What is an NFT?

Before delving into the mechanics of minting, it is imperative to first understand what exactly an NFT is. Non-fungible token or NFT is a one of kind digital file turned asset usually depicting an artwork, images, in-game assets, or anything valuable in the virtual world. One of a kind means that it is unique and there is no room for duplication unlike other digital assets, like Bitcoin.

In simpler terms, for example, whenever you buy a painting from an artist in the real world, it is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity which contains details regarding the dimensions, description, price, etc., of the artwork and it also certifies that the particular piece of art is an original work of the artist and no other copy of the same exists. NFT is the same, except in a virtual/digital world.

What is Minting?

When an NFT is uploaded or stored in a decentralized database or a distributed ledger (also known as the “blockchain”), it cannot be modified or removed and becomes ready to be sold, traded, or bought in the digital market. This process is known as ‘minting’ where a simple digital file becomes a crypto asset. For an easy step-wise guide on how to mint NFTs, read below.

The Process of Minting an NFT

To mint an NFT, you need to have access to a crypto blockchain and an NFT marketplace. For that, you must create a digital wallet to store your cryptocurrency safely. Most popular options for wallets include Metamask, Coinbase, and Rainbow.

Since you cannot mint an NFT free of cost, you would now have to purchase a small amount of cryptocurrency. This is where you would have to decide where you want to mint your NFTs and then link your wallet to your chosen digital platforms/ online marketplace. Most popular options are Rarible, Zora, OpenSea, and Mintable.

NFT Minted. Now What?

Upon successful completion of the above, you can now mint your NFTs. For starters, if you do not know how to create an NFT, don’t worry the process is simple. You only have to create a digital file in any form (PNG, JPEG, GIF, or MP3) that is supported by your chosen marketplace. Subsequently, you would need to add the metadata to your NFT such as title, description, price, etc. subject to the linked marketplace to your wallet.

After creating your NFT you shall be charged a small fee as explained above and consequently, your NFTs would be minted and ready to be sold as soon as they get listed on the marketplace.

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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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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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The group, loosely named after famed Equities Short Stop trading group, Wall Street Bets is known for regularly organizing pump-and-dump operations, small-value, or low market capitalization digital assets. The group’s chat is reported to have been packed with user’s posts, praising the coin and forecasting a $1/Dogecoin price, as well as images of Shiba Inu dogs, in the days and hours prior to the digital asset’s price rally.

Dogecoin price jumps and Elon Musk

Tech billionaire, Elon Musk has also been known to contribute to Dogecoin’s price jumps. He has been claimed to have an influence on the price moves of the digital currency, an influence he exercises through Dogecoin-favoring posts (or Tweets) on popular social networking platform, Twitter.

Such was the frenzy created by his tweets in the second and third quarters of 2020, that he was joined by celebrities, Snoop Dogg, and rockstar, Gene Simmons. The trio managed to generate such enthusiasm around the digital asset back in may that Dogecoin reached an all-time high above $0.60 before the June-July crypto market dump.

The aforementioned Dogecoin rally also coincided with the addition of the asset to the global trading platform, eToro, which exposed the meme crypto-asset to a wide, new audience. An audience which, seemingly, was chomping at the bit to get in on the asset.

The Pump & Dump

The pump and dump operation is an age-old scheme. Almost as old as the stock market itself, where certain market operators collude to artificially raise the value of an asset. Only to sell out and leave a lot of unsuspecting investors holding an asset that will rapidly retrace all of its gains.

The practice is normally illegal, but with crypto currently unregulated, the practice has found a new home. Pump-and-dump operations occur pretty regularly in crypto. Reddit, Telegram, and Discord have been flagged as popular platforms for the organization of the operation.

The Data of Dogecoin of Wall Street

A University of Rome Study, by Massimo La Morgia, Alessandro Mei, Franco Sassi, and Julinda Stefa named The Doge of Wall Street: Analysis and Detection of Pump and Dump Cryptocurrency Manipulations performed a deep analysis of the pump-and-dump ecosystem. La Morgia and the team found a high prevalence of pump-and-dump fraud activity being organized on Social Media platforms; Telegram and Discord in particular.

Using an AI system the research team discovered over 900 pump-and-dump schemes on a single exchange platform, between mid-2017 to January of 2021. So, are Reddit users responsible for Dogecoin’s price rallies? Likely so.

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How did the NFTs start?

Like every other innovation that came with blockchain and cryptocurrency, this string of three characters that can now arguably be described as mainstream started out in what some may see as an obscure corner of the web. With only those involved in the digital assets space being aware of the disruptive potential of this specific application of decentralized ledger technology.

That disruptive capability is the ability to authenticate the scarcity and originality of artworks, designs, and practically anything that can be digitized- without the need for a middleman.

This concept of verifiable uniqueness in a realm where anything can be copied caught on very quickly in the world of digital art. So much so that established auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s were drawn into the new NFTs art frenzy. The former made a massive $68 million sale on a piece titled “Everyday’s” by a digital artist who goes by the alias, “Beeple”.

Trouble on the horizon

However, long before the vast amounts of cryptocurrency exchanged hands for Beeple’s digital artwork, there was a contingent of onlookers (participants as well) who felt that the world of veritable digital art buying fever that sent prices higher and higher was rapidly losing stability and was due to come crashing down.

Even the buyer of Beeple’s record-breaker NFT, Vignesh Sundaresan, was counted among them after saying that investing in NFTs was “even crazier than investing in crypto”. For many of them, this new craze was reminiscent of the build-up to when the Dot com bubble burst.

However, during that very same period in recent history, many disregarded and laughed off the rapid growth of tech startups prior to the market crash. Only to eat their words when the dust had finally settled and the true value of the technological innovation began to show.

This story played out again in the broader cryptocurrency market. The build-up to the highs of 2017, which were followed by a sharp correction in prices. From there, many detractors foretold the impending end of the cryptocurrency market.

However, what we see today is the exact opposite of the doomsday predictions. Most assets have recorded new all-time highs, institutional interest is growing and of course, the newest innovation – NFTs – is a hot topic of discussions across a broad spectrum of different people.

A bright future ahead

Though NFT art sales have slowed in tandem with the rest of the market as it cooled down from the price highs achieved during the early stages of the year, the NFT revolution is far from over.

It found its footing in digital art and then moved on to sports memorabilia like digital trading cards while grabbing the attention of the music and fashions industries- This gives the NFT market a lot of room for growth.

As the innovative technology swept through these industries, it received a lot of media attention as big names in entertainment like Paris Hilton, Mila Kunis, and Grimes got involved. The biggest growth of NFTs outside of visual art happened quietly in the gaming industry.

NFTs and gaming

With the growth of blockchain-based gaming, NFTs have found very fertile ground. In the gaming world, the Non-fungible tokens take the form of rare and unique in-game items and avatar skins which are traded on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarify. The very same ones where most digital artworks are sold.

For the gaming industry, the idea of rare and unique items in a digital world has been around for some time. However, the advent of NFTs turns this idea into a reality. This makes the world of video games a perfect match for NFTs, now and in the long run.

The marriage of NFTs and gaming is fueling the rise of new economies built on developing and trading these in-game items and people are actually making a living from this, which further validates the productive potential of NFTs.

Closing thoughts

Nevertheless, gaming is just the start of the NFT revolution’s expansion beyond art. There is still a lot of room for growth in the music, film, and fashion industries – where collectibles from celebrities have been valued by fans for many years.

