Whether you’re new to blockchain gaming, or looking for a new world to explore, this guide is for you. We review the 5 best cryptocurrency games of 2022 and explain what makes them stand out.

Here is a quick overview of the 5 best NFT games you can try today:

• Silks – Overall the best P2E game in the Metaverse
• Splinterlands – Explore, fight, and trade cards in a unique metaverse
• Alien Worlds – A space-themed metaverse with tons of possibilities
• Cryptopop – The best crypto earning game for Candy Crush fans
• Gods Unchained – The best NFT trading card game

1. Silks – Overall the best P2E game in the Metaverse

Silks is a new NFT project that combines the best of real-world thoroughbred horse racing with a unique metaverse. With Silks, each player can have a digital horse (which itself is an NFT) associated with a real-world racehorse.

Silks uses information about racing records, training history, bloodlines, breeds, and more, to create unique digital horses that ideally reflect racehorses that travel on real tracks around the world.

Additionally, your performance in the game correlates with the performance of your digital horse counterpart. When your horse wins a race, you will be awarded Silk’s in-game STT cryptocurrency.

The more STT you earn, the more you can farm. Of course, as an NFT, digital horses are also tradable and there is an opportunity to benefit from the secondary market of silk horses.

You can pit your horse against the competition for digital horses on a wide variety of race tracks. STT can also be used to buy land and stables or even to bet on digital horse racing in the Silk ecosystem.

2. Splinterlands – Explore, fight, and trade cards in a unique metaverse

Splinterlands is a fun and fast-paced game that feels like a mix of Pokemon and Magic. Unlike other card games where players engage in battle, combat in Splinterlands only lasts a few minutes. So, you can log in and play as much as you want.

What’s interesting about Splinterlands is that the game world is constantly expanding. The developer team has released 500 playing cards and more than 64 abilities. New NFT projects built on top of Splinterlands expand the range of cards you can play and the combinations available.

Splinterlands also makes it easy for amateur players to earn rewards. You can earn new cards and in-game tokens by going on quests, challenging other players in ranked matches, or joining tournaments. Cards can be traded on the secondary market, converted into digital currency, or even rented out to other players.

3. Alien Worlds – Space-themed metaverse with tons of features

Alien Worlds is one of the best P2E games for players who want to explore a new metaverse. In this game, the whole world is spread out in front of you. It’s up to you to colonize planets, form a functioning government and economy, and explore distant planets.

What’s remarkable about Alien Worlds is that it can be both cooperative and competitive. You can join other players to explore and find new NFTs or even create your own NFT drops. Players can also join together to create mini-games or organize a planet’s political body.

On the other hand, you can also fight with other explorers to claim your territory or currency. For players who just want to explore, Alien Worlds offers NFT missions that send you on a far-flung quest across the galaxy. Mission NFTs can be exchanged for Trillium, the in-game cryptocurrency, making this one of the best gaming cryptocurrencies to earn money from.

4. Cryptopop – The best crypto earning game for Candy Crush fans

Cryptopop is basically Candy Crush for blockchain. Instead of grouping diamonds and gems, Cryptopop asks you to group cryptocurrency symbols together.

The more coins you blast, the more you can earn on Cryptopop. This P2E game gives you PopCoin, an ERC-20 token, as you climb the game leaderboard. 10 game points are worth 1 popcoin, so you can earn a lot of cryptocurrencies quickly.

The good thing about Cryptopop is that it is much simpler than other blockchain games. If you’re new to P2E games and want to earn some crypto while doing something relaxing, this game is sure to do just that.

5. Gods Unchained – The best NFT trading card game

Gods Unchained is a digital trading card game that lets you fight against other players. As you play, you earn new cards by winning battles. Every card in Gods Unchained is an NFT, so players own their cards and can trade them on the secondary market. Over time, you can build your full deck and trade rare cards for digital currency to cash in on your game.

Gods Unchained currently has 2 expansions – Trial of the Gods and Divine Order. In the game, you can start for free, or you can purchase a starter deck.

Conclusion

Blockchain games provide a way to explore the virtual world, compete with players and build a collection of valuable NFTs. As your skill improves, you can earn crypto rewards and even sell NFTs on secondary markets.

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The biggest issue regarding the Ethereum blockchain is scalability. As the network grows its user base, the process of validating transactions starts to become more expensive and time consuming. To deal with this problem, Vitalik Buterin and his team have started the roll out of Ethereum 2.0 – however, a full migration to the new and improved Ethereum will only be realised next year.

With the crypto market moving closer and closer to mainstream acceptance through NFTs and Crypto gaming, other blockchains have come up to challenge Ethereum’s dominance. All these blockchains promise faster transaction speeds at a significantly reduced cost when compared with the number 2 blockchain – without the need to add a second layer to relieve network congestion.

Though Ethereum remains a prominent figure in the push for decentralization, the competition – dubbed the Ethereum killers – have been making massive gains all throughout the year and increasing their user bases enough to possibly pose a threat to Buterin’s baby. So without further ado, here are the blockchains that look well suited to dethrone Ethereum.

Avalanche (AVAX)

Just like Ethereum 2.0, Avalanche runs on the more energy efficient Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. The biggest difference is that AVAX does it a whole lot faster, claiming a capacity to process more than than 4500 transactions per second.

Apart from the high speeds and lower costs, another advantage of the Avalanche network is it’s compatibility with Ethereum’s Solidity – making migration from Ethereum a simple process.

Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance is a name that is more synonymous with the act of trading cryptocurrencies in order to profit from their price fluctuations, after all, it is the world’s largest digital assets exchange. However, Binance also runs a programmable blockchain –  the Binance Smart Chain, which isn’t too dissimilar to Ether’s.

The BSC has been around since 2019 and offers significantly cheaper transaction fees than Ethereum at $0.01-$0.05 while managing up to 39.2 transactions per second.

Solana (SOL)

If the speed at which a blockchain network runs is its most valuable asset, then Solana is king in this department having claimed an ability to process up to 50 000 transactions per second. Thanks to those speeds, Solana has become home to Circle’s USDC stable coin and has had the value of its native token SOL increasing by more than 10,000% this year.

Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR)

Hedera is not one of the most renowned crypto projects out there, however, there are a few things about this coin that make it a noteworthy competitor in the tussle to be the number one programmable crypto currency network. 

Firstly, Hedera runs a unique Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism that is powered by their proprietary hashgraph and boasts more than 10 000 transactions per second. Secondly, Hedera has also gained a lot of support from major corporations like Google, IBM, LG and TATA Communications – to name just a few, which puts Hedera a step ahead of Ethereum when it comes to attracting institutional investment.

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The decision from Valve – which was taken sometime in October – came as a surprise to many, especially when one considers the massive growth that’s been happening on the back of a sharp rise in the popularity of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). These NFTs, coupled with an in-game cryptocurrency, play a central role in the economics of the vast majority of blockchain built games.

Valve’s decision to ban crypto games as a whole was brought to the public’s attention by SpacePirate, a game developer directly affected by the new rules. Using Twitter as a voice, the developer behind the blockchain game, Age of Rust, reiterated Valve’s new publishing guidelines which do not want blockchain built games that “that issue or allow the exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs’ ‘.

With Steam being one the biggest distribution points for the gaming industry, SpacePirate’s views the new rules as having the potential to create significant disruptions for crypto gaming.

“While I’m disappointed for Age of Rust being removed, the point is more to the fact that Blockchain games as a whole are going to be removed. This is a setback for all.” As SpacePirate explained on Twitter, “While I respect their choice, I fundamentally believe that NFTs and blockchain games are the future. It’s why I started this journey with all of you.”

Though Valve themselves have avoided giving the public any kind of rationale regarding the changes, there have been a few speculative ideas that have done the rounds. One of those being that the company would like to avoid the possibility of getting pulled into some of the bad press that’s been associated with the NFT market,  with the evolved apes debacle being thrown around as an example.

However, according to Space Pirate Games, Valve’s reasoning is as simple as “items [NFTs and in-game cryptocurrencies]  have value and they don’t allow items that can have real-world value on their platform,”.

It’s not game over yet

Though the decision to ban crypto games on one of the most popular game distribution platforms made ripples, the blockchain built games and in-game cryptocurrencies is a concept that’s been gaining momentum for a few years now, and riding the wave of an all-round bull was an added bonus for this segment blockchain technology.

