cryptocurrency that is not volatile. They cushion users against the potential losses that could happen overnight with a regular cryptocurrency. Coti enables companies to create their own stablecoins and apply a stability mechanism to any asset of their choice. The stablecoin feature will benefit users in the following ways: 

  • Higher profits

Businesses can dramatically increase revenues by not having to depend on external stablecoins

  • New markets

Businesses can reach entirely new markets by offering stablecoins as a means of payment.

#4. Community and Advanced Nodes 

These are a mainnet full nodes that utilize a delegated staking mechanism to verify and confirm real-world merchants’ transactions. These nodes are technically operated by a node operator who has the requisite skills for the task. To become a community node, you must first stake in 5,000,000 COTI. 

There are also advanced nodes, which are also mainnet nodes in how they function. However, advanced nodes will need to stake between 500,000 – 5, 000,000. 

#5. COTI Pay 

COTI Pay is a digital payment tool that can process online and offline payments, including crypto, stablecoins, businesses’ native coins, and credit cards. On the tool, users can also earn passive income through interest on deposits. 

Coti Pay seeks to solve the following problems with traditional finance payment models: 

  • Long settlement periods, sometimes taking even weeks
  • Costly processes
  • Cross-border transaction constraints
  • Involvement of costly third-parties
  • Error-prone transactions
  • Millions of people excluded from the global finance system

Community Growth Strategies of Coti

The Coti team plans to undertake several growth strategies to expand the growth of the community: 

  • Partner with similar projects such as Cardano, Chainlink, Celsius, and Fantom
  • Launch a Community Ambassador Program
  • Work with platforms like Xangle and Binance Info V-Label for data transparency partnerships
  • Carry out regular community updates via a bi-weekly newsletter, GitHub updates, etc
  • Conduct AMAs on platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook
  • Create and disseminate visual content such as tutorials, 3D videos, and more
  • Have Telegram groups hosted by community members in a variety of languages, including Korean, Vietnamese, and Brazilian

Future strategies include: 

  • Push the project to the global stage through global ambassador activity
  • Conduct joint AMAs with leading blockchain projects 
  • Conduct and participate in hackathons
  • Launch Coti Pay Business mobile app

COTI’s supply distribution was done this way: 

  • Seed sale tokens: 2.90%
  • Private sale tokens: 10.04%
  • IEO tokens: 2.31%
  • Team tokens: 15.00%
  • Advisors tokens: 10.00%
  • Ecosystem reserve tokens: 59.75%

Key Metrics

On October 20, 2020, COTI traded at $0.029472, placing it at #380 with a market cap of $16,740,885. The token had a 24-hour volume of $2,492, 122, with a circulating supply of 568, 032, 883, and a total and maximum supply of 2 billion. COTI has an all-time high of $0.127076 (July 02, 2019) and an all-time low of $0.006226 (Nov 09, 2019). 

Where to Buy and Store COTI

You’ll find COTI listed as a market pair of USDT, BTC, BNB on exchanges such as Binance, CoinDCX, KuCoin, BitMax, BitHumb Global, Bidesk, Coinbit, Gate.io, and Binance.DEX. 

Coti provides its official wallet known as the COTI Pay VIPER. See here. 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

BTC/USD Chart Overview + Possible Outcomes

In this weekly BTC /USD analysis, we will be taking a look at the most recent events, the current technical formations, as well as discussing possible outcomes.

In this weekly BTC /USD analysis, we will be taking a look at the most recent events, the current technical formations, as well as discussing possible outcomes.

In this weekly BTC /USD analysis, we will be taking a look at the most recent events, the current technical formations, as well as discussing possible outcomes.

Overview

Bitcoin has spent the week vigorously pushing towards the upside. The move went parabolic as soon as BTC crossed the $13,900 mark and entered the $14,000 zone. While the surge got stopped just before it hit $16,000, there is a lot of potential upside as there is practically no resistance holding Bitcoin from reaching its all-time high. However, many traders are taking profits and playing it safe out of fear of ending up the same way they did in 2017/2018. This has caused BTC to lose momentum and, most likely, look for a pullback soon.

Technical factors


Bitcoin has conquered the ~15,000 level after a week of constant pressure to the upside. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is currently consolidating right above the $15,480 support level, which will act as a pivot point and a trading direction decider. The next day or two will be crucial for Bitcoin’s price movement in the short future.

While Bitcoin’s sentiment is extremely bullish at the moment, there is no denying that a pullback is quite possible (and maybe even optimal). As there are no set resistance levels to the upside (because Bitcoin only visited these price levels during the bull run of 2017), we are using Fib retracements as well as small consolidation points from that time to determine possible consolidation/direction change spots.

Another thing to note is that, as of Oct 29, the hash ribbons indicator is showing miner capitulation, sending out a major buy signal.

Likely Outcomes

Bitcoin has two main scenarios it can play out, and both end up with the price pulling back to stabilize and consolidate a bit. The possibility of these plays happening is slightly in favor of the second scenario, but it mainly depends only on where Bitcoin ends up (above or below its pivot point).

  1. If Bitcoin remains above $15,480, we may expect further attempts of conquering the upside. The next target to the upside are the $16,000 psychological resistance, 23.6% Fib retracement level (sitting at $16,570) and $16,665. If Bitcoin pushes towards the upside, we are almost certainly expecting strong resistance at these levels and an almost certain pullback in the short-term.
  2. The other scenario may be slightly more likely, and involves Bitcoin rejecting the current level and falling below its pivot point. In this case, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap will look for a support level, and will most likely find it at the $14,640 level or the 38.2% Fib retracement level (sitting at $14,380).

While moves which include Bitcoin moving straight up or down and ignoring these support/resistance levels are possible, they are far less likely and would have to be caused by some fundamental even rather than just price action and technicals.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

How Chainanalysis Helps Crack Down on Crypto Crime

Since the inception of cryptocurrency tech, cybercrime has spiked in the space tremendously. And with cybercriminals devising methods every day to obtain crypto illegally, companies and individuals are seeking solutions to protect themselves and their funds. Even governments are pumping a lot of resources into cracking down on such individuals. 

Since the inception of cryptocurrency tech, cybercrime has spiked in the space tremendously. And with cybercriminals devising methods every day to obtain crypto illegally, companies and individuals are seeking solutions to protect themselves and their funds. Even governments are pumping a lot of resources into cracking down on such individuals. 

Since the inception of cryptocurrency tech, cybercrime has spiked in the space tremendously. And with cybercriminals devising methods every day to obtain crypto illegally, companies and individuals are seeking solutions to protect themselves and their funds. Even governments are pumping a lot of resources into cracking down on such individuals. 

What’s Chainalysis? 

As the saying goes, there’s a reaction to every action. As crypto crime intensifies, other forces are working to counteract the trend. One of the most visible of these is Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company that harvests and analyzes crypto-related data by studying the history of blockchain transactions. 

The birth of Chainanalysis resulted from one of the biggest crypto hacks in history – Mt. Gox, which resulted in the loss of around 650,000 Bitcoins worth around $500 million then. 

Michael Gronager, CEO and founder of Chainanalysis, decided to create tools to prevent or mitigate such losses in the future. In 2017, Jonathan Levin – Chainanalysis co-founder, confirmed that Chainanalysis had tracked down 650,000 stolen Bitcoins to BTC-e. This successful case skyrocketed Chainanalysis’ reputation as more and more entities began approaching the company.

Chainanalysis received its first government contract in 2015 when the FBI paid $9000 for data software services from the company. The recent spike in criminal activities within the crypto world has prompted the federal agencies to invest more money in Chainanalysis. Today, Chainanalysis is receiving contracts from 10 U.S government agencies willing to pay millions of dollars for their assignments. According to CoinDesk, federal agencies have spent $10,690,760 in American tax dollars on Chainanalysis tools and training since 2015. 

Cryptocurrency Crime Rates and Activities

Criminals worldwide have taken advantage of crypto to engage in illegal activities. These criminal cases surged from 3.5% in 2016 to 7% in 2017. In 2018, according to Cointelegraph Group-IB, CipherTrace and Carbon Black reported that hackers had stolen cryptocurrencies amounting to $1.1 to $1.7 billion. Out of this amount, $960 million had been sourced from exchanges. 