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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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Changes to Ethereum

Over the past two months, important changes have taken place on the Ethereum network. In early August, the London update was released. It launched the token burn mechanism. Thanks to this, on September 4th, for the first time in the history of Ethereum’s existence, the emission of the altcoin became negative. More digital coins were burned that day than new ones were issued.

Burning is the destruction of a certain number of tokens to reduce their number in circulation. This method is used to combat inflation and increase the value of cryptocurrencies. All coin-burning operations are recorded on the blockchain as a transaction. Anyone can verify that the coins have been destroyed.

At the same time, in the blockchain of the first cryptocurrency, the deflationary model was initially laid down, since the number of bitcoins is limited to 21 million (at the moment, almost 19 million have been mined). It is also worth considering that about 20% of the bitcoins already mined ($ 158 billion at the current exchange rate as of September 28) are on wallets that were irretrievably lost. This reduces the amount of Bitcoin in circulation.

In November of this year, the Taproot update will be released on the bitcoin network, which will add the ability to create smart contracts on the blockchain of the main cryptocurrency.

How Bitcoin differs from Ethereum

Bitcoin was created as a peer-to-peer payment system. The performance of it depends entirely on its users. The creator of bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto argued in the “white paper” that the main advantage of the cryptocurrency is its decentralization and the absence of privileged users who could somehow influence the network.

Ethereum also has the structure of a decentralized peer-to-peer payment system. However, altcoin developers have gone further and developed a virtual machine that allows the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). The technology has proved to be so successful that it is already being used by major companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Sberbank, Lufthansa, the international charity UNICEF, and others.

At the moment, many different projects are working on the Ethereum blockchain: from games (CryptoKitties, Axie Infinity) to NFT marketplaces (OpenSea) and decentralized crypto exchanges (Uniswap).

The first cryptocurrency is based on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, which requires a lot of computing power from miners to keep the network operational and conduct transactions. The PoW algorithm was also used to create Ethereum, but at the moment the altcoin is in the active phase of switching to another algorithm – Proof-of-Stake (PoS), which completely excludes mining. In PoS, the network is ensured by the cryptocurrency holders and rewarded for this. This process is called staking.

Not competitors

Bitcoin and Ethereum were initially positioned as completely different projects, says Mikhail Karkhalev, financial analyst at Currency.com crypto exchange. According to him, Ethereum is more of a technology for creating decentralized applications, while Bitcoin has become a vehicle for transferring and storing value.

“There is no point in treating them as competing products,” the analyst explained.

Ethereum has already confidently taken its place in the market, but other similar projects will appear that can compete with it, said Karkhalev. He also added that there are more and more other blockchains for creating decentralized applications since the creation of Vitalik Buterin is far from ideal.

Last week, buyers of TIME magazine’s non-fungible tokens spent four times as much on commissions as buying the NFTs themselves. One of the users paid a commission of more than $ 70K when buying 10 NFT tokens from TIME, the cost of which was 1 ETH ($ 3.1K at the time of purchase).

Rivals to Bitcoin

According to Karkhalev, at the moment there are no projects on the crypto market that could make real competition to bitcoin. A similar project is Litecoin, but if Bitcoin is “digital gold”, then LTC is “digital silver,” the analyst summed up.

Litecoin is a digital coin that was created on the basis of the bitcoin blockchain. It differs from the first cryptocurrency in its low commission and fast transactions.

Different statuses in the industry

Ethereum is the backbone of blockchain products and, in principle, the foundation of the modern blockchain industry. Bitcoin, however, is an exchange-traded investment asset with a limited supply and characterized by deflationary properties, said Viktor Pershikov, lead analyst at 8848 Invest.

These assets can be compared if we consider them as digital tokens, but from the point of view of their fundamental characteristics, these assets differ dramatically.

In the future, we should not expect any confrontations between Bitcoin and Ethereum, since the main cryptocurrency has taken its niche “whipping boy” from the standpoint of regulators and financial authorities, as it identifies the entire sphere of digital assets in its person

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Filed in a Manhattan Federal Court on the 22nd of December 2020, the SEC’s 70-page complaint against Ripple Labs and two of its executives – Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen – accuses the company and executives of illegally selling a security when XRP tokens were distributed.

More specifically, the court document filed by the SEC points to a sum of approximately $1.4 billion. The company acquired them through what the securities regulator has labeled as an “ongoing sale” of unregistered securities. Furthermore, the SEC accuses the two executives of secretly selling off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of their own XRP holdings, while promoting the tokens as a good long-term investment.

“While he was selling millions of XRP, Garlinghouse frequently told investors that he was invested in XRP and that he was bullish on the investment,  he also encouraged investors to be patient and look at the price of XRP on a longer time horizon,” as per SEC complaint.

Two Sides To A Story

Unlike the majority of other companies that find themselves in the SEC’s firing line – usually opting for a quiet submission through settling – Garlinghouse, Larsen, and Ripple Labs have opted to go toe-to-toe with the regulator.

Ripple is backed by an all-star team of legal professionals that includes names like, Stuart Alderoty and Mary Jo White. They and its executives plan to hit back at the SEC’s complaint on a number of grounds.

One is the approach that the SEC has taken when dealing with cryptocurrency-related cases. According to Alderoty – who spent close to two decades as legal counsel for traditional banks, one of the main reasons that the SEC’s case is fundamentally flawed is that firstly, the regulator failed to give fair notice and secondly, in doing so has created regulatory confusion instead of clarity.

Aldetory started “Not only have they failed to provide fair notice, we believe and we’ve alleged that they’ve actually created mass confusion in the marketplace.”

Another point that the defense is looking to exploit is the SEC’s timing. According to White, the SEC’s decision to take time in going after Ripple calls into question the regulator’s fairness.

“When it takes that long to figure out a case, you shouldn’t be bringing it. It’s not something I would do walking out the door,” said White.

She made her statement against the backdrop of the SEC’s earlier actions against EOS. It ran a year-long ICO that attracted roughly $4 billion in investment. That included Ethereum, and the ICO’s of chat apps Telegram and KIK. Despite that, Ethereum walked away from the court case.

In her opinion, these are major inconsistencies in how the SEC has approached different Cryptocurrency related cases.

What to Expect Next

The SEC continues its fight to have the court label Ripple Labs as securities violators. Ripple maintains its defensive position as a victim of an unfair and incompetent regulator. New York Federal Courts will have to decide the outcome of this encounter.

The SEC usually doesn’t bring a case to the court unless they are confident of a victory. The agency has also recently had faced scrutiny from Capitol Hill about their handling of so-called ”meme-stock” trading. This to some observes may present as an opportunity for Ripple Labs.

To further complicate the matter, a legion of about 12 000 XRP retail investors and users have decided to have their say in the matter. According to a filing they made on the 19th of April, the XRP holders are looking to join the proceedings as third-party defendants. Though firmly on the side of Ripple Labs, and working to “protect their interests”, they have not made any claims and/or counterclaims against the SEC.

There are many variables at play here. Observers and investors are certain of one thing, and the stakes are high for both sides. Gensler, the current chair of the SEC, has a losing outcome in this case. He has been slowing down his planned crackdown on Stable Coins and the Defi market. On the other hand, a victory could lead to an increase in his tempo.

For Ripple – which has faced strain on its relations with key partners like, MoneyGram and Tetragon – and the rest of the cryptocurrency market, the results of this case will have a far-reaching impact on the digital assets environment. A loss could dampen spirits and set off a downward trend. Though, a win would be a boon to confidence – only time will tell which it will be.