Beyond the general resilience and willingness to adapt that is seen in legitimate blockchain projects and the cryptocurrency market – which have been called scams a countless number of times, one should also consider the fact that Steam has competition, it has competition that is always looking to get an upper hand.

One of those competitors is Epic Games, also a bug name in the gaming industry, Epic believes that NFTs and crypto gaming pose no real threat to their business and are open to having them hosted on their distribution platform. However, the company had previously stated that they currently have no desire to incorporate crypto or NFTs in their own games.

What to take home

Steam’s ban on crypto and NFT infused games was never really going to cripple the new segment, however, it does point to a problem that has been with the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector since the heyday of ICOs – something needs to be done about the scams.

On one hand, decentralization has always been one of the most attractive attributes of blockchain and crypto, however, this leaves the sector quite exposed to the potential threats that look to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. This is not to say that the more centralized approach is flawless, scams have been around before cryptocurrency – in an endless game of cat and mouse with authorities.

Realistically, this is probably the fate of crypto gaming as well. The developers and the public will have to constantly adapt to threats that will consistently do the same and a failure to do so means losses. This is especially true for the public as they are the scammer’s main targets.

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Regulations of Cryptocurrencies in South Korea

Many cryptocurrency enthusiasts spoke of the days that digital assets would go mainstream, with regulations being the common subject of many of those discussions. Well, after all the waiting and debating, crypto’s time to shine has finally arrived – with regulations in tow.

In the South Korean context, legislators have come to the conclusion that all entities that provide digital assets management services, including cryptocurrency exchange and providers of other related services, must register to gain the approval of the country monetary watchdog, KFUI (Korean Financial Intelligence Unit), in order to operate legally within South Korean borders.

This process requires all entities that wish to or already operate in the digital assets arena to register with the ISMS (Information Security Management System). The aim is to ensure that all accounts have real names attached to them and that cryptocurrency transactions are not used to circumvent the system’s safeguards against financial crimes like money laundering.

Korean banks adapt to suit the changing environment

Following the regulator’s announcement, a number of big banks in South Korea went in search of alternatives that would help them continue to provide their customers with access to digital assets-related services like exchanges.

The solution is forming partnerships with fintech companies in order to provide crypto custody services to their clients. More specifically, four banks in South Korea have gone the route. They are Kookmin Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, and Shinhan Financial Group, and Woori Financial Group.

Kookmin Bank chose to team up with blockchain developer Haechi labs in bringing to life their DACS (Digital Assets Custody Service) named KODA, which currently offers support for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and KLAY tokens.

Shinhan Bank, on the other hand, opted to strategically invest in the already established KDAC (Korean Digital Assets Custody), which was developed by cry exchange Korbit. Meanwhile, Woori Financial Group joined forces with Coinplug, among the first cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea and majority shareholder of the joint venture, to bring their clients a DAC service named D-Custody.

Lastly, we have NH Bank who struck an agreement with the second-largest digital assets exchange in South Korea, Bithumb, to provide their customers with accounts that allow them to directly trade top tier cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum with the Korean won.

Only a matter of time

Through their willingness to adapt to change, S. Korean legacy financial institutions have helped to keep the doors open for innovation, even in the face of what some might refer to as a government crackdown, particularly after the mention of a 20% capital gains tax that is set to go into effect next year.

However, the coming of regulation had been foretold, especially in the wake of both astronomical value gains and the staggering losses to cyber and financial crimes. It really was only a matter of time.

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Social Media and theft of data

Another concern that the public have voiced is the fact that these companies collect, store, and use user data in ways that are extremely unclear. The spread of misinformation on these social communication tools often leads to skewed views and negatively impacts conversations around important topics, as seen with the spate of misinformation found on social media, regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is suggested that blockchain technology could help address some of the issues that centralized social platforms find themselves grappling with. Decentralized social networks or federated networks could give users more control over their network, posts they see, as well as their data, which would, theoretically, do away with censorship, and myriad other issues.

Decentralized Social Media

A decentralized social network is a social communication platform that runs on blockchain technology.  As opposed to your run-of-the-mill social platform, which stores information on a central, company-owned server, and whose policies are governed by a few – their decentralized counterparts store information on a globally dispersed, network of, independently owned servers.

In decentralizing a social platform, developers hope to democratize the social media experience, allowing users to have a say on policy, control what content they view, as well as do away with political censorship, and other platforms. With greater autonomy, it is hoped, more robust conversations can be had, without the worry of Big Tech curating their communication with over users.

By running decentralized platforms on blockchain, much of the policy enforcement work can be handled automatically, by code. Decentralization also carries the added benefit of cross-platform communication.

The Good, The Bad

As with every new idea, there are issues that arise which the creators could not have expected, though it addresses an existing issue. Social networks – the decentralized variant – can, like centralized counterparts, foster the growth of the community and the sharing of information in a way that can affect social and political change in unprecedented ways. Except, the moderated nature of decentralized platforms can also lead to the exacerbation of both negative and positive issues.

On The Plus Side of decentralized networks, there is communication, the sharing of knowledge, the promotion of social/political awareness, which could help raise money for causes or simply sell a product or service to new customers.

On The Negative end of the spectrum, social media is a favorite tool for the spread of misinformation, cyberbullying, and actual criminal activity. Without humans to actively watch this problem, they could lead to hate groups using social media to openly organize a disruptive activity.

Closing

Decentralized networks offer many advantages over their centralized counterparts, such as more control over personal data, as well as the content that one is privy to once on the platform. Humans being humans, however, this approach to social media could have effects that ripple into analog society.

A careful approach to a social platform where users have free reign will need to be carefully thought out before being rushed into the market. It has the potential to do as much harm as it does good.

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This year saw new all-time highs across the board while game changing applications for blockchain technology like Decentralised Finance (DeFi) and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) became the vanguard of the push to mass adoption. However, 2021 may very well go down as the year of the K9 themed meme token.

Looking back, it might have been hard for anyone to imagine that a coin that began as a joke would spawn other playfully themed tokens. However, it is not easy to imagine that anyone, markets expert or otherwise, could have foreseen Doge-based meme tokens clocking gains of more than 83 million % of a 12 month period.

Where did Dogecoin begin?

Though the rise of the K9-themed meme coins really began to grab the world’s attention during this year’s bullish activities, the first first of them – Dogecoin – was officially launched on 6 December 2013.

Today, the father of the now popular meme tokens is down from it’s all time high of  $0.731. However, having returned more than 10 000% year-to-date means that early investors are laughing all the way to the bank regardless of decreased buyer interest in DogeCoin specifically.

As the rest of the market grew, bringing in more sophisticated blockchain-based products and services, the Doge-based meme token market expanded with it. Now there are more than 40 tokens that were inspired by the original, all sporting Doge, Shiba, or Inu in their names. These tokens are the most highly regarded among the hundreds of meme tokens and some of them seem to make the rest of the market look a little sluggish.

Dogelon Mars

One such example is Dogelon Mars (ELON), which has less than a year of activity. Yet the meme token returned over 4000% during the month of October. While Bitcoin struggled and failed, to breach the $70 000 mark during the same 30 day period. Baby dogecoin (BABYDOGE) managed to grow its dollar value by 560%. Safemoon Inu, another fast moving Doge based meme token, pulled off a 459% jump during the last week of October.

Dogecoin hype hasn’t died down

What’s more, both Dogecoin and Shina Inu token, the two most capitalised of the Doge-based meme cryptocurrencies, saw a significant spike in their Google Trends scores. Dogecoin peaked at 83 on the 28th of October, while Shiba Inu had reached a peak of 100 the previous day – the highest possible score for guarding the popularity of a trend.

Closing thoughts

Should the news of how the Doge based meme tokens performed continue to spread, one can expect to see more FOMO fueled frenzy buying. However, as we all know, what goes up must come down at some point and nobody wants to be the one left holding the bag.

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For these financial institutions, the growth of cryptocurrency represents an opportunity to remodel their approach to banking and financial services in the hopes of getting ahead of the bigger banks, which have been the most reluctant to embrace blockchain-based finance. To that end, here is a list of the best cryptocurrency-friendly banks and financial service providers for 2021 – in no particular order.

The Best Crypto-Friendly Banks Right Now

Wala

Because one of cryptocurrency’s biggest selling points is the democratization of finance, a banking service like Wala fits perfectly in this list. Wala, being based in one of the most unbanked regions in the world, Africa, positions the bank well to be a future leader in both traditional finance and digital assets in the territory.