In September last year, losses from cryptocurrency hit a whopping $4.4 billion,  per CipherTrace. This was a 150% increase from the year 2018. A report compiled by Chainanalysis indicated that cryptocurrency criminal activities spiked from 0.04% in 2018 to 0.08% in 2019. 

A more recent report presented in June by CipherTrace shows that crypto criminals are still finding new ways to accrue wealth illegally. In July, hackers posed as President Obama, Bill Gates, and Kanye West on Twitter and convinced followers to send $1000 in Bitcoin with a promise of accruing $2000 in return. They milked this scheme for a while before getting shut down, but not before accruing Bitcoins worth $100,000.

Pseudonymity of Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s pseudonymity makes it harder for stolen crypto to be tracked. Therefore, tracking these transactions is tedious and, at times, impossible. This fact makes Bitcoin more appealing to criminals. The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation has flagged Bitcoin as the most popular cryptocurrency used for criminal activities.

While tracking the movement of thieves is fairly simple, tracking the money movement is not as easy. The criminals are usually aware that their movements can be traced.  To ensure the stolen money is not recovered, these criminals transact to the targets of hundreds and thousands within a short time. According to Chainanalysis, some criminals have a plethora of wallets that they use to move their illicit money back and forth. Some of them use the ‘mixer’- software that can break Bitcoin into smaller pieces and then ‘mixes’ it with other people’s transactions. In the end, the criminals acquire the same amount they put in but not the same Bitcoin.

How Chainanalysis Helps Track Down Crypto Thieves

When Gronager was starting Chainanalysis in the year 2014, his main idea surrounded the creation of a tool capable of combing through public blockchains to track down stolen money and suspicious transactions.

The blockchain records all the transactions made using crypto coins. The tools designed by Chainanalysis can go through these records and trace Illicitly acquired funds.  

More intricately, Chainanalysis identifies the flow of transactions of a known address to an exchange and then notifies the exchange that they have received illicit funds. In other instances, Chainanalysis can notify law enforcement when they identify a suspicious address transferring Bitcoin to another address. It gets easier to nab the thief if the recipient address happens to have posted their wallet address on any social media platform.  

The Kryptos tool invented by Chainanalysis is used by financial institutions to establish whether some cryptocurrency businesses are genuine or not. Another popular tool from Chainanalysis is the Know Your Transaction (KYT) software. This software is used by various entities such as law enforcement agencies and crypto exchanges to trace illicit cryptocurrency transactions. 

On the other hand, Reactor is the most widely used tool.  This tool, also by Chainanalysis, is used by agencies to trace cryptocurrency movements across a blockchain. Additionally, the Reactor also flag addresses that are involved in shady activities. 

The Downsides of Chainanalysis

Since the allure of privacy is what draws in most cryptocurrency investors, there has been concern over the close relationship between governments and Chainanalysis. Simply put, Chainanalysis undermines the privacy promise of cryptocurrency.

Final Thoughts

Crypto crime is dwindling with Chainanalysis tools, closely watching the movements of Illicitly acquired funds.  Chainanalysis estimates that the total fraction of cryptocurrency transactions heading to the dark web has significantly fallen since they started their company in 2015. Will this trend continue, or will we see crypto crime surge again? That seems unlikely. 

Categories
Forex Videos

FOREX – Will Fishing Be The Boot To The Throat For A Brexit Trade Deal? GBP Looking Bleak!

https://youtu.be/SUvpX5G74JM

https://youtu.be/SUvpX5G74JM

Will fishing scupper a Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU?

In this session, we will be looking at the topical issue of the ongoing Brexit talks between the EU and UK regarding the future trading arrangement, where the United Kingdom is seeking a new future tariff-free trade deal.

One of the reasons why the United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union was because of the pressure the government was put under by the fishing industry in the United Kingdom, who saw fish stocks depleting heavily because the EU has the right under the old agreement of fishing in British waters. A system of quotas dividing up specific stocks goes back to the 1970s, and the UK fishing industry says it was a bad deal for British fishermen. This has been very a very contentious issue for many years.

The British government wants to set a limit around the United Kingdom’s coast of 12 nautical miles, which will be an exclusion zone for EU fishermen to enter, without a formal new quota arrangement in place as a part of the future trading relationship.
Currently, under the Common Fisheries Policy, European boats are still allowed to fish in British waters, and British boats are allowed to fish in other European countries’ waters until the UK formally leaves the EU on the 31st of January 2021. Until then, it is still bound by the European Union rules pertaining to the fisheries policy.
The EU and UK are at loggerheads with regards to access to UK territorial waters, which are important because they offer a bountiful supply of fish.
The German and French governments have issued statements saying that they will not alter their position with regard to their firm stance on future access requirement to British territorial waters and where the two are trying to battle out a quota arrangement which would form a part of any future trading relationship.
Both sides say that the bridge is just too wide between what is being offered from either side in order to be able to move forward and close the future trade deal and where Britain has set a red line for the 15th of October, whereby if no such arrangement is set in place which would allow time for the agreement documentation and laws to be set in place, it would not be able to have everything done in time for the end of the current transition period. Boris Johnson has said he will walk away from a deal if talks are not completed by the 15th of October.

This is causing major volatility on the British pound as the 15th October deadline looms, and the pound is beginning to gain ground against the United States dollar and his firming against other currencies because traders and analysts and economists believe that the two parties will be able to come to an agreement in time. If not, the United Kingdom will leave the EU on the 31st of January with no formal agreement in place with the European Union and will enter into world trade organisation trading arrangements with the EU.

Other problems have also to be finalised, such as Northern Ireland where no border exists between the North and the South, which remains a part of the European Union, and which leaves itself open to the unchecked and unregulated movement of people, animals, and goods, between the two countries, and other areas including market standards and practices throughout the various sectors.
One thing is for sure volatility will continue you right up until the wire and potentially be locked beyond when boundaries are pushed, and potentially deadlines may have to be shifted if realistically some kind of deal can be done.

Categories
Forex Videos

Forex Fundamental Analysis For Novices – New Zealand Visitor Arrivals!

https://youtu.be/-mBJ020dgZo

https://youtu.be/-mBJ020dgZo

Fundamental analysis for novices: New Zealand visitor arrivals

In this session, we will be looking at fundamental analysis for novices and taking a look at the New Zealand visitor arrivals’ economic data release and how it might impact the New Zealand dollar.
If this is the first time you have seen one of our fundamental analysis or novices videos, we place a great deal of emphasis on the importance of regularly studying an economic calendar for the release, by governments and agencies, of economic statistics, which paint a picture of the health of an economy.

These economic data releases happened weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually with regard to statistics, but also so provide important information for upcoming events such as key policymaker speeches, upcoming interest rate decisions, and other significant future events which may cause shifts in exchange rates for the various currency pairs.

Obviously, if you are trading a currency pair and are unaware of such key market-moving data releases, it might adversely affect the trade you are in, causing losses.
All professional traders keep a close eye on their economic calendar because it is another tool in their arsenal to help them make the right call when trading.

This is a typical economic calendar. Most reliable brokers will offer this free of charge on their Website.

Typically they will have a filter section so that you can look at past or future economic events or adjust to the various types of impact that events might have, such as low medium or high impact, and the various categories including events such as holidays 0 filtering out events such as holidays auctions bond auctions inflation, or interest rate data.

The critical components of an economic calendar are the day and date, the type of event, the time of the event, the country, the likely impact that that data release will have on a currency pertaining to that country, which might be low impact, medium or high, and where the higher the impact level, the more likely you will see volatility around that currency, post-release.
As we can see here, the information relating to the event is populated on the calendar just underneath the titles section.


The economic events we are interested in this session is the New Zealand visitor arrivals, the data of which will be released at 22:45 British summer time for the month of August, where the impact level is low, and where we can see that the previous release was – 98.5% and a consensus is – 114.9%. The consensus is put together by leading economists. Here we can see that they have a gloomy outlook for visitor arrivals for September and where the consensus is that the figure will be worse than the previous month year-on-year basis.

The visitor arrivals data is collated and released by Statistics New Zealand, which is the official data agency, and it shows how many people visited New Zealand. This is significant because tourism is a key part of the country’s gross domestic product, and they are heavily reliant on visitors, which is therefore important for the health of the economy.