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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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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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The process of validating digital asset transactions in a distributed ledger powered by Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithms involves a great deal of computing power. The hardware involved solves complex mathematical equations in order to validate transactions and commit them to the ledger. The process – also known as mining – is insentivized by a reward in digital assets.

The process is quite demanding however, in terms of electricity costs, as well as hardware maintainance and upgrades. Add the fact that digital asset prices tend to fluctuate wildly, and setting up your own mining operation could prove rather difficult.

“The logic behind mining is very complicated. You need to calculate what machine to dig, how much it will cost, how much the electricity will cost, etc. In all costs, the price of electricity accounts for more than 80%.” – Lei Geng, of digital asset mining firm, RawPool.

Cloud mining however, promises to offer the average Joe an opportunity to get in on the digital currency mining action.

Without having to purchase an array of hardware and manage complicated software, non technically astute individuals can take out a contract offered by a mining service and rent some hashing power to reap a portion of the profits. At least that’s how it works in theory. There have been several boat loads of firms springing up on the net, purporting to offer such services, only to vanish into the night almost as quickly as they came.

The Cryptocurrency Mining Industry

Despite the post-2017 price doldrums that digital asset markets have been stuck in, the mining sector has seen a great deal of growth. China still dominates the Bitcoin hashing power market, but data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, or CCAF, suggests that other territories have begun to take mining seriously.

The industry has seen a lot of public, and private sector support in recent years, with some territories recognizing it as a legitimate industry. Firms like digital asset liquidity provider, GSR, are beginning to develop risk management structures and financial support facilities for the digital currency mining industry. Suggesting friendlier sentiments toward digital asset miners.

By the numbers, Bitcoin mining – alone – generated over 112 Terahashes in May 2020, down significantly from the previous month (possibly as a result of the post-halving difficulty bomb), but still in the All Time Highs territory it has been logging in recent years.

Over all, the – increasingly transparent – Bitcoin mining industry has registered a 10× growth rate since 2017, to be valued at over $5 billion in May of 2020. According to Finanso.se, $4.9 billion of the revenue generated by mining firms in 2019 was from block rewards. Due to lack of clarity from industry players it is hard to estimate what percentage of mining revenue came from cloud mining contracts. However, the sector’s growth is not insignificant.

The Problem With Cloud Mining

The issue with cloud mining is that there are many who doubt the legitimacy of the model, as an investment. Cryptocurrency forums are full of posts from people claiming to have been scammed by a cloud mining firm, and subsequently losing their investment.

With the current frenzied adoption of digital assets, the market is packed with poorly informed individuals looking to make triple digit gains off their investment, opportunists recognized this and can easily set up websites promising a slice of the cryptocurrency mining pie. Without any regulatory oversight, many a new investor is left vulnerable to being scammed.

Well known Bitcoin developer, Gavin Andresen, in 2014, posted a comment on a post asking about the legitimacy of cloud mining services, likening them to pyramid schemes; “I suspect many of them (Bitcoin cloud mining firms) will turn out to be Ponzi schemes.”

The other aspect that draws scepticism from the cryptocurrency community is the rate of return on one’s investment in cloud mining contracts. Mining firms who are known to lease hashing power out to the public usually have such a low return and charge such hefty fees that one is left wondering if they would be better off simply purchasing the asset. Taking market fluctuation into consideration, cloud mining contracts could possibly yield a negative return.

The Rawpool team begs to differ however, and estimate that cloud mining contracts will still be profitable in a market downtrend. Only, it may take longer to realize those profits. This may be the case, as cloud mining contracts appear to be so popular that contract options on ViaBTC.com and Bitcoin.com’s cloud mining service are, at the time of writing, sold out.

Our Investigation

The Bizznerd team selected a handful of websites claiming to offer hashing power leasing services and put down a total of $1,000 on mining contracts on all of them. Of the firms we tried out, none gave a satisfactory return.

Genesis Mining

We put 0.02 BTC into an ETH mining contract, which was worth $ 85.50 at the time (currently worth around $195). The returns, after two years of holding the contract, were 0.13 ETH, valued at $31.6.

Hashing 24

This contract had us pulling our hair out. We took out a 100 GHs mining contract, then worth 0.00709543 BTC  ($64). The contract never broke even, but it did earn 0.00030587 BTC, about 26 bucks. We couldn’t withdraw the funds however, as the balance was too low. The contract also auto-cancelled, because Hashing 24 cancels contracts that go negative for 3 days in a row.

Eobot

The two contracts we took out on Eobot, account for our biggest cloud mining contract related spend. The results however, leave a lot to be desired. We took out aCloud SHA-256 5.0 – 221.6744 GHS contract (10 years), as well as a Cloud SHA-256 6.0 -1352.9354 GHS (10 years) both failed to yeild profits.

Following the Bitcoin Halving, both contracts stopped. The second it now active again, but with smaller GHS numbers and it doesn’t appear that we’ll receive 30% of the initial investment. There’s much doubt whether, or not, the contract will be active for the remainder of the decade.

Others

Other contracts we took out with other clound mining operators stopped working after a single year. Some took longer, but eventually also stopped operating. Some contracts we took out with other big firms are still active but they only make up about 5% of the mining firms we took contracts with. No profits to report on those contracts either yet though, just a miniscule yield that might never realize a profitable position, similar to the others.

Most cloud mining operators seem to follow a similar operational vein; open a UK based company, protect the site with Cloudflare (possibly, to their leads), operate for a year, shut down, rinse & repeat. They don’t offer any substantial proof that they even own mining hardware, or investors, or contact numbers.

We reached out to a number of cloud mining operators to get comments – and, possibly, some answers – however, none had gottent back to us by the  time of publication. ViaBTC and Genesis Mining were the only firms to return a response, saying that they would get back to us but that – to date – has not happened yet.

Conclusion

Our first hand experience with cloud mining leads us to conclude that cloud mining contracts don’t seem to offer a convenient (or profitable) alternative to actually spending on mining equipment, or buying and holding the actual digital asset. The notoriously opaque operational nature of the digital asset mining industry is another stumbling block that makes mining contracts unattractive.

With that in mind, along with the fact that a lack of regulatory oversight leaves the segment open to scammers, cloud mining appears more like a white elephant than an actual investment. Perhaps firms seeking to rent out their hashing power would benefit from being more open, amending their offerings to drive contract, or simply going public (listing on a stock market, or tokenizing shares) to fund operations. Current cloud mining offering don’t appear to be all that the firms offering them promise to be, which is probably why we hear words like ‘scam’ and ‘ponzi scheme’ bandied about whenever they are mentioned.

The post Bizznerd Investigates: The Truth About Cloud Mining, Worthy Investment, or Scam? appeared first on Bizznerd.

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 Are Cryptocurrency Trading Bots?

Trading Bots are computer programs that are designed to autonomously buy and sell – in this instance cryptocurrency – on behalf of those traders who have chosen to make use of them. Naturally, the aim is to do so in such a manner that the traders gain a profit. A good number of trading bot available today analyse an exponential moving average (EMA) to get a feel of what the market is doing, and are programmed to respond to those price fluctuations. Algorithmic trading software – as trading bots are otherwise known – first saw use with hedge funds dealing in the commodities, currency, and equity markets. It wasn’t until the Forex boom that retail investors got to have a go at them. This was soon followed by a proliferation of bots in the cryptocurrency market.