Solaris 

The German-based bank is a fine example of a financial institution going all-in on digital assets. Apart from joining forces with a number of cryptocurrency platforms to build end-to-end infrastructure for seamless digital assets transactions, SolarisBank also offers a fully compliant crypto custody service with an integrated brokerage.

Ally 

The United States has one of the largest and most active cryptocurrency communities in the world. However, there are still many concerns, especially the question of regulation. To tackle these burdens, Ally Bank worked to ensure that it is fully regulated by the relevant authorities and offers its clients both traditional and cryptocurrency-related financial services.

Multis 

Multis’ main focus is to offer cryptocurrency banking services that are tailored to suit businesses. The San Francisco-based company allows its clients to securely deposit, store, trade, and withdraw digital assets through the services it offers. Furthermore, Multis helps its customers with managing their portfolios through tools like signals and indicators. It even goes as far as offering a payroll management service.

Revolut

Revolut is a UK-based bank that offers a wide range of digital asset-related services. For starters, Revolut’s app is a one-stop-shop where customers can buy, sell and withdraw crypto directly through the bank. Second, the bank also offers a profitable nominee service – an old method used by stockbrokers to protect their clients against them [Broker] going insolvent.

Wirex

Wirex is probably the most renowned of the financial institutions on this list and it is probably one of the oldest. Through a solid partnership with MasterCard, Wirex customers are able to use the debit card that is provided to directly spend their digital assets in exchange for goods in the real world – with the comfort of knowing that the company is fully regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

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When blockchain technology gave the world a clear opportunity to change the financial sector, and many others as well, Brendan Eich – creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla (Firefox) and Brian Bondy teamed up when they saw an opening that could be used to change how the everyday user experience the Internet.

“With your old browser, you paid to browse the web by viewing ads with your valuable attention. You spent your valuable time downloading invasive ad technology that transmitted your precious private data to advertisers — without your consent.” reads their webpage.

Brave Browser – available on Windows, Mac OS, IOS, and Android – gives users who value their personal data the option of earning BAT rewards. It is through their Brave rewards program – which is completely optional.

So How Do You Start Earning?

Installing & using Brave Browser

This is by far the easiest route to your free crypto. All one needs to do is install the browser and use it for 30 days to earn free BAT.  They give out monthly grants of 25 – 40 BAT to users randomly.

Watching ads on Brave

Another simple way Brave users can earn rewards is by opting to view advertisements. Opposed to blocking them. To start, you need to click on the BAT triangle log, then turn on rewards and ads. From there, you choose the maximum number of ads

Brave Rewards For content Creators

This is probably the most exciting of the Brave rewards options. Through this program, content creators like YouTubers, Bloggers, and Podcasters can now earn BAT tips directly through their preferred content-sharing website.

To get started, one will have to add their site/channel to the Brave rewards program. From there, fans and followers can start typing creators directly in BAT. Even create a monthly schedule to support their favorite content.

Referrals

Lastly, Brave users can also earn up to $7.50 worth of BAT by referring other users. With using a referral link that they give to all users who sign up for the Brave Creator program.

That said, giving users the opportunity to get some free crypto while they surf the web is not the only reason that Brave could be the next best browser. It also promises to smooth out one’s experience of the web by “reimagining the broken surveillance economy” that dampens the experience.

“The ads and trackers used to monopolize your attention drain your computer’s resources, resulting in a browsing experience that’s not only less private, but considerably slower.”  as per Brave.

In dealing with these issues, the Brave browser promises to remove a significant amount of latency to the Internet experience and also makes your browsing more secure.

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The move by FTX, to tokenize real-world assets, having them represented by digital assets which allow for fractional ownership, is in keeping with a growing trend in the digital asset arena. The timing of the offering could be construed as genius too, with the popularity of Bitcoin in institutional circles being near fever pitch lately.

FTX’s Chief Executive Officer, Sam Bankman-Fried stated that the offering was geared towards making Equities trading more accessible to individuals who would, traditionally, be kept out of these particular markets by high entry barriers;Investor Qualification requirements, costs, trade execution times, and what have you? Of trading Equities the traditional route, “for a lot of people it’s a hassle” remarked the trading platform’s CEO, alluding to the broad access to financial markets asset tokenization affords to retail traders. Now the lay investor can have a go at assets that are, classically, available to an elite few.

“These products demonstrate a powerful future, in which assets are digitized and traders have unlimited creative potential to express their beliefs about the markets,” – Bankman-Fried, CEO, FTX.

The equity tokens, each, represent a fraction of a share of the underlying asset, and operate as ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds) or depository receipts, as Bankman-Fried put it. Users who are interested in partaking of the offering will be required to perform a KYC verification process administered by CM Equity, and will also have to go through CM Equity, should they want to cash out their position. 

“These fractional stock products reflect the reality that today’s traders are industry and sector spanning and want trading opportunities that fully match their interests and mindset” – Bankman-Fried 

There will be no fees associated with holding the assets, trading however, comes with certain fees attached. Trading in the tokenized Stocks will be available to all FTX customers, but with be restricted in the United States, and several other restricted jurisdictions.

By listing tokenized securities, FTX joins, AplhaPoint, Fusang, STO Global-X, tZERO, and a host of other firms putting in concerted efforts towards convincing the traditional financial world to pivot in the direction of blockchain and tokenization. One can see why, as tokenization carries with it the potential, not only to allow Joe Average a shot at more sophisticated wealth building opportunities, but to – in turn – open firms and asset markets up to greater capital potential, by not being as jurisdictionally restrictive as traditional asset markets have been. 

The sole fault one could, possibly, find with FTX’s equity token listing is the limited number of Equity assets on offer, but it’s still early days. One important thing is that they have helped prove that asset tokenization is indeed possible, and may go on to offer more tokenized assets in future. Perhaps, they might even go as far as offering securities that are exclusively, and wholly, listed on the platform. Though that is probably dependent on how far the practice of asset tokenization develops.

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Yet, over the past few years, Bitcoin has massively outperformed all investment markets. While its market cap is still low, we have seen it perform better than stocks, precious metals, and real estate on a year-over-year basis.

Aside from that, buyers can now use their cryptocurrency to generate stable passive income through a number of different financial products, all from the comfort of their computers. This makes the crypto industry at least equal in cash flow opportunities as compared to the real estate market. So where should you invest in?

Real estate is going nowhere, but is it the best option?

Let’s face it – real estate is one of the most proven investment markets in the world. It is one with a lot of security, steady cash flow, and ever-increasing demand due to inflation rates.

A house that costs $100.000 today will nearly certainly cost 10% more in the next 5-10 years. This is because the money supply continues to increase on a steady basis, while housing value remains stable.

Real estate provides the strong upside of both value preservation and cash flow generation – While your money remains stored in a rental property (which you can sell at any point in time), you can generate at least 6-8% returns per annum simply by renting it out.

Aside from that, real estate property can be used as collateral when trying to take out loans for further investments.

So, long story short, real estate is a great investment opportunity – this is why it is a $10 Trillion dollar market. But there are also several drawbacks to consider:

• Short-term rentals (like Airbnb) are not sustainable as they can be banned on a state by state basis.
• Long-term rental agreements favour the tenant and you could end up losing money while the latest stays in your apartment without making payments.
• Geopolitical situations can heavily affect the pricing of homes, as well as the demand to obtain them.
• Taxes, fees, and repairs are all paid from the landlord’s pocket, which can take a large bite from your profits.
• Requires sizeable upfront investment.
• Offers low returns compared to other investment opportunities.

Cryptocurrency as a new investment opportunity

Cryptocurrency is not tangible. It is also a lot more volatile than the real estate market. For many, the price swings and uncertainty experienced in the markets make it impossible to transition from real estate – a proven and long-standing investment vehicle – into crypto.

However, it might be smart to allocate a small amount of your portfolio to cryptocurrency investments, and there are multiple reasons for that. Let’s describe them one by one:

• Cryptocurrency is an investment market in its infancy and still at a price discovery phase. While its fundamentals are stronger than many established markets, the public is still hesitant to invest, which would make you an early adoption, making the biggest upside.
• Much like real estate, cryptocurrency investors can earn a cryptocurrency cash flow by “staking” their coins. This is currently possible only with coins that run on PoS blockchains.
• On the contrary PoW coins can be stored in high-yield savings accounts on insured platforms, offering annual returns that nearly match that of the real estate industry. Among these platforms, BlockFi is about to go public, with a very high valuation. For reference, the platform offers an annual return rate of 8,6%, which is paid out weekly, thus taking the compound interest rate to nearly 10% at year’s end.
• Many low-cap cryptocurrencies pose a short-term money-making opportunity. For those who are aware of market cycle dynamics, technology trends, and sentiment conditions, crypto investing can be more rewarding than any other form of investing.