This graph from 2010 to 2020 by the SNZ shows a steady number of visitors over the years until the pandemic hit and where New Zealand closed its borders to tourism in order to protect itself from the disease.

In this graph of the New Zealand dollar to the US dollar, we can see that in the middle of March, at the peak of the pandemic, the currency pair hit a low of 0.57 before bouncing back to its current levels of 0.6670, proving that although the economy is suffering from a lack of visitors, confidence is returning to the New Zealand dollar, because of the way the government has handled the economic fallout, but this also factors in a weakening US dollar, which has not been faring so well, and where the USA is still pretty much in the grip of the pandemic.
Upon release, a better than expected reading, i.e., more visitors, would typically be seen as positive for the New Zealand economy, and therefore the New Zealand dollar would move higher against the United States dollar and perhaps other pairs it is trading against, while a low reading would be negative for the New Zealand economy, in which case we might expect to see the New Zealand dollar falling against those counter currencies.

However, as previously mentioned, the New Zealand dollar is proving extremely resilient at the moment, and where we might consider that traders are confident in the government’s handling of the crisis, where the infection rate is extremely low, and where the long-term view is favorable for the New Zealand economy.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

Is Helium (HNT) the Future of Wireless?

The Internet of Things is already a billion-dollar industry, with billions of connected devices as of today. Also, IoT spending is on track to reach almost $1.4 trillion by 2021. While the IoT industry continues to grow, it needs a secure and readily available internet to flourish. However, the available solutions, i.e., cellular, WiFi, and Bluetooth, are either too expensive, too energy-intensive, or too limited in range. 

The Internet of Things is already a billion-dollar industry, with billions of connected devices as of today. Also, IoT spending is on track to reach almost $1.4 trillion by 2021. While the IoT industry continues to grow, it needs a secure and readily available internet to flourish. However, the available solutions, i.e., cellular, WiFi, and Bluetooth, are either too expensive, too energy-intensive, or too limited in range. 

The Internet of Things is already a billion-dollar industry, with billions of connected devices as of today. Also, IoT spending is on track to reach almost $1.4 trillion by 2021. While the IoT industry continues to grow, it needs a secure and readily available internet to flourish. However, the available solutions, i.e., cellular, WiFi, and Bluetooth, are either too expensive, too energy-intensive, or too limited in range. 

The Helium network is a blockchain-powered wireless network that allows devices from anywhere in the globe to connect to the internet and establish their location without needing power-intensive satellite location hardware or costly network plans. Helium wants to utilize the blockchain to bring decentralization to an industry long dominated by powerful monopolies. The result is that an affordable wireless network becomes a commodity available to anyone. 

Helium’s secure and open-source network also allows developers to build energy-saving, internet-connected devices in a fast and low-cost manner. With this, the project wants to ‘Start a Wireless Revolution.’ 

At the time of writing, the network had 10,426 total hotspots, with close to 8 billion credits spent, per its website. 

Breaking Down Helium

Launched in 2013, Helium is a decentralized wireless network that seeks to offer a secure and cost-effective way for low-power devices to join the IoT industry. The Helium protocol runs on blockchain technology and uses the HoneyBadgerBFT consensus model. 

Helium has the following core features: 

  • Helium hotspot – A tool that’s both a miner and users’ pathway to the Helium blockchain
  • Proof of coverage – A novel mining mechanism that uses radio waves to verify the location of Hotspots
  • LongFi – a technology that combines the wireless protocol LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) with the Helium blockchain so compatible LoRaWAN devices can transfer data over the Helium network

Helium: Existing Products

#1. Helium Hotspot

The Helium Hotspot is a wireless router by Helium. Just like other LoRaWAN devices on Helium, the Hotspots support miles of wireless network for anyone to carry out mining and help maintain and support the network. 

#2. Helium Console 

This is an internet-based management tool through which developers can register, verify, and manage their devices in the network. The Helium Console is responsible for managing user-level permissions, registering devices IDs, onboarding new devices securely, and utilizing data credits. 

#3. LongFi

This tool combines LoRaWAN with the Helium blockchain, so any LoRaWAN device can plug in and start transferring data on the network. LongFi supports the following: 

  • Easy device onboarding: Users can onboard as many devices as possible without them having to undergo endless configurations or verification by third parties
  • Device roaming: Devices on the network have IDs that are stored on the blockchain, allowing them to transfer data to the network through any Hotspot 
  • Earning HNT tokens: Via LongFi, device owners can earn HNT tokens for transferring data over the network
  • LoRaWAN Support: Any LoRaWAN device can transfer data through the network with little configuration required
#4. Helium Tabs

These are location trackers enabled by Helium. They can track all sorts of things: from pets to luggage, to keys, and pretty much anything that’s covered by the Helium network.

Helium: Technical Infrastructure

Here, we look at the infrastructural highlights of Helium. 

#1. Proof of Coverage (PoC)

PoC is a variation of the Proof of Work consensus algorithm that utilizes radio waves to verify hotspots’ location on the Helium network. PoC constantly requires routers to prove their wireless coverage quality by decrypting and transferring LongFi data over the network. Helium Hotspots stand to earn HNT for submitting valid coverage proofs. 

#2. The Helium Consensus Model

Helium’s consensus mechanism involves 16 participants – who form the Consensus Group (CG) – elected once every epoch. Any active Helium Hotspot on the network is eligible for election to become part of the CG, although they’re more likely to be chosen if they pass the PoC challenge. 

For every election, 4 new CGs are added to 12 members from the previous election. A Hotspot can participate in no more than 4 consecutive CGs. If a CG member performs poorly, they’re likely to be removed before the 4 epoch limit. Mining rewards are distributed among participating members at the end of every epoch. 

Participants in the Helium Network

The participants of Helium can be thought of as these below: 

#1. WHIP

This is an open wireless protocol that is long-range, low-power, and most fitting for use with commodity open-standards hardware. Hardware that’s compatible with WHIP can communicate over many square miles, whether in dense urban settings or rural areas. Such hardware can also last for many years using standard batteries. WHIP utilizes public-key cryptography for security, with verification taking place on the Helium blockchain.

#2. Hotspots

These are physical network devices that transfer data back and forth between routers and various devices. Hotspots also generate proof of coverage, and they can also geolocate devices through the Helium network without any additional apparatus. 

#3 Devices

Devices are hardware products embedded with a WHIP-compatible radio transceiver and can interact with Hotspots on the network. Devices are powered by the typical battery and can last for several years with them. Devices can exist in many forms depending on their use case, and the performance and battery life can be optimized through a variety of transmission strategies.

Helium: Community Growth Strategies

The Helium team is currently undertaking several strategies to advance the growth of the project. These strategies are as follows: 

  • Rewarding network participants who deployed more than 15 Hotspots
  • Educating IoT developers on how to use the Helium platform
  • Hosting Helium Hacks, a weekly video chat session by the Helium team
  • Carrying out local and online meetups
  • Engaging with the community via social media channels

Future strategies include: 

  • Releasing blockchain and IoT-related content via podcasts, videos, blogs, and interviews with industry experts
  • Providing the community with sponsorships to empower them to build apps on the Helium network

Who’s on the Helium Team? 

Helium is the brainchild of Amir Haleem, Shawn Fanning, and Sean Carrey. The trio began working on the idea in 2013. 

Haleem has a strong background in game development. Fanning is known for creating the popular music sharing platform Napster, one of the first of such platforms to employ a peer-to-peer approach. Carry has several years of development experience, including Where, an advertising platform since acquired by PayPal. 

The product team comprises members with combined experience in “radio and hardware, manufacturing, distributed systems, peer-to-peer and blockchain technologies.” 

Future of Helium

The Helium team considers where they are to be just the beginning. They view decentralized wireless networks as a still novel concept that needs more research so it can meet the demands of the modern-day internet. Given this, the team has or intends to undertake the following initiatives: 

  • Identify whether it’s possible to apply blockchain and the decentralized wireless service idea to WiFi Bluetooth and cellular networks
  • Add the possibility for more proofs of coverage to strengthen the Helium network as it grows
  • Formally illustrate the algorithm behind Proof of Coverage
  • Investigate the possibility of deploying smart contracts beyond their current limitations

The Helium Token

HNT is the native cryptocurrency of the Helium network. The token has several uses, including the two most important ones: 

  • Mining rewards: Hotspots earn HNT for contributing to the running and security of the network by transferring data
  • Payment: HNT is used by users to generate data credits with which to pay for network services

HNT: Tokenomics 

On October 20, 2020, HNT traded at $1.12, with a market cap of $57,123,035 and a market rank of #131. HNT’s 24-hour volume was $1,848,021, and it had a circulating and total supply of 51,005,233 and a total supply of 55,960,199. And finally, the token had an all-time high of $4.03 (Sep 24, 2020) and an all-time low of $0.0253391 (June 10, 2020). 