Possible Advantages Offered By Trading Bots

Apart from being able to trade non-stop as long as the electricity supply and internet connection remain constant, there are a number of other ways in which a crypto trading bot could be used to gain an edge. The first advantage a bot has over a human trader is the ability to process larger volumes of different data sets in a space of time that is impossible for a person to achieve. The second advantage is the bot’s ability to complete trades in a manner that is as swift as its ability to process information. A third advantage is that bots do what they are programmed to do. Trading bots are not subject to fear or greed.

How Effective Are They?

Well, this is a recurring concept of life. There are very few – if any at all – things that are all ups and no downs, trading bots are no exception to this. Bots dig through market data that they get from trading platforms in order to make decisions on whether or not to execute a trade. This would be perfect if that was all the cryptocurrency market’s price action revolved around. However, the reality is that the cryptocurrency market is still very sensitive to the influences of the rumour mill and popular Twitter accounts. Unfortunately for traders, no available bots are able to factor this into their calculations. Generally speaking, good quality trading bots are not a fire and forget way to being a pro trader. The efficacy of the bot is still very dependent on human input to help maximise your potential returns.

Conclusion

There are a number of factors that one needs to take into consideration before diving into these waters. Are you more of a casual/passive investor? Do you have any basic knowledge of programming or creating financial strategies?  For casually investing in cryptocurrency, a buy and hold strategy might be a little less of a headache than working with a trading bot.

The post Cryptocurrency Trading Bots Explained appeared first on Bizznerd.

The announcement to halt the giveaway program came via a blog post on December 13 of 2019.

“Today, Friday the 13th, we’ve begun distributing the final 100 million Lumens among all qualifying members. The total giveaway amount will have been 300 million Lumens (approximately $16,000,000 USD).” read the post.

Prior to the entry of spam accounts, both Stellar and Keybase received positive feedback from the media and the general public. Keybase saw thousands of new registrations, while Stellar benefited in the form of good press.

Then Things Started To Change

Before a user account was cleared to participate in the airdrops, it would have to go through a number of checks to verify whether or not it is an actual user account (all accounts that had joined Keybase prior to the airdrop were taken as being authentic). The parameters of the airdrop also considered Github and Hacker News user accounts authentic, because both have a “high-quality” user base.

However, it is likely because of this that the airdrop program was compromised by spammers. Though the amount of Lumens allocated for individual user was negligible, a spammer in control of a vast bot net would be able to make these drops a more lucrative endeavour for themselves.

According to Coindesk, spammers where able to take advantage of this by gaining control of multiple dormant user accounts on Github and Hacker News. Spammers used bot farms in control of a multitude of user accounts to by pass the account verification methods that had been put in place.

For the end phase of the airdrop program, Keybase opted to add SMS authentication, and a number of other filtration tools to verify the legitimacy of a user account. Of the new sign ups, approximately 150 000 passed the check. That said it is still extremely difficult for Keybase to determine exactly how many spammer initiatives actually made it through undetected.

Max Krohn, CEO of Keybase, pointed out that regions like Nigeria and Latin America are hot spots for these sorts of activities. As these areas have limited, and less developed, internet infrastructure, tracking distinct signals for the purpose of analysis is a lot harder.

Conclusion

The XLM airdrop program seem to have been a bitter sweet endeavour. On the one hand, it achieved exactly what it was supposed to achieve, Keybase gained more users while Stellar benefited from build greater awareness of its operations. On the other hand, the entry of spammers could really do a lot in the way degrading the user experience on the Keybase app.

However, at the end of it all the main objectives of the partnership where achieved.

“It was really an interesting experiment, in the end, it definitely achieved the goal of getting more numbers onto Keybase and more people onto Stellar.” Krohn said.

The post Stellar & Keybase Abruptly End XLM Airdrops appeared first on Bizznerd.

Secret Document

Apparently, a secret document, dubbed the Crypto Valachi Papers by Forbes – in reference to a 1960’s mobster by the name, Joseph Valachi, who not only testified, but penned a 1000 page memoir in which he blew the lid on the inner workings of the Italian mob operating in the US -, was put together by a team of compliance officers from traditional finance player Scotiabank, blockchain security firms Chanalysis and Bitfury’s Crystal, as well as digital asset exchanges, Biance and Bitfinex, to name a few.

The paper from the crack team known as Project Participate (formed in March 2019 and formally announced in June of the same year at Europol’s 6th Cryptocurrency Conference) titled, Indicators of Suspicion for Virtual Asset Service Providers, goes into detail about types of activity that would point VASP’s (Virtual Asset Service Provider to what could potentially be criminal use of their platforms.

The document goes on to put recommendations forward relating to how VASP’s (such as digital asset exchanges) can better detect, as well as deter this sort of activity on their respective platforms. It is the aim of Project Participate, that the document will aid companies operating in this digital asset space, as well as relevant authorities in putting together universal compliance solutions/policies.

Top Secret

The secret document which details how criminals operate through digital assets, and may well, become the foundation for all future surveillance and policing methods for the asset class, hasn’t seen many eyes beyond the vetted parties it as intended for. The list of vetted parties include individuals and firms in the VASP sphere, blockchain analytics software providers, as well as government officials. The document has reportedly been seen by the US Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and its findings are already being implemented by many of the initiative’s participants.

The paper shares industry best-practices for detecting,reporting and preventing potential money laundering activity, the financing of terror, and other virtual currency related crimes, from leading firms and is aimed at promoting regulatory compliance within the industry. Known firms currently involved in Project Participate include Binance, Bitpay,Bitfinex, Blockchain (wallet and exchange provider), Blockchain Alliance, CipherTrace, Crypto Defenders Alliance, Chanalysis, Elliptic, Global Digital Finance, Crystal (Bitfury), Paxful, Tether, Outlier, as well as some popular cryptocurrency thought leaders.

Project Participate

“Project Participate is a coalition of responsible industry members for sharing best practices.  The participating companies recognize that effective measures to address money laundering, terrorist financing, and other crimes should not be seen as a competitive advantage, but rather as a collective imperative for good corporate citizens in order to maintain the integrity of both the virtual asset and traditional financial spaces. The combined knowledge and experience gathered and shared through this initiative will most effectively equip law enforcement to practically address risks associated with virtual assets by ensuring that SAR submissions are accurate, complete, and timely, and that VASPs can keep pace with changing behaviors of bad actors.  Effective SAR reporting cannot occur without transaction monitoring systems informed by identified indicators of suspicion, as well as training of compliance personnel on how to use those indicators so as to more accurately detect potential suspicious activity. Understanding these indicators is important for effective compliance not only for virtual asset-to-virtual asset transactions, but also for the ‘on/off ramps’ between virtual assets and fiat currency. For that reason, the information in the report is valuable both for VASPs and for traditional financial institutions.” – stated Peter Warrack, Chief Compliance Officer, Bitfinex.

Significance

The secret report was circulated shortly after the publishing of new cryptocurrency focused guidelines published by the  Financial Action Task Force (FAFT) in June 2019. The FAFT guidelines expect VASPs to report suspicious activity to authorities in the territories they are registered, licensed, or regulated but falls short of detailing what constitutes suspicious activity or what indicators to look out for. Project Participate’s document goes a long way toward filling in the gaps left open by the FAFT and could be invaluable, in terms of uniform policy creation for service providers, law enforcement, regulators as well as other interested parties.

The post The Secret Document That May Change Crypto Policing appeared first on Bizznerd.