That being said, there are also some drawbacks to crypto as compared to real estate:

• ROI fluctuates massively, and so does the value of your investment.
• Regulations around crypto investments are constantly changing, and so does its taxation.
• Self custody (which is highly promoted in the crypto space) can be risky for non-tech savvy investors.

You could start your investment in crypto straight away. Just create a secure Bitamp bitcoin wallet and start your crypto journey with bitcoin.

So what is a better investment option?

In our opinion, both real estate and cryptocurrency should be part of a balanced portfolio. While real estate should form the majority of your investments (due to its low-risk and moderate returns), it would be unwise to disregard the growing industry of cryptocurrencies. Even a small, 1% allocation of your portfolio could quickly turn into 10% when cryptocurrency prices decide to (once again) go parabolic. And given the bull market, we are currently in, this is more likely than some tend to think.

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As the adoption of blockchain technologies has steadily increased, the most popular of them have all found themselves inundated with the high transaction volumes. In their current state, there are no blockchains that truly exhibit the three characteristics most needed for mass adoption – in line with Satoshi’s vision. These are decentralization, security, and scalability.

To address this, developers working on the two most capitalized cryptocurrencies have come up with a solution tailored to fit their respective blockchains. First up were the Bitcoin developers who proposed – and implemented – a layer-2 protocol called the Lightning Network. Then we have Ethereum who see Sharding as the most promising path to scalability.

What Are The Differences?

Beginning with Ethereum, Sharding refers to a process where the entire Ethereum blockchain is partitioned to multiple lesser chains known as “shards”. This is planned as part of the Ethereum Network’s migration to ETH2.

Upon successful deployment, each individual Ethereum shard will be responsible for its own unique set of smart contracts and transactions.

As for the Lightning Network, one could think of it as a second layer of micropayment channels that increase the Bitcoin network’s transaction speed while reducing the cost of each transaction by taking them off-chain. This is where one of the most obvious differences between the two can be found.

The Juicy Little Details

Nodes on the Ethereum blockchain carry the burden of verifying the work of miners and compliance with the network’s consensus rules. To achieve this, each node has to record and store a copy of the entire ledger. With Ethereum’s rapid growth, the network runs the risk of sacrificing decentralization as the cost of running a node out pace the everyday user.

The Sharding approach to solving this problem works by separating the blockchain into smaller chains – rather than going the off-chain route. This means that a node will no longer need to process every transaction, only the ones on the specific shard it is attached to.

With each shard still cryptographically connected to the main chain, the ETH2 blockchain will be like an archipelago of blockchains.

The Lightning Network – on the other hand – tries to solve the scaling problem by adding a second layer to Bitcoin’s blockchain. This layer is not a lesser blockchain, but rather a network of transaction channels between the network’s users. Through these channels, users are able to transfer funds between themselves without the need to have the transaction data immediately communicated to the blockchain – this data is sent to the main network once the channel is closed.

Difficulties Faced by These Innovations

For the Lightning Network, one of the most notable risks is that the network needs to be online all the time. This means that users are not afforded the option of cold storage.

Another potential pitfall for Bitcoin’s layer-2 solution is the risk of losing decentralization due to the potential of nodes belonging to businesses with more active channels starting to resemble the “hub-and-spoke” system used in the incumbent financial sector. A malfunction of one such node could interrupt or damage a significant portion of the network.

Sharding may not be a silver bullet solution either. The first challenge faced by Ethereum developers is that fact that a successful is best executed on a Proof-of-Stake blockchain. This is because of a Proof-of-Work blockchain’s vulnerability to a 51% attack. Theoretically, a shard on a PoW blockchain would face the same risks.

The other challenge isa shard getting taken over by a malicious node, which could lead to a permanent loss of all information regarding the transactions on that shard. To combat this, Ethereum is working on a system of randomly assigning nodes to shards – known as random sampling.

“The idea is to make it difficult for an attacker to predict, or force, which shard their (malicious) node gets assigned to. This makes it more difficult to get a Byzantine takeover of any one shard,”  as per David Huseby, a cyber security expert at the Linux foundation.

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However, for this particular “triumph of the nerds” to happen, we will need a larger scale of adoption. For this to happen, a deeper understanding of blockchain, smart contacts and their potential benefits and pitfalls needs to be established among those who will use them the most – in the event of mass adoption. This would mean most of us.

Fortunately for crypto currency and blockchain enthusiasts, this seems to be the scenario  that is playing out. Interest in blockchain based financial products is booming and a number of banks have gone a little further than talk about teasing the idea of smart contact and blockchain integration. 

So, What Exactly is a Smart Contract?

The simplest way to explain what a smart contract is would be to call it a program that was developed to automatically enforce the stipulations of a contract/transaction without the need for user input or verification form a third party.

How Does That Affect Commerce?

As basic as the concept of the smart contract is – the “contracts” themselves – hold great potential to change to the way we transact, by injecting a good dose of efficiency into the current system.

One good example of this would be smart contract enforcement of intellectual property rights.If a musician were to compose a song and protect their intellectual property using a smart contract, with their set stipulations on using the song encoded into the protocol. 

To that effect, anybody who wishes to use the said song, they would have to strictly follow the set rules e.g detailing how they plan to use it and paying a royalty, prior to gaining legal access to the content. This could all be completed without the need to consult a lawyer.

Naturally, this is not the only space that stands to be disrupted. The business of supply chain management could benefit a great deal from blockchain and smart contract adoption, as all parties involved would be subject to the same version of events – regarding a product’s journey from the factory to the store shelf.

Smart Contracts could prove themselves a real asset in this sense. Because the contract would only execute once all the given criteria are met with, it would make your supply chain fraud resistant and make it easier to pinpoint a faulty link in the chain.

However, one should keep in mind that very few things – if any at all – that is man made are truly flawless, essentially in the early stages. The same would apply to smart contracts.

The Potential Pitfalls to Come

Global insurance giant, AXA, was one of the first multinational punters to get a taste of the bitter side of early adoption. 

In 2017, through an Ethereum based offering dubbed fizzy, the company embraced the adoption of smart contracts for automated flight delay insurance payouts. The smart contract was developed to sift through flight data and automatically settle payments on delayed flights.

However, towards the middle of November 2019 AXA announced that the end of the Fizzy endeavor was here, due to a lack of consumer interest. 

This is an indicator of how few of the people that would directly benefit from blockchain and smart contracts are actually aware of them, and their potential upside. This, however, may only remain true in the short term.

Another potential downside to smart contracts – especially those that are built on the most prominent blockchain for such technology, Ethereum – is that being fully committed to the ledger is costly, immutable  and also presents a major computing task if there are many transactions.

Luckily, a solution to these problems already exists in the form of the lightning network and/or other similar technologies. The blockchain does not necessarily have to process every single smart contract related transaction. Instead, the blockchain can act in much the same way as a judge would. Only stepping in to enforce those that might be in breach of the contractual agreement.

Conclusion

Though a bit of work still needs to be done, especially in the way of increasing consumer awareness, smart contracts may very well have the game changer potential their proponents have touted them as having.

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With DAG being the basis of how the IOTA cryptocurrency’s “Tangle” works, its proponents have touted it as being the DLT that will take decentralisation to the masses. There are a number of reasons why they say so. However, before we look at that, we should take a look at what separates DAG from the blockchain as we know it.

Differences Between DAG & Blockchain

First up is blockchain. The name is unexpectedly self-explanatory. Blockchain is literally a “chain” of transaction related information that has been bundled into “blocks”, with a strict set of rules that govern how each transaction is confirmed and how each block is created.

Simply put. When a new transaction is sent to the blockchain for validation, that transaction is then grouped into a block with other transactions. The network of computers that the blockchain runs on will then rush to confirm the information around the transaction. After that and all other transactions have been verified, the block will be given a hash that will link it to the previous block.

So how does DAG work?