Where to Buy HNT 

HNT is listed as a market pair with USDC, USDT, PERP, and USD in exchanges like Bilaxy, Binance, Binance.US, Hoo, FTX, and Serum DEX. 

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

Foreign Securities Purchases Impact on Forex Currencies

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

For the longest time, the performance of a country’s financial and capital markets has been touted as an indicator of economic health. On the other hand, foreign investors’ participation in the local financial and capital market can be taken as a sign of confidence in the local economy. Therefore, monitoring foreign securities purchases can be used as a gauge of investors’ confidence in the local economy.

Understanding Foreign Securities Purchases

Foreign securities purchases measure the involvement of foreigners in the domestic financial and capital markets. It includes the value of local bonds, stocks, and money-market assets bought by foreigners over a particular period.

The financial market is considered the backbone of any economy. Every sector of the economy is interconnected with the financial market, not just by transactions. Companies, businesses, and governments use the financial and capital markets as a source of funds. Through IPOs, companies can raise funds that will be used for business expansions. Governments issue bonds and treasury bills in the money markets, which are used to fund government expenditures. In the secondary markets, however, these financial assets’ prices tend to reflect investors’ sentiments.

Therefore, foreign investors’ level of participation in the local financial markets can be used as a leading indicator of economic sentiment.

Using Foreign Securities Purchases in Analysis

Primarily, the data of foreign securities purchases shows foreign interest in the domestic economy. This data has various applications to government agencies, investors, and even forex traders.

The stock and money markets are driven by sentiment. The basics of how the financial market works is that; you buy a financial asset when prices are low and sell when prices are high. For example, in the stock markets, the price of a company’s stock is tied to its financial performance. So, when its performance is well, the share price will rise, and when the performance is deteriorating, the share price will fall. Another critical factor that drives the fluctuation in share price is a sentiment about the company’s performance.

When traders anticipate that the company will have a windfall – either increased demand for its core products or the launch of a new product line – the share price will rise. The rise in the share price is driven by the fundamental laws of demand and supply. The price will rise when there is an increased demand from investors to buy the shares, which means that those buying exceed the number of those selling. The price will fall when investors are selling the shares, which increases its supply relative to those demanding to purchase it.

Using this aspect of the stock markets, when foreign investors flood the domestic market to purchase shares, it means that they anticipate that the companies will perform better soon. As we have explained, a better financial performance by a company could result from increased demand for its products or expansion in business operations.

Since the stock market is forward-looking, increased buying activity can be interpreted as a vote of confidence that economic conditions are going to improve. Let’s take the example of the S&P 500. On October 19, 2020, the index closed just above 3400 from lows of 2237 on March 23, 2020, at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Therefore, a rebound in the stock markets can be taken as a sign that investor confidence is increasing and improving economic conditions.

Source: St. Louis FRED

However, note that there is a disconnect between the GDP and the performance of the stock market. Most people tend to make the mistake of assuming that the growth of the stock market is synonymous to an increase in the GDP. While this might be true in some cases, it is purely coincidental, because the stock market is only one component of the economy. While the economy’s growth tends to encompass all aspects ranging from the growth of the labor market to household consumption, the stock market is majorly a reflection of corporate profits. For example, while the S&P 500 recovered from March to October 2020, the GDP was on a steady fall.

Source: St. Louis FRED

The other way foreign securities purchases can be used for analysis is through the purchases in the money markets, especially government bonds and treasury bills. When foreigners swam the domestic market to purchase government securities, it can be taken as a sign that the domestic economy is offering better returns compared to other international economies.

Furthermore, increased foreigner participation in the domestic money markets can be taken as a sign that the local economy is regarded as a safe heaven. It is a vote of confidence that the domestic economy is stable and comparatively less volatile, which means that their investments will receive a steady return and no chances of an outright loss of capital.

Impact on Currency

As a leading indicator of economic sentiment, foreign securities purchase data can show what investors think about economic recoveries. When the foreign securities purchases increase in times of economic recessions or slump, it can be taken as a vote of confidence by the investors that the economy will rebound in the near term. The logic behind this is that no one would want to invest in an economy bound to fall or one that has no signs of recovery. In such an instance, the currency will appreciate.

Similarly, the local currency will appreciate relative to others since an increase in foreign securities purchases implies that the domestic economy offers better returns. These higher returns could be a direct result of higher interest rates. Higher interest rates mean that the local currency will appreciate.

Conversely, when the foreign securities purchases data is on a decline, it shows that investors are fleeing the domestic economy. They can either get better returns on investment in other economies or believe that the local economy is headed for rough times. In this case, the local currency will depreciate relative to others.

Sources of Data

Statistics Canada collates and publishes foreign securities purchases data in Canada. The data published is of the prior two months. A more in-depth and historical review of the foreign securities purchases in Canada is available at Trading Economics.

How Foreign Securities Purchases Data Release Affects Forex Price Charts

For this analysis, we will focus on the August 17, 2020, release of the foreign securities purchases data at 8.30 AM EST. The data can be accessed from Investing.com. Moderate volatility is expected when the data is released.

In June 2020, Canada’s net foreign securities purchases were -13.52 billion compared to 22.39 billion in May 2020.

Let’s see what impact this release had on the CAD.

GBP/CAD: Before Foreign Securities Purchases Release on October 17, 2020, 
Just Before 8.30 AM EST

From the above 5-minute GBP/CAD chart, the pair was trading in a steady downtrend before the release of the data. The 20-period MA was steeply falling with candles forming further below it. This trend shows that the CAD was strong during this period.

GBP/CAD: After Foreign Securities Purchases Release on October 17, 2020, 
at 8.30 AM EST

The pair formed a long 5-minute candle upon the release of the data. As expected, the negative net foreign securities purchases in Canada resulted in the weakening of the CAD. Subsequently, the pair traded adopted a subdued uptrend with the 20-period MA slightly rising and candles forming just above it.

Bottom Line

The foreign securities purchases data is a moderate-impact economic indicator. Since it only serves to show investor confidence in the economy, it does not result in high volatility when released. Cheers!

Categories
Forex Videos

Which Broker To Choose? A Or B Book Brokers? Is It In Their Interest For You To Loose?

https://youtu.be/ccTpWBDo6uQ

https://youtu.be/ccTpWBDo6uQ

A book, or B book – a trader’s choice

In this session, we will be looking at the difference between trading via an A book or a B book and why it matters in forex trading.

There are literally hundreds of brokers for new forex traders to choose from nowadays, and as growth continues in the forex market, which is the biggest business on the planet, it is not surprising that broker firms are cropping up all over the place, try to cash in on a slice of the action.


Most traders don’t consider how their trades and orders are executed. They tend only to focus s.com there trade-in and trying to make money.
Therefore, A book and B book is the last thing they think about. They simply trust that the broker they are dealing with has the right framework in place to be able to offer tight spreads and trades that are executed without glitches.

As liquidity and technology have advanced since the onset of retail forex trading, these issues have become more reliable, and with the ever-increasing dependency on social media, it is so easy now for new traders to research their broker of choice to find out if they have an adverse history, including complaints and bad recommendations from current or previous traders.

So, what is an A book in Forex?

Brokers who use an A book operation will pass your market orders either instant execution or pending into a liquidity pool of providers such as Banks as Deutsche Bank, Barclays Bank, or JP Morgan, for example, who then act as the counterparty on your trades.
This is also known as straight-through processing or a non-dealing desk broker, which you may have heard also referred to buy the name of an ECN broker.