The operation was subsequently rebranded after the acquisition of the Crypto.com domain name, which had been registered in 1993 by renowned cryptographer, Matt Blaze.

With a name and a new goal – to accelerate the transition to full scale cryptocurrency use – the start-up set forth to make its mark on the industry, with a sleuth of goodies available on the offered on platform.

Crypto.com  CRO Platform Overview

The Crypto.com platform was conceptualized and designed to take on some of the issues seen as being the most significant stumbling blocks on the way towards mainstream cryptocurrency adoption. These – as the platform sees it – are, accessibility and the good old ease of use that the traditional finance sector has gotten most of us used too.

To tackle the aforementioned issues, Crypto.com offers the end user a plethora of products. These are, a cryptocurrency wallet, a prepaid card powered by VISA, an investing service, a credit service, and a service where the user can earn cryptocurrency. All interlinked through the platforms two native tokens, MCO and CRO.

Registration

Download your app from Google Play or App Store. Afterwards, fill out a simple registration form. If you use below code during sign up process – we both can get $25.

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However let me warn you. You will see $25 worth of CRO token in your wallet, but you will not be able to use it until you purchase at least 2500 CRO and hold them for six months. At moment of writing of this article 1 CRO costs around 0.0794.

The Wallet Service

First things first. The wallet service here is quite the same as wallet services offered by other platforms. It serves as a convenient place to purchase, store, sell, send, and keep track of your digital holdings. More specifically, the user can choose from more than 50 cryptocurrencies and buy with seven supported fiat currencies.

A VISA Powered Debit Card

This is possibly the most exciting of all. The MCO visa card was first announced to the world during November of 2018. A partnership between Crypto.com and Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB), that offers the user a means to spend cryptocurrency anywhere that accepts VISA card payments. That would mean more or less anywhere.

There are 6 colour coded card types on offer. With each tier affording the is own “level” of added benefits. These include cash back on a Netflix subscription played for by the card. As you may have guessed, the higher up you go , the more you’ll have to put in to get it started, this comes in the form of a required purchase of a certain amount of MCO, and holding it for a period of no less than six months.
Card Type Staking Fee MCO Rewards on card spending.

• Midnight Blue – N/A : 1% spend back
• Ruby Steel – Stake at least 50 MCO for six months : 2% spend back
• Jade Green – Stake at least 500 MCO  for six months : 3% spend back
• Ice White -Stake at least 5000 MCO for six months : 4% spend back
• Obsidian Black -Stake at least 50000 MCO for six months :5% spend back

Investing product

A simple and less intimidating way to start cryptocurrency trading. An interested user can start with an initial investment of as little as $20 into a fund. There after the user would answer a few simple question for the purpose of determining whether they are risk averse or otherwise. Thus determining which investment approach would better suit you.

The strategies used by this feature are – as per Crypto.com – optimized for three to six month holding period, however, the funds can be withdrawn at any point. Another noteworthy aspect of the service is that the user is only charged a fee for profits earned.

Credit Service

As the name suggests, this is a way of getting funds from Crypto.com on loan. Put in simple terms, the user can put down crypto assets as collateral on a loan played out in stable coins TrueUSD and PAX, so there’s no need sell off assets whenever the need arises.

There are several rewards systems. Amongst other, you’ll get a certain discount on your spending’s on your VISA crypto card. Also, you will get $25 worth of CRO token in your wallet, for every referral that purchase at least 2500 CRO tokens.

Earn Product

Using this passive service, the user can earn up to 8% p.a on their cryptocurrency. This service works best for users who have staked MCO tokens to their cards. If the user stakes 50 MCO and above, he/she can earn interest on other cryptocurrencies held in their Crypto.com wallet.

Conclusion

Crypto.com seems to have done a great job of putting together a host of services that could make cryptocurrency mass use a lot easier, even for those who are less technically astute. Whether or not the masses take to it is a secret that only the passing of time can reveal.

If you want to find more info about Crypto.com Exchange, read our article “Crypto.com Exchange Review“.

And if you use my referral link here to sign up, we will both get $25 each.

Subscribe to the BizzNerd newsletter! and join our team on Keybase.

The post Crypto.com (CRO) Coin And App Review appeared first on Bizznerd.

Enabling the Keybase wallet to hold assets in addition to Stellar Lumen.

This tutorial shows, in simple steps, how to add a trustline to the Keybase wallet using the tools provided by the Stellar website.

Why add trustlines to the Keybase wallet?

The wallet built into the Keybase app holds Stellar Lumens (XLM). To hold other assets in the wallet, it is necessary to add a trustline for that asset. Other assets may include other crypto currencies, such as Ethereum (ETC) and Bitcoin (BTC). Also included in other assets can be fiat currencies such as EUR and USD, using asset tokens.

The Stellar Consensus Protocol allows tokens for any asset which can be bought, sold, and owned. Something as global as gold and silver, or something as local as BerkShares. Once a trustline is established for them, the tokens representing that asset can be held in your Keybase wallet.

The built-in system and its limitations

The wallet in the Keybase app has the ability to add trustlines to the account built in. Unfortunately, for an emerging, or unknown asset, adding a trustline is not always possible using that option. The main Stellar website has a tool to accomplish this, as long as someone has issued a token on the Stellar Consensus Protocol to represent that asset.

Security Warning

Using the tools on the Stellar website requires you to enter your Keybase wallet’s secret key. With the Keybase wallet, or any other wallet, you are the bank. All the crypto value of your wallet is locked behind the secret keys of that wallet. Protect that secret key like you would the keys to a vault.

There are some simple things you can do to help keep your secret key secret in this process.

• Do not have anyone watching over your shoulder or viewing your screen/li>
• Verify, twice, that the Stellar site is using HTTPS
• Use the private, or incognito, mode for your browser
• Open exactly one tab and close the browser once you are done
• Use the built in “copy-to-clipboard” button in Keybase or copy paste commands if you are using other wallets rather than trying to retype the secret key

What we will be doing

In this tutorial we will be adding our token BIZZNERD

Asset name: BIZZNERD
Issuer address: GCQNVHELB3XKDBGXVWFUY2BAD5GEDGODE2SERS7R73LBXE2724PFFZAG

Any asset or token listed with Stellar can be added using this method, including ones which can be added using the built in controls of the Keybase wallet.

How to add a trustline?

You will need to have both your web browser, and your Keybase app open. It is easier to do this using the desktop version of the app. It is possible to use the mobile version of the app as well, just not as easy to manage the multiple windows needed.

Build the transaction to add a trustline

Connect to the Stellar public network in Transaction Builder

Stellar provides a set of pages, called the “Laboratory” for dealing with the network without an additional program. There are two networks, testing and public. The testing network allows developers to try different things without creating real transactions on the ledger. The public network is the “real” network, were everything goes into the ledger, and becomes a part of the record. The Transaction Builder is the tool where we need to begin.

Open the browser in a private window and go to the address https://stellar.org/laboratory.

Check that your browser indicates that it is a secure site, usually a lock icon in the address bar.
Look for the lock icon, often green, in the address bar.
If not STOP! Find out why your connection is not secure and try again.

Do not continue without a secure, HTTPS, session!

Check the top right corner of the web page to be sure you are not on the test network.

If you are, then click on the “Public” button to switch to the live system.

Click the link to the “Transaction Builder”

Next we have to gather the information about the transaction we want to build and enter it into the form provided.