DAG’s inner workings are quite a bit different from blockchain. The first of these being the fact that there are no blocks in a DAG network. DAG uses the very transactions themselves to verify other transactions. This eliminates the need for miners and significantly reduces the related fees.

Are There Really Any Advantages To DAG?

As mentioned before, DAG based cryptocurrencies will have much lower transaction fees. Furthermore, DAG also increases the speed of transacting through DLT. That said, DAG is a winner on the scalability front.

Another advantage of DAG protocols is that they are significantly less energy intensive than blockchain, owing to the fact that only two verifications are needed per transaction.

Though some blockchain networks are now able to support up to 1000 transactions per second, this is still too little to support mass adoption. Naturally, this is another point that DAG proponents lean on, as DAG networks are able to support hundreds of thousands of transactions every second

However, this does not mean that the DAG is completely invulnerable to the threats that lurk in cyberspace.

What Are DAG’s Disadvantages?

One of the most prominently pronounced shortcomings of DAG networks is that they tend to be less decentralized than blockchains.

Another soft spot on DAG networks is that, like blockchain, the size of the network plays a very big role in the security of the network. Therefore, a network with less users is more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

Conclusion

As for the discussion around whether or not DAG will replace blockchain. Well, Yes it is true that DAG does a good job of addressing some of the issues around blockchain, it also introduces its own.

Secondly, blockchain is the oldest of the DLTs and is the most used in the cryptocurrency space, making it the most secure – in the meantime perhaps.

Or maybe the best possible scenario could see a merging of the two systems rather than one replaced by the other.

The post DAG: This Is Why It’s Touted As The Future Of Cryptocurrency appeared first on Bizznerd.

What differentiates DAG based digital assets from blockchain can be found, not in the encrypted asset itself, but the technology underpinning it – which makes its functionality possible. We ran a spitfire comparison of the two forms of distributed ledger technology; looking at what differentiates them, what makes each one tick. To ascertain which might better serve the liberterian-styled economy of the future.

Both blockchain and DAG store transaction data on a distributed ledger, and both have a token based economic mechanism in place. For this reason, the two have been pitted against each other, but the question of which is superior lies in how well they fulfill our needs.

Technical Infrastructure

Blockchain stores transaction data in blocks of a specific size, at specific intervals, and distributes the blocks across the network for storage, insuring that there is no single point of failure.

DAG works a little differently. Though transaction data is stored across the network – as with blockchain – DAG doesn’t store transactions in blocks, transactions are directly linked to one another like a spiderweb. A transactional spiderweb where each transaction validates the other.

Transaction Validation

The validation of transactions, or consensus, in a blockchain is conducted block-by-block. The blockchain sphere has not yet come up with a universal method to achieve this end, but many exist today, from Proof of Work, to Proof of Stake, each with its shortcomings.

With DAG, on the other hand, there are no blocks to painstakingly sift through and – as mentioned before – each transaction is linked to another, each validating the other.

Advantages

Being the backbone of forerunner digital asset, Bitcoin, blockchain enjoys a developmental headstart over DAG. Blockchain also enables transparency and security, in addition to low cost, speedier (in comparison to incumbent financial systems) international mid-to-high value transactions.

DAG technology is not as hardware and energy intensive as blockchain, meaning no mining equipment. DAG also offers little-to-no fees for instantaneous transactions, and scales efficiently to process transactions faster in a high volume environment.

Disadvantages

High network maintenance costs, risk of 51% attacks being conducted by corrupt validators, high cost of micro payments, the shortcomings of blockchain technology are well documented.

At low transaction volumes DAG tech becomes vulnerable to manipulation. To increase network security DAG based networks use network coordinators which add an element of centralization to the technology. The overall digital asset market’s sentiment is that DAG isn’t purely centralized.

Conclusion

So should we go with blockchain based or DAG based digital assets for the digital currencies of the future? Digital asset enthusiasts tend to believe one or the other technology will prevail. Right now, the tide is more in favor of blockchain, despite DAG offering a more scalable alternative.

Perhaps there’s space in the future for both, either coexisting, or hybridising. As they exist today, the best approach would probably be to apply the technology according to a specific use case. A high value international transaction would probably forego the speed of DAG for the security of blockchain. An international online store, or digitised road toll system, on the other hand, would require the scalability and low transaction fees of DAG.

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These platforms include the now popular MakerDAO lending platform which grew exponentially in 2018, and throughout the course of 2019. However, MakerDAO is only a representative of one facet of the push to fully democratize the financial services industry. 

What Exactly Is DeFi As a Whole?

To put it as simply as possible, DeFi is everything we already know and are used to dealing with in the regular financial services sector. The main difference being that the DeFi movement is built and operated on the Ethereum blockchain network.

These DeFi services are mainly aimed at increasing the availability of financial services to those who are historically undeserved in this area. However, there are other facets of the financial that the innovations of DeFi are looking to shake up. These include the tokenization of traded securities, among others.

In this article, we take a look at three DeFi services/protocols that are making the biggest waves in the financial services industry. These include open lending, stable coins, and issuance/investment platforms.

Open Lending Protocols

The concept of open lending protocols has only recently come out as a forerunner of DeFi services wave, and in doing so, has gained a more than decent amount of media attention. This is in part – if not mostly- due to the explosive growth of decentralised Peer-to-Peer lending services like the aforementioned MakerDAO, Compound Finance, BlockFi, and Dharma.

These services work in much the same way as any other regular lending services. The main difference is the removal of intermediaries and the concept of “trust-minimisation” and a notable reduction in counter party risk. For this, they have the cryptographic protocols of public blockchain networks to thank.

Stable Coins

This is one facet of DeFi that has been in full view of the media, the government, and the general public for a number of years now. These are simply blockchain issued tokens that are pegged to an asset that already exists outside of the blockchain.

In most instances, these stable coins have been pegged to Fiat currencies like the US Dollar. However, there is growing trend of pegging these coin/tokens to other assets like gold.

As the situation stands today, there are three main categories that stable coins most commonly fall into. These are fiat/asset collateralized coins, cryptocurrency collateralized coins, and non-collatoralized coins.

• Fiat collateralized coins – as mentioned before – are backed up 1 to 1 with an existing physical currency/asset of the issuer choice.
• Cryptocurrency collateralized coins – as the term suggests – are collateralized in cryptocurrency, however, there tends to be an over-collatoralization in order to mitigate volatility.
• Non-collatoralized coins do not rely on fiat or cryptocurrency to maintain stability. Instead they rely on increasing and decreasing the supply based on demand. This is in many ways similar to how a central bank controls the available supply of physical cash.

Issuance/Investment Protocols

A good number of issuance/investment protocols have their sights set on the tokenization of securities, with the aim of creating a more fluid environment for securities trading. The idea is to automate compliance and to tailor make trading protocols that are compatible with the current registration.

Some of the most notable of these include tZero, Polymath, and Harbor. As the idea of “flexible securities” spreads, these issuance and investment platforms may start to see the same kind of exponential growth that the open lending protocols have enjoyed in recent times.

The post DeFi Explained appeared first on Bizznerd.

From enterprise equity, to gold, art or realty, all can be traded alongside digital currencies on the platform. Essentially falling into the DEX (Decentralised Exchange) category, LA token is a block chain based exchange platform.

Founded by one Valentin Preobrazhensky, the exchange launched in 2019. Currently it is one of a few digital asset exchanges based in the Baltic region. The platform allows for the global transfer of funds, the raising of funds through the IEO (Initial Exchange Offering) token sale model, as well as Investment – in either crypto currencies or equity in real-world assets.

Assets

Aside from having it’s own native exchange token, LA Token, the platform offer a number of popular digital assets. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Augur, EOS, Vechain, Tron, TenX, and USDT among others, are available for trade on the LA Token platform.

In addition to listing digital currencies, the platform is also designed to enable the tokenization of real-world assets, and plans to bring fine art, stocks, and real estate to block chain. Having tested blue chip stocks like Apple, and Amazon, as well as commodities like oil, silver and gold, the team behind the platform plans to enable micro investments, through tokenization of said assets.

Thus giving cryptocurrency enthusiasts the opportunity to supplement their portfolios with real-world assets. The platform, however, does not support fiat trading and seeks to make up for that, with popular US Dollar backed stable coin, Tether (USDT).

Security

Being a blockchain based platform, security is a major focus for the LA Token exchange. User passwords, stored on the system’s database are encrypted using a ‘salted’ version of the SHA-256 algorithm (similar to the algorithm that secures Bitcoin), while all wallet private keys employ AES-256 encryption and are stored offline.