Some traders prefer this route because they feel there is no conflict with their broker. They’re orders simply go into a pool where there is a huge amount of liquidity by third parties, which will typically act to provide tight spreads during the busiest hours of the trading day, particularly the European and US sessions. These liquidity providers have no details about the trader and cannot formulate counter trading strategies regarding potential trading styles, which could be detrimental to the trader.
Typically, A book brokers usually charge a commission on the trades, which is the fee that you pay when you open and close trades. This fee is somewhat negated by the tight spreads being offered by the deep liquidity pools in this model.

What is a B book in Forex?


Some forex brokers have their own dealing desks, and this is known as B book.
In this model, if you place a trade onto your platform, either as an instant execution or pending order, your broker is the counterparty for these trades. This causes concern for some traders who worry that the broker who offers this kind of setup may call spikes during volatile times to deliberately stop losses where they are booking the profit from such loss.
Also, there is a possibility that these types of brokers can use technology to set up trading recognition software in order to determine trading styles, which might then influence trades to their favor.

However, if we discount such practices, which may well have gone on during the early days of retail forex trading, but are not so prevalent nowadays, because brokers value their reputations and want to attract as many traders as possible, there are some advantages to trading with ab brook broker.

The main advantage for a trader is that this is typically where you will find and fixed spreads. These kinds of spreads are more favorable during out of market hours; such as after the American trading session in the run-up to the Asian morning session and after the Asian session leading into the European session.
B book traders will also typically offer tighter spreads on more exotic currencies, including cross currencies, where A book brokers may only be able to offer much wider spreads.
The things to consider are what type of instruments you are looking to trade, whether it’s a major currency pair, a cross currency or exotic pair, the time-zone you are trading from, and the spread, with or without the commission structure being offered by the broker. And of course, your type of trading style; for example, if you are a scalper, you want the tightest possible spread you can get, but if you are a long-term swing trader, this will not be so important to you.

Categories
Crypto Guides

What Should You Know About The ‘Concordium’ Blockchain Platform

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

Business payments have to be made secure and transparent. It is true that blockchain and its products have always helped businesses in providing the right efficiency. Yet again, a blockchain-powered product has made its inception into the industry, offering better privacy and accountability of the payments. Concordium platform is a reformed open-source and permissionless blockchain product made with business applications. In this article, we are going to talk about the Concordium articles and everything you need to know about it.

What is Concordium?

It is a proof-of-stake blockchain that has been created with business applications. Concordium is also the first blockchain that comes with identification embedded in the protocol that helps in meeting the requirements facilitating a user-friendly platform. It is primarily designed to be cost-effective, secure, and fast. The identity layer offers on-chain identity compliance centric payments and better privacy for the users.

What About Its Structure?

The two-layer consensus protocol comprises Nakamoto-style blockchain, and the finality layer is meant for faster transaction confirmation. The sharing design facilitates high transaction throughput and enhanced privacy for the business’s sensitive data. Another feather in the cap is designing two new languages for the smart contract code, making the development much easier. The platform also has a transparent incentive structure with predictable fees and cost-effective transactions.

What Are The Best Features of Concordium?

Now that you have understood the platform, let’s take a peek into the feature that will give you a better understanding.

Regulatory Compliance By Design: It is primarily designed to make business transactions faster, secure, and cost-effective. Concordium is designed in a way to integrate the financial system with the user’s identity. It helps the developers, businesses, and individuals to build blockchain products that comply with regulations.

Privacy and Verification of Users: The identity layer of Concordium offers a compliance-centric balance in accountability and anonymity. The user’s identity will remain anonymous, but it can be revoked against a valid request from the government or legal channels.

Fast Transactions: The most important takeaway of this platform is its fast transactions. It has set a benchmark by making the transactions fast enough in accordance with transactions per second. Concordium is made to meet the ever-evolving needs of businesses on a global scale. The platform has taken a major leap compared to other blockchain technology.

Consistent Uptime: The platform is designed for dynamic business use cases with a focus on the uptime requirements. The two-layer consensus is designed to ensure that the platform is secure and available for the changing conditions. So far, the platform has achieved speedups and efficiency.

The Bottom Line

Concordium is created to bring innovation and efficiency to the business transaction. The platform vision to unlock blockchain’s potential and put it to best use for the future economy. The community of Concordium currently involves developers, investors, business leaders, and technologists who are advocating it throughout the world. If you are also willing to enter the arena, you can connect via attending the event, joining the online communities, or entering the ambassador program.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

Is Bitcoin Cash a Good Investment?

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency created in 2017 as a result of attempts to improve the performance of Bitcoin. BCH was spun off from Bitcoin (BTC) – the original cryptocurrency. 

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency created in 2017 as a result of attempts to improve the performance of Bitcoin. BCH was spun off from Bitcoin (BTC) – the original cryptocurrency. 

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency created in 2017 as a result of attempts to improve the performance of Bitcoin. BCH was spun off from Bitcoin (BTC) – the original cryptocurrency. 

The idea of forking one crypto from another is not strange. However, what makes the BCH spin-off noteworthy is that the fork involved an update to Bitcoin Core. Whereas some nodes accepted the update, others declined. Those that accepted the update formed the BCH network. The number of Bitcoins that each node had in their Bitcoin wallet at the time of the fork was duplicated on their BCH wallet.

The main motivation for starting the Bitcoin Cash project was to make Bitcoin more transactional-friendly. In other words, the pioneers of Bitcoin Cash were of the opinion that Bitcoin transactions took too long to settle; hence, it was better suited as an investment tool than a transactional currency. That was a good observation, but stakeholders widely disagreed on how to make these enhancements on the original Bitcoin, and that’s how Bitcoin Cash came to life.

This article explains what Bitcoin Cash is and evaluates whether it is worth investing in it.

How Is BCH Different from Bitcoin?

Considering that Bitcoin Cash is a fork of Bitcoin, one would expect striking similarity between the two. In fact, many crypto enthusiasts have described the former as nothing more than a newer version of the latter. So, are they one and the same thing? Well, not quite.

As earlier mentioned, the pioneers of Bitcoin Cash wanted Bitcoin transactions to be settled as fast as possible – just like traditional payment methods. The solution to this problem was to increase block sizes so that each block could accommodate more transactions. So, fundamentally, the difference is the block sizes. 

Nevertheless, the following are the notable differences between the two. Some came about as a result of increasing the block sizes and the sequence of events that were set in motion. 

  • Block size: This is the fundamental difference. The maximum block size of Bitcoin is 1 MB, while Bitcoin Cash blocks can grow up to 8 MB. Larger block sizes mean increased capacity to handle more transactions per second
  • Value: BCH has a lower dollar exchange rate than BTC. For comparison, at the time of writing, BCH was worth $269, while BTC was valued at $12,850.
  • Transaction processing time: Bitcoin transactions typically reflect after at least 10 minutes. For BCH, you can expect far shorter times.
  • Cheaper transaction fees: Crypto networks usually deduct a small percentage of the transaction value as network fees. While a network fee of $0.20 is common for BCH transactions, BTC transfers charge an average of $1.

BCH proponents believe that these differences give Bitcoin Cash an edge over Bitcoin.

Disadvantages of BCH

BCH seems to address most of Bitcoin’s challenges, making it seem more appealing. However, it is not without fault. The following are some of its notable disadvantages:

  • Less trading pairs – Since BCH is relatively new, you might find it a little cumbersome to get an exchange pair for your BCH. In comparison, you can exchange BTC or Ethereum with almost any other coin.
  • Less appeal among investor circles – BCH has not yet won investors’ confidence because it is relatively new in the market.
  • Lower mining profits – Mining BCH takes almost the same effort as mining BTC, but the network fees are much lower, thereby making the venture less profitable.

Investing in BCH

Bitcoin faces scalability challenges, and investors are increasingly showing optimism that BCH will save the day. But before investing in Bitcoin Cash, you need to find an exchange where you can buy and sell BCH and a secure wallet to keep your crypto. These two quick tips below will help you get started:

  • Finding an exchange: There are many crypto exchanges, but not all will work for you. You need to consider their exchange rates, supported payment methods, reputation, how fast they send the crypto to your wallet, and so on. Coinsutra has summarized the best exchanges for BCH here.
  • Getting a good wallet: Getting a secure and reliable wallet is a key pillar in your investment journey. You can find a comprehensive summary of the best BCH wallets on Wallets.com.