Enter your Stellar Address

Adding a trustline to your wallet has to be connected to your Stellar address. That address has to be entered into the form.

Just copy paste your Wallet address, and if you are using Keybase app follow these steps.

Switch to the Keybase app and open your wallet.

In the right corner of your wallet you will find setting options.Click that to open the setting for the wallet, which includes the public and secret keys for your account.

Click on the clipboard icon next to the box with your Stellar Address. This will automatically copy your Stellar address to the clipboard.

Return to the Transaction Builder in your browser.

Fill out the “Source Account” field

Paste the just copied address in the Source account field.

Generate a sequence number

Every transaction on the Stellar network must have a sequence number. The sequence number is associated with the account, and should always be 1 greater than the current number. Knowing what that number is, when many things can affect it, is impractical for most people. The Transaction Builder can look up the current sequence number and automatically fill in the new value for you. In next step just press link “Fetch next sequence number for account starting with …”.

Enter the information about the trustline to create

Find the “Operation Type” field, and click on the “Select operation type” dropdown.

Select “Change Trust” from the dropdown. Do not get this confused with the “Allow Trust” which is a different thing.
New fields are added to the Transaction Builder form based on the operation type selected. The Change Trust operation requires information about the asset to be trusted. Asset names can be long, or short, with the long version having a limit of 12 characters and the short version having a limit of 4 characters.

The asset selected for this tutorial, BIZZNERD, obviously will not fit in a 4 character field, so we need to select the “Alphanumeric 12” button.

Click on the “Alphanumeric 12” button

In the Asset Code text box, enter the code for the asset, BIZZNERD for this tutorial.
In the Issuer Account ID text box, enter the account number for the asset, GCQNVHELB3XKDBGXVWFUY2BAD5GEDGODE2SERS7R73LBXE2724PFFZAG for this tutorial.
Add finally enter the asset Issuer Account ID.

The Asset information should now look like this.

The other two fields, Trust Limit and Source Account, remain blank.

Set the time bounds

The transaction we are building can be set to happen at a specific time, and can be set to expire at a later time. The later upper bound is not when an offer, or some other transaction is cancelled, it is when this operation is no longer valid. If, for some reason, there is enough network traffic that this transaction is not executed within the upper limit set, it will simply not be executed and never be added to the ledger.
When adding a trustline, this may not be so important, but for other operation types it could be significant. As a standard habit to develop, we can set an upper time bound now anyway. It has even been made real simple, by adding a button to set the time to 5 minutes from now. Even though this is a tutorial, and could be slow to work through, it should be done in 5 minutes or less, so click the handy button to “Set to 5 minutes from now.”

Sign and submit the transaction

At this point the transaction has been successfully created.

The Transaction builder says that the transaction still needs to be signed before it can become part of the ledger.

Load the Transaction Signer page

After building a transaction, the next step is to sign the transaction. There is even a handy button to take us to the Transaction Signer page. Click the button “Sign in Transaction Signer” and the next web page is ready to use.

Sign with your Wallet Secret Key

Go to your wallet and copy your secret key. Keybase and other wallet gives you an additional reminder about the importance of your secret key. That is really important that you check everything, before adding any trustline. Once someone has your secret key can do whatever he wants with all your assets on Stellar Blockchain.

Return to the Trasaction Signer page in your browser. Double check, one more time, that it is a secure connection. This is the last chance to protect your secret key.

Paste your secret key into the Add Signer box. You only need to do it once.

Submit the transaction to the ledger

The transaction is now signed, and ready for the next step.

Now click the Submit to Post Transaction endpoint button.
The last chance for backing out is now. Click the Submit button and the transaction will be submitted to the ledger.

Each trustline added to the account requires a 0.5 XLM reserve. If your account does not have that much extra available, the transaction will be denied.

Conclusion

The same process can be used to add any asset tokens available on the Stellar network, as long as you know their Asset Code, and the Issuer Account ID.

Rember, only do this process when you must. There are rare occasions when you need to that or if you are issuing token or adding some asset that you fully trust.

You can always add trustline via Keybase, StellarPort, StellarX or some other Wallet apps like Lobster.

We used our asset BizzNerd as an example, but if you want to add it to your trustlines, use Keybase or Stellarport instead.

Eager to stay in the loop?

Subscribe to the BizzNerd newsletter! and join our team on Keybase.  We are giving all new members 1.5 XLM as a welcome gift.

If you want to find out more info about Keybase app read “Keybase App Tutorial“.

The post Adding Trustlines to the Keybase Wallet appeared first on Bizznerd.

Registration and Verification on Paybis

It is easy to register on Paybis and that can be achieved in a single mouse click. You can use your Facebook or Google account to sign up for their services quickly and securely. In order to complete registration, you still need to confirm your email address.

There are different Verification tiers. Once you sign in you can still buy crypto with Bitcoin, Advanced Cash, Perfect Money and Payeer. But if you want to add more options like purchase crypto with Bank Transfer, Credit/Debit Card, Skrill you’ll need to provide additional information. There are 3 tiers of verification and each has its own daily/weekly/monthly limit depending on the payment method you would like to use.

Paybis requests customer to go through a verification process which consists of ID verification and residence address in order to prevent fraud attempts and follow AML policies. This is to protect customer funds from unauthorized usage and to prevent money laundering and cyber terrorism.

At the same time, they respect privacy promise all information you provide them is kept securely on their servers that are not connected to the public web.

Normally it takes 10-20 mins to get verified while making the first transaction if you fill in all information required correctly and you upload good quality pictures.

The level 1 verification is mandatory to use the platform. This includes providing personal information (like name, date of birth, address, ID numbers). You also need to provide a copy of your documents to them. For level 2 verification you need to provide them with a selfie of your IDs and a proof of your address. For level 3 verification they also require additional documentation for your bank account and a minimum amount of completed transaction on the platform.

Although generically speaking you are required to verify your identity when using the platform, there are some exceptions you can still buy bitcoin without verification. There are a few methods available to buy Bitcoin without verification. Amazon.com gift cards do not require verification. Additionally, the level 1 verification for Perfect Money, Advanced Cash and Payeer payment methods are granted automatically, thus you can make purchases of Bitcoin without verification up to specific amounts.

Verification limits are depending on the payment method you would like to use. For Visa/MasterCard credit/debit cards, limits are USD 20,000/50,000 per week/month. For other digital wallet payments like Advanced Cash, Perfect Money, and others, they allow up to USD/EUR 500,000 per week. With Bank Transfers EUR/USD/RUB Paybis allows up to USD 200,000 of purchases per week or equivalent in other currencies.

Paybis does not support every single country in the world. Due to local legislation, Paybis does not provide services to the residents of certain US states (New York (NY), Georgia (GA), Connecticut (CT), New Mexico (NM), Washington (WA), Hawaii (HI)) and some other countries due to international trade agreements. Make sure you check out the list of restricted countries on their website before signing up.

Features on Paybis

The most impressive feature of Paybis is the variety of payment methods they offer. You can pay with Visa and Mastercards, SEPA or bank wire transfers. But they also offer a lot of different alternative payment option, such as paying with Amazon gift cards or Skrill, Yandey, Perfect Money funds.

You can even earn extra cash through their lucrative referral program. 10% of the profit is shared after each transaction done by your referral. In addition to this, they have a multi-tier system which means you are earning commissions after those referrals which are an affiliate to your first level referral.