According to the LA Token website, 99.5% of user funds are stored offline in multi-signature cold storage wallets, and data transmitted on the platform is secured with TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption.

The LA token system is also set up to protect against DDoS attacks that would seek to adversely influence trading on the platform, as the system employs advanced distributed architecture – according to their website. Fund withdrawals and changes in system settings also require two-factor authentication to complete.

Look & Feel

The platform features a simple, and easy to navigate layout that even an orangutan could use with little effort, which is a big plus for a platform that offers this much variety in terms of investment options. The charts could stand to offer a few more tools for more advanced traders, however.

Is It Legit?

Though based in Estonia, the platform (according to information on its website) is registered, and operates under Cayman Islands regulations.

This has been a point of controversy in recent times, as companies registered offshore are usually viewed as being fraudulent or having something to hide. The company aims to address this issue by registering in their native territory. “Now we’re working on acquiring all necessary licenses for a full-scale trading of asset tokens.” – claims their website.

Is Elon Musk Involved?

Running alongside the aforementioned controversy, is the rumour of eccentric billionaire, Elon Musk’s involvement in the project. Perhaps inspired by the fact that Telsa shares where tokenized during the testing of the platform’s liquid asset-backed tokens (LABT) feature, the rumour has persisted.

We looked into the possibility, and could find no conclusive evidence to support these whispering’s, however.

Conclusion

LA Token is a phenomenally easy to use platform that employs Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology, similar to what underpins the IOTA crypto-currency. The result is a higher transaction throughput than most decentralised platforms, which indicates that developers anticipate a lot of users (the platform already has over 300,000 register users) and have geared LA Token to process transactions almost instantly.

The noticeable absence of margin trading or a mobile app for on-the-go trading are a bit of a let-down however. That and the lack of advanced charting tools.

Aside form that, the platform truly has a lot of potential and could lead the way, in terms of the development of a tokenized economy that allows micro-investors to grab a piece of the equities and commodities pie.

If you liked this article try reading this next – Paybis Review.

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All this aside, the most used social media platform is not the only major player to make a foray into the world of cryptocurrency. Here, in no particular order, is a list of five business behemoths making the their entry.

JP Morgan Chase

The first on the list is America’s biggest bank. The bank announced its readiness to commence with the testing phase of its own stable coin called JPM coin. The token was developed to run on a privatised variant of the Ethereum Blockchain known as Quorum.

An interesting point is that JP Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Diamond, is openly critical of Bitcoin.

Telegram

This messaging app has had one of the most anticipated ICOs since the existence of this Blockchain pioneered form of crowd funding. Though the native Gram tokens technically do not exist yet, the crypto community’s go to messaging app was able to raise approximately $ 1,7 billion USD in an ICO private funding round during 2018.

The TON (Telegram Open Network) Blockchain, which Gram tokens will run on is slated to fully launch on 31ST of October.

IBM

The tech giant sometimes affectionately referred to as Big Blue is also getting its feet wet. However, instead of launching its own stable coin, IBM has developed a platform for other institutions to develop their digital currency products on.

World Wire, as the platform is known, is a result of IBM’s partnership with Stellar, an offshoot of Ripple. Thus far IBM has successfully secured letters of intent to create stable coins on the platform from six banks.

Kik

Kik is another messaging app that went the route of ICO as opposed to the traditional IPO. Officially named Kik messenger, it is the first app developed and launched by Canadian company, Kik Interactive.

The company launched an ERC-20 token called KIN in a highly successful ICO that raised approximately $98 million USD in September of 2017. However, in recent times, Kik has seen legal action taken against them by the US SEC. The US regulatory body stating that the company acquired roughly $55 million USD from US Investors through the sale of an unregistered security.

Kodak

Some of you have heard of KODAKcoin. For those who don’t, KODAKcoin is actually a product created by WENN Digital. The use of the Kodak trademark was licenced. The token was made to serve as the native currency on a Blockchain dedicated to intellectual property.

When KODAKcoin was announced during the earlier portion January 2018, the price of Kodak’s stocks ballooned by more than 300% in a matter of days. This aside, Kodak has recently announced its own independent (no licensing partnerships) for the management of sensitive information. This most recent effort is named Kodak Service for Business.

The post 5 Entities -Other Than Facebook- With a Crypto Project appeared first on Bizznerd.

Market Access

Trading used to be the domain of a very small group of people. Students would go to business schools and then try to land an entry-level trading position, working their way up. It was a high-risk, high reward kind of role for people who were utterly dedicated to the market.

This is no longer quite the case. Practically anybody can now open a trading account and the requirements are a lot lower. A certain amount of capital to get started, along with identity verification and a bank statement are usually all that is necessary.

There has also been a sleuth of robo-advisors that entered the market. While they may not offer much in the way of trading functionality, they do offer customers the choice of selecting certain stocks. Overall, there is far greater market access and much more information available.

Greater Information

There is a far greater variety of information available on trading fundamentals. The rise of YouTube has helped to facilitate trading tutorials which also assist in navigating complex trading platforms.

There are more educational resources on all aspects of learning how to trade. In addition, there is increased awareness with regard to the dangers inherent to trading and the fact that most people do not make a profit. It has become clear that in order to become successful, people need to give serious consideration to trading. There is no simple route to success and you need to learn all of the industry nuances.

Another advantage is that the data itself is more accurate and easier to access with the development of sophisticated APIs which can plug directly into exchange accounts. Traders can pull and analyze the information that they need more swiftly due to advanced software programs and applications.

Regulation

Increased regulation has made it more difficult for trading scams to take place. There has been a regulatory crackdown and people are increasingly aware of Ponzi schemes and frauds that used to be rife within the industry, though they still do take place. After the 2008 crash, banks had to tighten lending standards so it was harder for people to actually gain the capital to trade and invest.

Moreover, professional traders in financial institutions were not able to place a large amount of capital on speculative products, due to the Dodd-Frank implementations. They were forced to justify their trades and place more of an emphasis on investment as opposed to speculation.

Social Trading

Traders can follow other traders in what is known as ‘social trading’. eToro was the first social trading platform to enter the market on a large scale. Before social trading, people would simply send emails in a closed group and they would copy each other. Social trading platforms completely democratized this marketplace so now traders can go onto sites and select who they want to follow.

Social trading is obviously not a set-and-forget scheme but it is certainly an innovative practice that has been used by many to add to their trading regimen. It is not a casual approach to trading but a useful means to enhance an existing trading approach.

Automation

Automation is the process whereby a winning trading strategy is implemented automatically by the software. Automation has a myriad of different benefits. A trader cannot be glued to the screen 24/7 and does not have the time to constantly look at all the different components of trade.

But with automation, he does not have to. He can simply set the conditions under which positions are to be placed. In this way, if an asset reaches a certain price, then a buy/sell position will be automatically executed, along with the appropriate stop loss or take profit functions. Automation needs to be carefully reviewed and managed, but it is certainly a lot easier than implementing a manual approach. There is too much data, and time is a precious commodity.

One step further than automation are trading bots. There are pre-packaged programs that have been extensively tested with a track record of success. It is possible to rent some of these trading bots from specific platforms. You will need to do your own research on these bots, but they can increase profit margins if used intelligently.

The Introduction of Cryptocurrency

In more recent years, we have seen the rise of a new asset class – cryptocurrencies. This class is hard to define due to its nature. Cryptocurrencies are also notoriously volatile, which can be a massive advantage to traders who understand how to ride such waves. Most profits are made from volatile events, not stable conditions.

There are now hundreds of cryptocurrencies that new traders can investigate. The most common trading pair with the largest volume is BTC/USD. There is also an increasing number of stablecoins. These are digital tokens that are backed on a one to one basis with a stable fiat currency, such as the Euro or the US Dollar. This has served to bring a level of stability to a volatile market, though some might question the purpose of stablecoins.

Today, crypto trading evolves. From traditional exchanges like Binance and CEX.IO, it moves to terminals like Kattana and Superorder. The latter is a new cryptocurrency trading platform that offers bots for rent as well as a novel approach to strategy building, with a ‘LEGO’ model that chains events together. This provides a new way for traders (experience and new) to visualize their entire approach. This visual builder is one of the latest innovations in the world of trading and is a new paradigm.