Now that you know where to buy your BCH and where to keep them safe, you can confidently join the club of BCH investors. 

Remember that BCH was created purposely as a transactional currency and not for long-term storage of value like stocks. This means that hoarding a large volume of BCH waiting for its value to grow might not be a wise thought. Nevertheless, you can still make some profit through buying and selling BCH. The idea is simple – you buy at a low price and sell when the price goes up. However, you will realize that this is a double-edged sword when you buy at a low price, and the price continues to drop even further. 

Coinbase is one of the best exchanges to buy and sell BCH since it offers a wide variety of exchange pairs. eToro is also worth considering as it facilitates social trading. Social trading allows you to learn trading from experts who are currently trading on the platform. So, you have a chance at trading profitably even if you have no experience. 

There is no magic formula for getting this right. However, you might want to play around with exchange pairs to find the best margins. For instance, if BCH/USD has low margins, you could try exchanging your BCH with BTC instead. 

Mining Bitcoin Cash

Mining cryptocurrencies is one of the ways one can generate revenue. It is, however, not for the faint-hearted. Just as is the case with Bitcoin, mining Bitcoin Cash requires mining rigs, which are special computers designed specifically for that purpose. You can get an Antminer R4, which is among the most powerful, at about $1,000. Antminer has a processing power of roughly 8.6TH/s (trillion calculations per second). You also need to prepare for huge power costs as this machine is rated at 845W. 

According to Bitinfocharts.com, mining Bitcoin Cash at 1TH/s earns an average of $1.35 per day. So, you’re looking at returns of $10.8 per day for the sort of investment above.

Overall, mining Bitcoin Cash is not the most lucrative of all alternatives, but at least you are guaranteed some returns. 

Final Remarks 

Bitcoin Cash is among the new cryptocurrencies. It is fast gaining popularity, making it worth considering for investment. It is cheaper than Bitcoin and allows faster transaction settlement. On the flip side, BCH is not yet widely accepted by investors. This makes it harder to find convenient trading pairs. 

Also, if you’re looking to invest in mining Bitcoin Cash, it isn’t as profitable as mining Bitcoin. If you’re considering investing in BCH for the long term, please understand that you will only make a profit if people want to buy BCH, more than they want to sell. So, if you are optimistic about this crypto’s steady growth, go forth in confidence and join the club of BCH investors.

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

The Impact of ‘Gross Domestic Product Estimate’ Economic Indicator On The Forex Market

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

In most economies globally, the GDP data is published by governments or government agencies quarterly. This would mean that analysts, economists, and households would have to wait for a full quarter to know how the economy is performing. Naturally, this long wait can be frustrating and, in some cases, inconveniencing. Therefore, having some form of estimate as to what the GDP might be can be quite useful.

Understanding Gross Domestic Product Estimate

As the name suggests, the GDP estimate serves to estimate an economy’s GDP before the release of the official government-published GDP report.

These estimates are arrived at by surveying the industries within the country. In the UK, for example, the following industries are surveyed; production, manufacturing, mining and quarrying, agriculture, construction, private services, and public services. Most estimates adopted globally use the bottom-up methodology.

Source: National Institute of Economic and Social Research

In the UK, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) publishes a rolling monthly estimate of the GDP growth using the bottom-up methodology. Hence, its GDP estimate covers the preceding three months. Since the GDP estimates are published monthly, it means that NIESR releases at least four GDP estimates before the government’s publication. Using the bottom-up analysis to estimate the GDP, NIESR uses statistical models to aggregate the most recent trends observed within the GDP subcomponents. The statistical models are fed the latest trends, and they forecast the most probable outcome in these subcomponents. Note that these forecasts are only short-term.

While the GDP estimates are not always accurate to the exact decimal percentage, they provide an accurate GDP representation.

Using the Gross Domestic Product Estimate in Analysis

The GDP estimate data can be used in the timely analysis of economic performance. Here is how this data can be used.

In many countries, the macroeconomics policies are usually set more frequently than quarterly. However, since the economic performance is the centerpiece in any macroeconomic policy-making, it is vital to know the most recent GDP data. By tracking the trends of the top components of the GDP, the GDP estimates can provide the most recent data. Therefore, this will help the policymakers to implement more informed policies. Let’s see how the contrast between the GDP estimate and the actual GDP can make a difference in policy implementation.

For example, during the second quarter of 2020, governments and central banks wanted to implement expansionary fiscal and monetary policies. At this point, the only GDP data available to them is the actual GDP for the first quarter of 2020. But for most economies, the 2020 Q1 GDP showed economic growth. On the other hand, the more recent GDP estimates could show that contractions were already visible in the economy.

In this scenario, if policymakers were to use the actual data available to then – the Q1 GDP – they would have made undesirable policies. These policies would have further harmed the economy. On the other hand, if the GDP estimates would have been used to aid the policy implementation, chances are, the most suitable and appropriate monetary and fiscal policies would have been adopted. Here, the GDP estimate would have helped them make relevant policies and ensuring that these policies are implemented timely.

Furthermore, the GDP estimates can also be used to establish whether the policies implemented are working as expected. If expansionary policies are implemented, their primary goal is to spur demand and stimulate economic growth. Using the GDP estimate, policymakers can track to see if there are any changes experienced in the economy. Some aspects like inflation take a long time to adjust, but demand generated by households is almost instantaneous. Therefore, the GDP estimate can be used to gauge the effectiveness of the implemented policies. Take the stimulus packages adopted in Q2 2020 after the pandemic; they were meant to stimulate demand by households, which would lead to economic recovery. With the GDP estimate, we could tell whether the stimulus package worked or not.

When accurate, the advance GDP estimate can be a leading indicator of the actual GDP. Therefore, the GDP estimate data can be used to show the prevailing trends in the economy. For instance, it can be used to show looming periods of recession and any upcoming recoveries. Say that the trailing three months captured by the GDP estimate shows that the economy’s major subcomponents are struggling with demand and contracting. This data can be taken to mean that for that quarter, there is a higher probability that the overall economy would contract. Conversely, when the subcomponents being tracked show growth, it can be expected that the overall economy would have expanded in that quarter.

It’s not just the governments that can benefit from the GDP estimate data. The private sector as well can use the data to plan their economic activity. Take the example that the GDP estimate shows that a particular sector in the economy has been contracting for the previous three months. Investors in this sector can presume that the demand for goods or services from the sector is depressed. In this instance, to avoid venturing into loss-making businesses, investors can make informed decisions about where and when to invest their money.

Impact on Currency

When the GDP estimate shows that the short-term economy is expanding, the domestic currency will appreciate relative to others. A short-term expansion indicates that demand levels in the economy are higher, which implies that unemployment levels are low and households’ welfare is improving.

The domestic currency will depreciate if the GDP estimate shows that the economy is contracting. The primary driver of a contracting economy is decreased expenditure by households contributing almost 70% of the GDP. The decline in demand can be taken as a sign of higher unemployment levels.

Sources of Data

In the UK, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research publishes the monthly and quarterly UK GDP estimate.

How GDP Estimate Release Affects The Forex Price Charts

The most recent UK GDP estimate published by NIESR was on October 9, 2020, at 11.10 AM GMT and accessed at Investng.com. Moderate volatility on the GBP can be expected when the NIESR GDP estimate is published.

During this period, the UK GDP is estimated to have grown by 15.2% compared to 8.0% in the previous reading.

Let’s see how this release impacted the GBP.

EUR/GBP: Before NIESR GDP Estimate Release on October 9, 2020, 
just before 11.10 AM GMT

Before the release of the NIESR GDP Estimate, the EUR/GBP pair was trading in a subdued uptrend. The 20-period MA transitioned from a steep rise to an almost flattened trend with candles forming just above it.

EUR/GBP: After NIESR GDP Estimate Release on October 9, 2020, 
at 11.10 AM GMT

After the GDP estimate release, the EUR/GBP pair formed a 5-minute bullish ‘inverted hammer’ candles with a long wick. This candle represents a period of volatility in the pair as the market absorbed the data. Subsequently, the pair traded in a neutral trend before adopting a steady downtrend with the 20-period MA steeply falling.

Bottom Line

The GDP estimate is not just relevant to investors and policymakers; as shown by the above analyses, it can result in periods of increased volatility in the forex market when it is published. Cheers!