Fees on Paybis

Before engaging into a deal on Paybis, make sure you check the fees and commissions on their ates sheet. The fee structure is a bit complicated so make sure you take the time to understand what you are dealing with.

Each payment method comes with a different fee which is based on a % commission and sometimes a flat fee added to this. Flat fees can increase your base costs during a small number of purchases. The price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency is depending thus on the payment method you choose. Paybis tried to be transparent as much they could be on the fees side, so you can see next to each payment method how much will that purchase cost to you after the commissions and fees are deducted. The price of Bitcoin and other cryptos are also varying depending on if you are buying or selling.

Trading on Paybis

The initial step of purchasing Bitcoin should be to create a wallet. Paybis does not store the cryptos for you, they advise you to create your own wallet to ensure maximum safety. There are a lot of wallets provide you can find on the market, any kind of wallet will be good which you have access to, so you have the 24 characters long public key.

After this, you only need to go through some simple steps in order to buy Bitcoin on Paybis. Similarly, you will go through the same steps when you are selling Bitcoin on Paybis.

1. Select Bank Transfer, Credit card or Debit card on the left-side column, depending on which one you want to use
2. Select Bitcoin (or any other crypto) you would like to purchase
3. Enter the amount you would like to buy
4. Complete the transaction

When you are selecting the payment method to choose something that is legal in your country and the fees are reasonable. There are also payment methods that are available in some countries, while in others they are not. Paybis helps you buy Bitcoin with regular money like USD, EUR, GBP using a wide range of payment methods, such as Credit and Debit cards, Bank Transfers in EUR (SEPA), Bank Transfers (USD), Advanced Cash, Payeer, Skrill, Neteller, and Perfect Money.

To complete your first purchase, input the amount of Bitcoin you are willing to purchase and enter your wallet address so you can receive your purchased Bitcoins. Make sure you provide an address here which you can access, Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, so if you have entered an incorrect address your coins could be lost forever.

Press the buy button and your newly acquired Bitcoin will be sent and stored in your digital wallet.

It usually takes a few minutes to complete a purchase and, once the amount is sent and confirmed on the blockchain, it will be visible in your wallet.

After you start a transaction to purchase a cryptocurrency on Paybis the timeframe to complete a payment is fixed for 30 minutes. During the initial 30 minutes timeframe, the amount of cryptocurrency being purchased is fixed. Once 30 minutes have passed, the price in the background will be re-calculated and show a new cryptocurrency amount. This model ensures that even under volatile market conditions client will receive the exact amount of cryptocurrency they see at the start of the transaction.

Support on Paybis

Paybis provides support services 24/7, they are proud of the response time on all platform. According to the website, the average response time to online chats is ~15 seconds, and for account verification requests is ~60 mins. They suggest you to carefully read all information provided to on the website while performing actions and in emails that you receive afterwards to remove unnecessary idle time for waiting for support responses.

The site has just been translated into 5 new languages in 2019. Now you can read the instructions and trade beyond English in Spanish, Italian, French, German and Portuguese as well. They are also planning to add new translations to the site in the coming months.

Although the site is translated, please note that live support is still provided in English, Latvian and Russian languages only.

Security on Paybis

Paybis have turned on the possibility to add ratings to their Facebook page this means anyone who has a Facebook profile can rate their service which they cannot modify. This ensures that even bad reviews stay on the page, but unfortunately also means that anyone can comment with a Facebook account, regardless if they have truly used the service. Out of 18 opinions, their service is rated at 3.8/5. There were two users complaining about their service so far. Their issue was that Paybis asked for personal documents before the transactions. On the other hand, apart from these complaints, there are no real complaints about their services, nobody reported that they got scammed using their services and their Trustpilot rating is very high as well.

Paybis does not store any cryptocurrency on behalf of you. When you purchase the coins, the cryptocurrency is transferred directly into the wallet of yours. This reduces the risk of a hacking incident where the funds of the clients would be stolen from the exchange.

They do not have a 2FA security layer, so the password protection is the only gate on the site. Paybis stores offline all client-related information, not on public servers.

Pros and Cons of Paybis

Pros

• a lot of different payment method
• purchase prices are set for 30 minutes
• Trustpilot reviews

Cons

• high commissions and fees
• some US states are not supported
• EUR bank transfers are not supported outside of the European Union

Conclusion

Paybis support buying and selling six different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Neo. They offer a great variety of payment methods, including credit and debit cards, bank wire transfers but they also support gift cards and paying with alternative payment processors, like Skrill and Webmoney. They require verification for cryptocurrency purchases to comply with AML regulations, but they are trying their best to shorten the time needed for verification. The online reviews about Paybis are fairly positive about the company, the only drawback is the higher fees which are really depending on the payment method you choose.

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The brainchild of Vladislav Solodkiy, and Igor Pesin (both heavily decorated fintech investors under their Singapore based investment imprint, Life.SREDA), Arival Bank was founded in late 2017 after the pair, along with the Life.SREDA team released their findings from a study conducted over a period of 3 months on why fintech firms – especially in digital asset focused entities – where having difficulty obtaining services from the incumbent banking system.

Solodkiy, Pesin and their colleagues crisscrossed the US, Europe and South-East Asia interviewing more than 20 banks, to get to the core reasons why banks will not, or cannot service, not just crypto, but SME’s (Small to Medium Enterprises) and GIG’s (a segment consisting of entrepreneurs, freelancers, informal businesses, as well as independent contractors). It wasn’t until the team met with head of the BBVA banking group, Carlos Torres Vila, that they got to the bone of the issue.

Vila helped the team isolate key reasons why traditional banks were reluctant to open up to this historically underserved market segment. One of the main reasons being that, bank staff are, in many cases, untrained in handling this niche segment. Couple that with lack of understanding (of the segment), the high cost of adjusting business models, and the regulatory labyrinth they would have to navigate to onboard such clients and you have a large market left out in the cold.

12 months after publishing a book, The First Fintech Bank’s Arrival, in which Solodkiy put forward a detailed concept for a crypto friendly fintech bank that would best serve fintech businesses, SME’s and GIG’s (a period in which SREDA where inundated with requests for assistance in obtaining banking services and token sale consulting services from the very market entities that fit into segment the concept bank was designed for), Solodkiy and team set themselves to the task of building the bank they had envisioned.

Undeterred by the customary naysaying, Solodkiy and Pesin weighed their options and decided to bet on black by applying for the most challenging banking license to obtain, a US banking license. The team set up shop in Puerto Rico, an independent US territory who’s banking system falls under the New York Federal Reserve. In mid 2018 the team began the process of obtaining an IFE (International Financial Entity) banking license which will enable them to serve businesses in other territories.

21. century service

Determined to deliver a quality product, the Arival team are crossing every “T” and dotting every “I” in an effort to bring the project to fruition. They have gone as far as enlisting the expertise of international legal powerhouse, DLA Piper, along with A.ID (a Compliance-As-A-Service provider), and compliance advisor, Promontory Group, to realize their vision.

The hatchling bank, once operational, aims to initially open it’s doors to customers in the United States, Europe, and South-East Asia before expanding to other territories. Arival will offer cryptocurrency start-ups and exchanges, among other traditionally excluded market segments, the ability to set up bank accounts and conduct their business with fewer – if any – hiccups,without any paperwork.

The start-up bank recently announced that it had raised about €2,100,000 in a pre-Series A equity crowd-funding campaign. Having exceeded their €790,000 target, the firm now boasts a pre-money valuation of €13.5 million ahead of it’s April 2020 Series A fundraising effort to finance licensing, product development and going live.