The days of excel spreadsheets and one-dimensional trading screens might soon be over, as people realize the advantages of a more streamlined and visual approach to trading.

The post How Has Trading Changed in the Last 10 Years appeared first on Bizznerd.

So, where did blockchain start? Cryptocurrencies came into the picture in 2009, with our favorite of all time, the Bitcoin. The initial attention it received was not short-lived. Even today, ten years later, the Bitcoin is held in high esteem.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, the marketplace for bitcoins and a hundred other cryptocurrencies, are evolving unceasingly. This connecting link between buyers and sellers is conceptually much like a stock market but has its own perks. Let’s look at a few!

Volatility

The volatile nature of cryptocurrencies is what makes the experience of trading them an exhilarating one. With prices that can fluctuate within a day, crypto trading is for those who are willing to take risks. Investors can make huge profits if they learn how to read the market tactfully.

Operational 24/7

Everything is instant on the blockchain. Its independence from central authorities and direct contact between sellers and buyers make way for ‘in-the-blink-of-an-eye’ transactions. Cryptocurrency exchanges operate non-stop, therefore, allowing users to trade regardless of the time/day.

User anonymity

In order to process digital transactions on the exchange, it is only necessary to have a cryptocurrency wallet address. Users are not required to reveal their identity and can also generate new wallet addresses if needed.

Permanency of transactions

Transactions on a cryptocurrency exchange are immutable. Blockchain helps by acting as a digital ledger that cannot be erased or manipulated. Users only need to take extra precaution before processing transactions as they are irreversible in nature.

With the many benefits that Cryptocurrency Exchanges provide, users can trade their precious crypto with no limitations. There is no expiration to advancements when it comes to blockchain. One day, you’re trading cryptocurrency and the next, you’re using blockchain to tokenize and sell your property. The possibilities are neverending. Take part in this revolutionary movement and see for yourself!

The post How does a cryptocurrency exchange benefit its users? appeared first on Bizznerd.

The continuous adoption of blockchain development for storing and retrieving data within diverse industries is really creating a worldwide revolution. Obviously, there is an increasing need for the use of properly designed security measures to keep investment portfolios safe. While riding the wave, it is important for its users to ensure that they remain focused while ensuring their assets remain protected at all times.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency

Believe it or not, blockchain solutions are the proponents of the distributed ledger technology that virtually every industry is pursuing today. Cryptocurrencies are the most popular beneficiaries of this innovative advancement. Commonly regarded as a form of disruptive financial technology, cryptocurrencies were established to directly put financial control in the hands of the concerned parties, and make global transactions faster, easier, and more secure.

With the science of cryptography, blockchain development has increasingly helped to bring about the creation of digital financial assets known as cryptocurrencies that are purposely designed to serve as a medium of exchange between two or more parties. Basically, what this means is that anyone can adopt this technology to engage in quick financial transactions with ease thereby eliminating banks and money transfer services.

Aside from helping to serve as a medium of exchange between two or more concerned parties, these blockchain solutions have effectively given users the power to control the creation of additional units of the currency (cryptocurrency), eliminated government control and exchange rate issues, created global currencies, and enhanced secure transactions.

As part of blockchain solutions, people can efficiently make use of these digital currencies to securely store, spend, and transfer “digital money.” Interestingly, all these can be done without getting involved with any governmental regulations, exchange rates, and bank fees. Basically, they keep users unaffected by any external features typically associated with traditional banking while ensuring a super-fast transaction.

However, it is interesting to know that the purpose of cryptocurrency and its underlying blockchain technology is not limited to financial transactions, currencies, and institutions. The main reason why this technology was established in the first place was to securely keep personal data safe, create a highly efficient decentralized economy, protect identity, and securitize user data.

How blockchain secures cryptocurrency

While there seems to be a kind of multifold uses of the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency, it is, however, more interesting to know that most people (i.e. technology enthusiasts and aficionados) are more interested in blockchain identity than anything else. Basically, this is what is gaining more traction around the world.

Just so you know, many tech individuals and industries have already begun employing blockchain solutions to securitize and identify applications in several areas such as wedding certificates, birth certificates, e-residency, passports, digital identities, and other types of IDs. Nevertheless, it is the security that is established by the adoption of this technology that matters the most to any business organization.

When it comes to blockchain development, security is always a very important factor to consider especially when it has to do with cryptocurrency. However, it is needful to first understand how blockchain works before attempting to analyze how secure it can be. Established as a series of blocks, blockchain is designed to ensure an effective recording of data in hash functions.

Generally, blockchain technology does not allow for changes to be made on data due to the availability of timestamps that accompany hash functions specifically designed for recording data. Just so you know, blockchain which is the technological backbone of several cryptocurrencies like bitcoin has been taunted by several analysts to be an efficient cybersecurity shield.

Many IT security professionals believe that lots of improvements could be achieved in the prevention of unauthorized tempering, mega-hacks, cyber hijackings of satellites, aircraft, or vehicles through blockchain development. Obviously, there is no better way to dramatically improve security across countries around the world than this.

Securing cryptocurrency with blockchain technology

Currently, there are several organizations that are working to employ blockchain as a viable means to secure storage and transfer of cryptocurrencies within a network. In a bid to create a more secure, established record, this technology tries to send any changes made to the database to users which is key to securing both the blockchain and the cryptocurrency.

As a result of this dynamic tamper-proof process, digital transactions with cryptocurrency have become increasingly popular in recent times. Aside from the original function of providing a technologically enabling environment for digital transactions to happen, many business organizations have taken blockchain some steps further to expedite various work processes such as securing data and cutting costs significantly without compromising security.

When it comes to addressing global security concerns, the use of blockchain has effectively helped to strengthen existing security solutions while still driving digital currency exchange effectively. Aside from the fact that such technology can be used to improve financial transactions, the security industry is already receiving a boost by initiating major changes with blockchain.

In a nutshell, it is will be seemingly impossible to safely and securely make use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin without protecting the blockchain itself. To this end, developers must ensure that they adopt and employ an efficient technology system to avoid experiencing any cyber attacks.

The post Keeping Cryptocurrency Safe And Secure With Blockchain Technology appeared first on Bizznerd.

As of the writing of this article, according to coinmarketcap, the current Market capital stands at $249,676,476,483 – a staggering 250 billion dollars – almost double the total worth of the tech giant Facebook. However, one should be astonished to know that not many of those who have their share invested in the 250 billion dollars know about what they have invested in and what the underlying technology is. Let us now dissect the said technology and present to you in the easiest possible way.

What is Blockchain?

A blockchain is a distributed transaction ledger with a capability of storing and processing data with fool-proof security potential. It is an ever growing list of records called “blocks” which are linked to each other using algorithms of cryptography. Cryptography is a practice used to achieve secure communications – in case of cryptocurrency; secure transactions.

Each block, which is connected to each other, has its own set of information stored in it and is resistant to modification or tempering, meaning that the information is saved in the form of blocks making it almost impossible for hackers to break in.

The information stored in the block comprises of a timestamp and a hash which connect both the blocks and by no means access is given to the data of the former or latter block. That’s what makes blockchain technology anonymous and secure.

How did the Blockchain emerge on the internet?

Blockchain is one of the mysteries that the internet has not been able to solve as yet and there are no hopes of this mystery getting unfolded anytime soon. Some things are better left as a secret and this seems to be one of them.

All we know is that the technology was a brainchild of the mysterious person or a group with a pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto and emerged with the appearance of the bitcoin. However, with time the technology polished and now is set to become the backbone of the internet or the future of the internet given its remarkable potential.

Is Blockchain all about cryptocurrency?

The easiest and the simplest answer to this question is No. And before delving into the why-not part, we must know what cryptocurrency exactly is.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency which is stored on the blockchain. It is not issued centrally and thus the identity of the holder is not revealed and this is exactly what makes it controversial.

That being said, blockchain is not all about the cryptocurrency. In fact, it could be termed as the best alternative to paper for a number of reasons. It can be used to come up with Digital Id, Real estate and land transfers, coupon and loyalty programs and thus possibilities are unlimited.

If you want to know more about the potential of the blockchain, let us on our social media channels and we will make another beginners’ guide for you.

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A Blockchain wallet is an online application that allows many people to store and send bitcoins or other digital currencies. It is a free service that makes easier to send and receive your digital currencies without the need for any client software or hardware.

It is one of the first online wallets and besides Coinbase one of the safest for keeping your digital currencies.