Categories
Forex Assets

Costs Involved While Trading The AUD/RUB Forex Exotic Pair

Introduction

Introduction

Introduction

AUD is the Australian Dollar, and RUB is the Russian Ruble; AUD/RUB is thus an exotic currency pair. When trading this pair, forex traders should expect relatively high volatility due to its exotic nature.

In this pair, the AUD is the base currency, and the RUB is the quote currency. It means that the AUD/RUB pair’s price represents the amount of Russian Ruble that one Australian Dollar. If the AUD/RUB price is 55.813, it means that you can buy 55.813 Russian Rubles using 1 Australian Dollar.

AUD/RUB Specification

Spread

For the AUD/RUB pair, the spread is the difference between the price at which you can buy the pair from a broker and the price at which you can sell it to the broker.

The spread for the AUD/RUB pair is:

ECN: 10 pips | STP: 15 pips

Fees

If you have an ECN account, different brokers will charge you varying fees per trade, depending on the size of your position. For most STP accounts, however, there are no fees levied whenever you open a position.

Slippage

In the forex market, slippage occurs when you open a position, but it is executed at a price different than the one you requested. The primary determinants of slippage are market volatility and your broker’s speed of execution.

Trading Range in the AUD/RUB Pair

Throughout the day, the price of a currency pair fluctuates. This fluctuation, as observed from different timeframes, is known as the trading range. In forex, the trading range can help a trader determine the volatility of a currency pair, hence assess the risks it carries.

The Procedure to assess Pip Ranges

  1. Add the ATR indicator to your chart
  2. Set the period to 1
  3. Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
  4. Shrink the chart so you can determine a larger period
  5. Select your desired timeframe
  6. Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
  7. Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
  8. Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

AUD/RUB Cost as a Percentage of the Trading Range

We can combine volatility, slippage, and trading fees to determine the cost of trading a currency pair across different timeframes.

Below are cost percentages for both the ECN and the STP forex accounts. These percentages are in terms of pips.

ECN Model Account

Spread = 10 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 1

Total cost = 13

STP Model Account

Spread = 15 | Slippage = 2 | Trading fee = 0

Total cost = 17

The Ideal Timeframe to Trade the AUD/RUB

In the analyses above, we notice that lower timeframes have low volatility, accompanied by higher trading costs for the AUD/RUB pair. With either the ECN or the STP account, costs are highest when volatility is at the lowest, 3.1 pips. The lowest costs are incurred when volatility is the highest at 802.2 pips.

We can observe that longer-term traders generally enjoy lower trading costs. However, shorter-term traders can reduce their trading costs by trading the AUD/RUB pair when volatility is above average; since costs are lower.

If traders use pending orders, they can eliminate slippage, which lowers the trading costs. Here’s an example with the ECN account.

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading fee

= 0 + 10 + 1 = 11

You can notice that there is a significant reduction in trading costs. For example, the highest trading cost for the ECN account has reduced from 220.34% to 186.44%.

Categories
Forex Course

169. Which Trading Timeframe Should I Choose?

Introduction 

Introduction 

Introduction 

In the previous lesson, we covered how to trade multiple timeframes in the forex market. So, what timeframe should you choose to trade?

The timeframe you chose to trade will be entirely determined by the type of forex trader you are. Therefore, in this lesson, we will cover the timeframe to trade depending on the type of forex trader you are, i.e., position trader, swing trader, day trader, or a forex scalper. It is worth noting that you should consider trading three timeframes in Forex.

Timeframes for a Forex Position Trader

If you are a forex position trader, it means you intend to have your trading position open for several months to years. Therefore, you should trade the monthly and weekly timeframes. These frames give you a long-term perspective of the market trend while filtering out the hourly and daily “noises” of the price spikes.

Timeframes for Forex Swing Trader

For a forex swing trader, your goal is to have your positions open overnight to just a few weeks. With such a strategy, while performing your multiple timeframe analysis, you should start with the daily timeframe to establish your selected currency pair’s dominant trend.

On the chart, the daily timeframe will cover several weeks, which will help you establish the support and resistance levels over this period. With this perspective, you will quickly identify the high and low extremes. Narrow down to a 12-hour timeframe to see if this timeframe lines up with the observed trend, then finally use the 4-hour timeframe to find the entry point for your trade.

Timeframes for Forex Day Traders

If you are a forex day trader, that means you enter and exit all your trades within 24 hours. In this case, you should trade the 4-hour, 1-hour, and 15-minute timeframes. With the 4-hour timeframe, you will be able to establish the support and resistance levels for the past few days for your selected currency pair. The 1-hour timeframe will help you identify if the intra-day price trend aligns with the observed dominant trend. Finally, the 15-minute timeframe will enable you to narrow down the best entry and exit points for your trades, depending on the current price trend.

Timeframes for Forex Scalpers

For the forex scalpers, the smallest minute-by-minute price spikes count. Therefore, you should trade the 30-minute, 15-minute, and 5-minute timeframes. With the 30-minute timeframe, you get to identify the prevailing short-term trend with the selected currency pair. The 5-minute timeframe narrows down the tend to show how the most current price spikes build-up to the short-term trend. This timeframe also serves as your trigger timeframe for entry and exit.

[wp_quiz id=”89150″]
Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What Ankr Network (ANKR) can do for Cloud Computing? 

Businesses worldwide are using cloud computing to reduce costs, maximize efficiency, and increase deployment. Cloud service providers (CSPs) like Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and others have been providing online storage services to companies worldwide for years. 

Businesses worldwide are using cloud computing to reduce costs, maximize efficiency, and increase deployment. Cloud service providers (CSPs) like Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and others have been providing online storage services to companies worldwide for years. 

Businesses worldwide are using cloud computing to reduce costs, maximize efficiency, and increase deployment. Cloud service providers (CSPs) like Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and others have been providing online storage services to companies worldwide for years. 

But even as these big companies dominate the industry, the potential of data centers remains vastly underutilized. There remains so much idle computing power around the globe that could be harnessed to provide cheaper and more efficient cloud computing services. 

What is Ankr?

Ankr is a cloud computing platform backed by the power of the blockchain. With blockchain comes increased speeds, transparency, and more inclusivity. The Ankr team believes idle computing power needn’t go to waste and that it can actually replace the need for CSP’s altogether. 

In view of this, they want to create a system where people from everywhere can utilize others’ idle computing power. And it’s not just setting its sights on repurposing idle computing resources: Ankr wants to go beyond and provide an infrastructure to power the Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging economies.

Suppliers of idle computing power will be able to make money off it, whether they’re using a mobile phone, an on-premise data center, a private cloud, etc. Ankr wants to help companies create a production environment where they can leverage people and the latest technology independent of a centralized entity and vendor contracts. 

As of the time of writing, Ankr has over 8,000 nodes deployed all over the world. 

Breaking Down Ankr

Ankr is a decentralized cloud computing platform supporting all manner of players in an industry that includes resource providers, end-users, app developers, and more. The Ankr team believes that cloud computing is the best way of the future, and that should be avoidable for everyone instead of being monopolized by tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Alibaba Cloud, and Amazon AWS. 

Ankr will give developers the ability to deploy more than 100 types of blockchain nodes. The idea is to offer a pragmatic business model where data owners monetize their idle cloud resources, and developers can utilize them to run various services more effectively. 

Some of the highlights of Ankr include: 

  • Single-click node deployment
  • Truly decentralized infrastructure
  • Automated management based on cloud-native tech and Kubernetes

Ankr: Architecture

The Ankr blockchain runs on four core layers:

#1. Core Layer

The core layer supports the network’s full nodes. It uses the Proof of Service Level and Stake Byzantine Fault Tolerance (SLSBFT) consensus mechanism. SLSBFT ensures that bandwidth, computation, and distributed storage maintains the highest quality standards. 

On this layer, blocks are generated until the block producers reach consensus. Users interact with this layer in either of two ways: as validator nodes or regular nodes. Validator nodes are approved by the network’s DCCN (Distributed Cloud Computing Network), while the regular nodes are open to everyone. 

#2. Relay Layer

This layer supports fast network routing. All nodes on the relay layer support full nodes, except these full nodes will not produce blocks or participate in the consensus. Users have the option to add more efficient networks on top of this layer. They also stand to earn ANKR coin rewards for Proof of Network Contribution (PNC). The amount of rewards will depend on a node’s relayed packet number, network bandwidth steadiness, and service quality. 