Beside Bitcoin, you can create a wallet for Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and from recently Stellar as well.

In this blog post, you’ll learn how to create your new Blockchain wallet.

Step 1. Visit Blockchain website

Go to the Blockchain website. On the home page, you will find a link “Get a free Wallet”. Alternative you can press the “Sign Up” button in the right corners of the screen.

Step 2. Create Wallet

Create your wallet by filling in your email address, a secure password, agree to the Blockchain Terms and Service and then click Continue.

Step 3. Verify your account

Once you sign up for a Blockchain wallet, you should receive an email from no-reply@blockchain.info with the subject Please Verify Your Email Address. Verify your email by clicking the button within the email, or you can verify your email later from within the Security Center.

Your welcome and verification emails include your wallet identifier, or wallet ID, which you’ll need later to sign back into your wallet. Make sure you have this information stored somewhere safe.

Step 4. Start Receiving or Sending Payments

Use your wallet id, along with your password, to log into your Blockchain wallet. Use your wallet id, along with your password, to log into your Blockchain wallet. Once you sign in, you’ll be redirected to your Wallet Dashboard.

With this final step, you successfully created your Blockchain account and will be able to send and receive Bitcoins and other digital cryptocurrencies.

In the next part, we will focus on how to make your account more secure.

Securing your Blockchain Wallet

Whenever you log into your wallet from a different device or IP address, you’ll be prompted to verify the log in via a verification email. It is a good security measurement, but I strongly advise you that you link your account with your mobile phone as well.

Go to the Security centre and follow the following steps to enable Two-Step Verification.

• You will need to link your mobile number. Under Enable, press the Mobile Phone Number button.
• Enter your mobile number in the field and press Get Verification Code.
• You should receive a text message with your verification code. Enter the code and click Submit Code. If you made a mistake inputting the number, press Change mobile number and enter a new number.

Two-step verification helps to prevent unauthorized access to your wallet by requiring a one-time password for every login attempt. You can disable this here if you would like to change your phone number or switch the type of two-step verification you are using.

We also recommend that you download the Blockchain app for your mobile device. Pick your preferred platform iOS or Android (If you chose a mobile option, download & open the app).

With the mobile app, you’ll easier able to access to your blockchain account. Also, if you don’t have a camera on your desktop – you can use your mobile phone for identity verification.

Identity Verification

In reality, if you want to stay anonymous you can use your wallet. But in order to make exchanges and have larger daily and yearly limit, we strongly advise you to verify your identity.

Based on your exchange preferences, you can choose between Silver Level and Gold Level identity verification. If you want to exchange amounts that total no more than $1,000 worth of cryptocurrencies per year, only Silver identity verification is necessary. If you want to exchange more than that (up to $25,000 per day) or participate in our airdrop program, you will need to go through Gold verification.

For Silver verification, you’ll just need to verify your email address and provide your:

• Country of residence
• A first name, last name, and date of birth
• Residential address

For Gold verification, you’ll need to complete all of the above steps for Silver verification, as well as:

• Upload identity document
• Take a picture/video of yourself

On their site, they state that if submission for Gold verification is clear and consistent, the automated verification may take anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours. But in our experience, it can take longer even a couple of days.

If you completed profile verification to Gold Level, read our post “How to Claim Free 25$ Stellar Lumens (XLM) with Blockchain wallet?“.

Every user needs to connect to a bitcoin network in order to transfer bitcoins. It is just like your local bank account where you create a savings account and store your money. The same way you can create a free bitcoin account with a Blockchain wallet and store your Bitcoins or other digital cryptocurrencies.

With your blockchain account, you can easily receive and send bitcoin payments or convert Bitcoins to other digital currencies at any time you want.

The post How to create a Blockchain Wallet? appeared first on Bizznerd.

Ethereum monetary units are called ether. Unlike Bitcoin, ether does not restrict users to the functionality of money transfers only.

Ethereum is used to exchange values and record transactions for smart contracts. Internet exchangers sell ether at overvalued rates, and the total capitalization of the Ethereum network exceeds $30 billion.

Creating Cryptocurrency Ethereum

Ether was first mentioned at the end of 2013. In the spring of 2015, Ethereum received a formal description in the “yellow book”. Users began to consider a new cryptocurrency analog or the next step in the development of Bitcoin.

In the summer of 2014, fundraising for the creation of Ethereum cryptocurrency began using crowdfunding. The developers were assigned 31,591 BitCoin (BTC) to create the system. At the time of the placement of Ethereum, the total size of the crowd investment was $18,439,086 or $60,102,216 (ETH). The emergence of a new cryptocurrency interested bankers. The financial instrument served as a testing ground for studying intellectual contracts and bonds. The official launch of the BlockChain-platform Ethereum was July 30, 2015.

Ethereum’s alpha version was released on March 14, 2016. Protection against hacking and the security of personal data came with the advent of the new version of the protocol Homestead. The protocol refers to the early stable version of Ether.

An algorithm of Ether operation

Transfers within the Ethereum system are made through smart contracts. Smart contracts are mathematical algorithms used to verify obligations between the members of the Ethereum network. The person receives the translation of the Ether only after the fulfillment of the contract. Fulfillment of obligations occurs without regulators and central banks.

Smart contracts are used as a financial instrument in:

• Affiliate programs;
• Insurance;
• Periodic payments;
• Trade.

Example of smart contract on the Ethereum platform is when: two users argue and put money on 2 outcomes of an event. Funds are kept on ethereal wallets based on Blockchain development. After winning, the money is transferred to the winner.

It is planned to increase requirements and tighten control over obligations. Suppose renting an apartment, the person forgot to pay the rent. The program will lock the door lock and will not let the tenant into the apartment. Prospects for the development of ethereum will start the development of smart technologies.

The advantage of Ethereum over classic money

Decentralized cryptocurrencies like Ether works on the Blockchain technology and has several advantages:

• Protection against the creation of fake coins. Users cannot edit transaction records.
• Protection against interference. Applications work within the ETH on the basis of crypto-agreements with obligations, censorship and the introduction of limits/prohibitions by the state are impossible.
• Security. It is impossible to refuse the transfer, the personal data of users are protected, the money is on electronic wallets with long ciphers. Advanced cryptographic technologies provide protection against hacking and fraudsters. If a hack occurred, the cause could be inattention or sending a key wallet to a third party. Victims of fraudsters often “burn” wallets in online broadcasts.
• Lack of regulation and control. Money is transferred anonymously, the state cannot access the system and tax payments.

Disadvantages of Ethereum

 Ethereum developer VitalikButerin spoke on July 5 and gave information about the shortcomings of the payment system.

• Lack of scalability. Blockchain development relies on critical points. Separate nodes (miners) are used to process blocks of transactions.
• Protection against hackers is extremely expensive. Effective protection methods do not exist today. The system benefits from aggressive mining 25-33% of capacity.
• Problems with the protection of personal data. It is recommended to create accounts for invented full names. It is planned to increase security by creating mixers that combine transactions from different pools.
• Users are afraid to store large volumes of Ethereum due to the high risk of theft of an individual key wallet.
• The economy of the system does not allow to clean the repository with records of transactions. The size of the user-installed wallet is growing rapidly. It is planned to establish a fee and create a category of miners for cleaning the “garbage” in the system. It will be beneficial for users in the long term.
• Minor technical flaws such as the use of 256-bit algorithms, the extremely high complexity of the RLP puncture, two-level storage of records, and the lack of optimization of gas costs.
• Users do not understand basic terminology (gas, contracts, Blockchain, broadcast, fork, etc.). It is required to simplify the terms and explain to users the essence of the functioning “on the fingers”.

Using Ethereum as a cryptocurrency

Ether allows you to create decentralized applications. Decentralization allows you to transfer money to any system wallets and pay for purchases on the Internet. There is no control over the decentralized system, applications run inside the Blockchain network, which is not controlled by the authorities or central banks.

If Ether is decentralized, then services can be provided centrally, through Ethereum. This is intermediary services. Users will be able to issue loans and sell products. Opportunities for regulating legislation, registering titles, titles, etc. open up. Ethereum can be used even when voting.

The creation of DAO (decentralized autonomous companies) is carried out with the help of the innovative currency Ethereum. The program code ensures the functioning of companies, and “smart contracts” are recorded in the Blockchain system. The companies created through Ether are independent – there is no need for job creation and centralization, and the traditional management of the organization is not necessary.

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