#3. Access Layer

This layer supports data center nodes, mining nodes, and edge computing nodes. All these contribute to the safety of the network by preventing illegal node access. 

#4. Micro-node layer

This layer supports device nodes and transaction hashes. Smaller nodes, such as phone-based ones, are the ones referred to as micro-nodes. 

Ankr’s DCCN System 

Ankr’s DCCN system is deployed across various computing resources over varied geographic locations. The Kubernetes system manages these resources, arranging them in clusters through the Ankr Hub. The Hub is responsible for relaying and dispatching tasks to working clusters. 

The Ankr team wants to utilize DCCN to offer an experience like that of centralized computing platforms. Through its Graphic User Interface and Command Line Interface, users can deploy apps, services, or even infrastructure for supporting such. 

Resource Scheduler (and Fairness Algorithms)

A Resource Scheduler on Ankr selects and assigns tasks to nodes, who will then run them in the desired state. The scheduler will utilize the Weighted Dominant Resource Fairness Algorithm (WDRF), which evenly distributes the available resources to nodes depending on availability and the degree of urgency. 

SLSBFT Consensus

Ankr utilizes the Proof of Service Level and Stake Byzantine Fault Tolerance (SLSBFT) consensus mechanism. It verifies transactions through these three phases: 

  1. Propose
  2. Prevote
  3. Pre-commit

The SLSBFT and the standard BFT differ in that the former features Block Producer ‘BP’ nodes. BP nodes are selected based on their contribution to the network as well as their stake. This promotes decentralization and fairness in that not just large token holders can participate in the network, but any node that contributes positively. To protect the network against attacks, validator nodes are chosen in a random fashion. 

Smart Contracts 

The Ankr network supports smart contracts. The smart contract system has the following characteristics:

  • Support for multiple programming languages including C/C++, JavaScript, Rust, Python, and more
  • A virtual machine compatible with WebAssembly 1.0
  • When smart contracts are being executed, the Ankr protocol is capable of invoking the contracts’ application programming interface tools via a service bus
  • Ankr charges transaction fees according to the smart contract instructions
  • Support for smart contracts’ interaction with the Ankr blockchain
  • Support for smart contracts’ interactions with the off-chain system

Incorporation with DCCN 

The DCCN blockchain supports the functions of Ankr’s communication in several ways, which include:

  • Providing the payment interface for cloud service providers and users
  • Rewarding users with returns upon their completion of computing tasks
  • Rewarding validators for their formation in the maintenance of the blockchain and processing transactions
  • Facilitating communication between the DCCN hub and DCCN daemon

Ankr: Incentive Mechanism

Ankr utilizes an incentive mechanism to promote healthy development of the platform and provide users with high-level services. The rewards are measured based on several yardsticks, including: 

  • Rewards for ANKR staking
  • Rewards for utilizing the ANKR stake  
  • Rewards for producing and offering services
  • Rewards for node reputation

The ANKR Token

ANKR is the native cryptocurrency of the Ankr platform. It’s the mechanism through which network users pay fees. Enterprise clients can pay for hosting fees via the token. Such enterprises could be crypto exchanges, staking platforms, fund management companies, etc. Individuals can also use the ANKR token to donate to non-profit Cloud computing platforms such as BOINC. And lastly, cloud service users can use ANKR to pay for the service. 

Supply Distribution of ANKR

The ANKR token was distributed in the following fashion: 

  • Public sale tokens:5%
  • Private sale 1 tokens: 3% 
  • Private sale 2 tokens: 12%
  • Private sale 3 tokens: 15% 
  • Team tokens: 17%
  • Advisor tokens: 1.5%
  • Marketing tokens: 5%
  • Mining rewards: 40%

Key Metrics

On October 20, 2020, the ANKR token traded at $0.007870, with a market cap of $45,876,543 that placed it at #156 in the market. The token has a 24-hour volume of $9,728,854, a circulating supply of 5,829,566,044, and a total supply of 10 billion. ANKR’s all-time high was $0.018332 (August 10, 2020), and its all-time low was $0.000711 (Mar 13, 2020). 

Where to Buy and Store ANKR

You’ll find ANKR listed as a pair with BTC, ETH, USDT, KRW, BNB, BTC, TWD, HT, on either of these exchanges: Binance, Upbit, MXC, CoinDCX, Huobi Global, HotBit, BitMax, WazirX, CoinTiger, Gate.io, Coinone, BiKi, Sistemkoin, BitAsset, BinanceDEX, BurgerSwap, and ViteX. 

Once you grab some ANKR, you can store it in any of several wallet options, including Trust Wallet, Atomic Wallet, MyEtherWallet, Trezor, and Ledger.

Categories
Crypto Videos

Best Free Bitcoin Indicator Ever Gaining Over 5000% Returns! Free Indicator In The Description!

https://youtu.be/HUwTDvz5xt0

https://youtu.be/HUwTDvz5xt0

 

Best Bitcoin Indicator Ever? 5000% Returns

Bitcoin’s mining is adjusted for difficulty every 2016 blocks, which translates to roughly every two weeks.
However, Bitcoin’s effective Hash Rate is being calculated daily and is based on the number of blocks found by the miners each day. Because when the hash rate and mining difficulty are calculated, the difficulty effectively may lag behind the hash rate by a maximum of two weeks. The difficulty is, therefore, a somewhat lagging indicator for miner capitulation.

When looking at how ribbons work, we can notice the green and blue simple moving average lines of the difficulty and hash rate on the ribbon indicator. When they cross each other, miners are considered to be “capitulating.” On top of that, most times, the chart will show that there is roughly a two-week lag from the hash rate identifying miner capitulation to the difficulty identifying capitulation. The simple moving average periods chosen are not that important, and the same effect can be seen regardless of the periods used.
However, miner capitulation periods can last for weeks. As a result, the lag between mining difficulty and hash rates doesn’t have such a huge impact on the Bitcoin investor, but rather just on traders.

The hash ribbon indicator

Because of the effect of negative sentiment as well as price action during bear markets and times where miners reach capitulation, the best time to buy Bitcoin is somewhere in the middle of the “miner capitulation” period. However, this cannot be fully known until after the fact.
A simple 1- and 2-month period simple moving average of Bitcoin’s Hash Rate can be used to, with great accuracy, identify market bottoms, miner capitulation, and even great times to buy Bitcoin. The moment when the 1-month hash rate SMA crosses over the 2-month hash rate SMA, the worst of the miner capitulation is over most of the time, and the recovery has begun. Initiating a buy at these points in time yields incredible results so far.

Of the 9 historic buy signals in the table shown, the average gain to the next market cycle peak, which was historically less than 3 years away, is over a whopping 5000%. Returns are even greater than shown in the table for positions held indefinitely.
What is interesting is the drawdown through all time. The average maximum drawdown for each of these entries is a mere 11%. These results are achieved without considering anything else but this indicator. No indicators, metrics, or intelligence, rather just two simple moving averages on Bitcoin’s hash rate.
We have to note that there is one “bad” purchase, which dates to January 2015, where a maximum drawdown of 42% occurred. However, this is still considerably less than half of Bitcoin’s various 80%+ drawdowns. Nonetheless, the majority of drawdowns can be eliminated by simply adding a price action indicator. This indicator could include the famous Bitcoin 10-day and 20-day SMA cross over, for example.

Purchasing Bitcoin during miner capitulation, as the hash rates are starting to “recover” combined with buying only once price momentum has gone positive, yields insanely good results.
As shown, the maximum drawdown is reduced significantly, while the returns have stayed relatively the same. The difference between the first and second table is made possible with the simple addition of the price momentum indicator and using these two indicators as a signal to purchase Bitcoin.

This brings us to the question of can you use this indicator often. Miner Capitulation doesn’t happen that often: in fact, it happens only once per year on average. However, it has started to occur a bit more often in 2020, which may be a great thing for Bitcoin investors.

This indicator has proven itself a great tool for finding Bitcoin bottoms, while it does need help when it comes to timing the sale of the previously bought coins. Hash ribbons should be one of the key components of every Bitcoin trader’s tool belt, simply due to its amazing track record.