Arival Bank has hatched a new approach to banking and have geared their business model towards including underserved markets, allowing them to transact more seamlessly. The new bank’s approach stands to unlock a lot of previously untapped value from both digital assets and the ‘GIG economy’.

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This alone is an impressive feat; after all, no one — at least not a lot of people — believed that blockchain had the potential to revamp technology (and the world at large). Although blockchain technology (alongside Bitcoin) was created in 2009, it only became front and center of the tech debate in the last couple of years.

Blockchain technology has since gone on to achieve more impressive feats, impacting industries like healthcare, supply chain management, fintech, gaming, content creation, social media, digital rights management among others.

The development of Bitcoin has changed how transactions are conducted around the world. It eliminated the need for a central authority (i.e. banks, credit agencies and payment processors), enabling blockchains to evolve rapidly and achieve increased security, speed and efficiency.

To start with, let’s take a brief look at what the term ‘decentralized’ means in the context of blockchains.

What Is a Decentralized Blockchain?

Decentralization itself is defined as the delegation of the decision-making processes of an organization from a central point to various entities.

When the word “blockchain” comes up in conversation, most people would think of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other decentralized (public) blockchains which grant access to just about anyone willing to participate.

However, centralized blockchains also exist, and they are usually developed by large corporations who want to fully utilize the potential of blockchain technology.

Decentralized blockchains are known as public blockchains, and the centralized ones as private blockchains.

The core difference between decentralized and centralized blockchains lies in what you’re allowed to do. Decentralized blockchains are unable to place restrictions on or elevate the privileges of a particular node(s), excluding malicious or faulty ones. This implies that all nodes on the blockchain network have (no need for) equal permissions and privileges.

On the other hand, centralized blockchain networks are able to select a group of participating nodes on the network who are exclusively authorized to validate blocks of transactions.

Features of Decentralized Blockchains

From a technological point of view, both decentralized and centralized chains share the same core features. The makeup of a decentralized blockchain is not in any way different from a centralized blockchain.

Decentralized blockchains possess some features which give them an advantage over centralized blockchains. Here are a few:

Faster transactions — One of the most amazing things about a decentralized blockchain network is that transactions are conducted much faster. Since the need for a third-party to handle transaction verification is eliminated (due to its decentralized nature), it allows all the nodes present on the network to contribute to the computational power required to process and verify transactions.

The conventional payment methods are rather slow and they usually incur considerable transaction charges. However, a payments system sat atop a decentralized blockchain enables seamless transfer of funds with lesser verification windows. This saves cost and increases the speed at which transactions are processed.

Secure Network —  It’s almost impossible to take over a decentralized blockchain network, as long as the diversity (by which I mean the number of unique nodes present on the network) is maintained. On most decentralized blockchains, several thousands of nodes participate in consensus to verify transactions. There’s no central node neither are there nodes with elevated permissions to verify transactions.

To successfully hack into a blockchain network, an attacker must seize control of the greater majority (more than 51 percent) of nodes on the network, at the same time!

A decentralized blockchain is much more difficult because of the sheer number of nodes present on the blockchain. Nowadays, decentralized blockchains are designed to ignore malicious (or faulty) nodes, so they are not allowed to participate in consensus.

This is in fact how the concept of immutability in blockchains work. It is impossible to alter the records in transaction blocks on a decentralized blockchain network after a consensus has been reached (i.e. the block has been verified). This is a major advantage of decentralized blockchains over centralized ones, since there’s node equality.

An understanding of blockchain technology at its very core is a great step to identifying the higher level differences in centralized and decentralized blockchains. Of course, it still remains a question of design and target audience.

A blockchain solution developed for enterprise applications would often be centralized. In contrast, a blockchain network targeting public users should ideally be decentralized. The aim should be to put the user back in the driving seat when it comes to sensitive information (for instance, medical records, personally-identifiable information).

All in all, the average person prefers the concept of decentralization in blockchain because it offers unlimited freedom, as it’s not controlled by a select few.

To them, it is the ‘true’ blockchain.

The post Decentralized Blockchain Or Not: Should It Matter? appeared first on Bizznerd.

This school of thought is supported by data harvesting tools that, more than often employ one of two methods to harvest data in order to formulate a clear picture of blockchain activity. Some use the activity on a peer-to-peer network’s Github profile to measure its popularity, others take a peak under the hood of the blockchain itself, to get a clearer picture of platform use.

Popularity By Github Activity

Using a tool that gathers activity data from Github, StateOfTheDapps.com, it is immediately clear that only a small amount of Ethereum Dapps (Decentralized Applications) are seeing large amounts of user activity. In fact, of the top 50 ranked dapps only 3 were built on the Ethereum network.

EOS and Tron appear to be generating a larger chunk of activity, with EOS leading with 26 Top Dapps. Drawing an interesting parallel to the early days of the internet, the majority of Dapp activity is generated by gambling Dapps. Which possibly suggests that gambling is a key use-case in the battle for mass adoption.

Popularity By Blockchain Activity

When looking directly at blockchain activity, one gets a more detailed view of what is going on, directly from the blockchain. Looking at Blocktivity’s rankings based on actual blockchain activity, the top 5 blockchain platforms seeing the most action are:

• 1. EOS
• 2. Tron
• 3. KIN
• 4. STEEM
• 5. Bitcoin

EOS, despite being faced with controversies centered around security and centralization, experience’s an average of 50,246,158 operations performed on the network per week. Ethereum, the original blockchain platform, currently sits in 7th place with about 717,541 operations per week. The low activity on the Ethereum network likely indicates a drop in developer confidence due to the platform’s scaling problems and transaction capacity.

All Is Not As It Seems

EOS may generate a lot of activity, but according to a report by AI-based blockchain security outfit, AnChain.AI, back in June, 75% of operations executed on the EOS blockchain are generated by bots (computer programs designed to impersonate human activity on a system, often used maliciously, but for trading as well). This suggests that actual activity on the blockchain is significantly lower.
The reasons Tron and EOS outstrip Ethereum in terms of activity is A) because Ethereum’s development language, Solidity, is reportedly difficult to learn, and B) Ethereum’s low transaction throughput. However, while Ethereum’s rival smart contract platforms boast a higher transaction throughput, they achieve this by running nodes, which threaten network security and actual decentralization. Actual transaction throughput numbers have come under dispute in recent months, however.

“When a blockchain project claims ‘We can do 3,500 transactions per second because we have a different algorithm,’ what we really mean is ‘We are a centralized pile of trash because we only have seven nodes running the entire thing,’” – said Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin,

on the matter earlier this year

Conclusion

Blockchain platforms are continuously evolving and are becoming more sophisticated in order to scale up and accommodate a myriad use-cases. Activity will naturally change according to how platforms upgrade their technology, what new entrants offer and how those upgrades benefit dapp developers. App activity gives a better picture than price, of how a blockchain is developing.

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Though this is still in its early stages, the new PoS protocol promises a lighter load on the environment, there has been much criticism arising from its “make the rich even richer” business model.

To elaborate on this, let’s take a look at what it is.

What Is Staking As A Service?

As mentioned before, StaaS platforms are built around PoS protocol. Here, crypto assets are locked up as part of the block validation and verification process. The return for staking your tokens in a network is a percentage of the block reward. One could think of it in the same way as gaining interest on your savings account.

These services are generally offered in two forms, segregated and non-segregated. The former, which is offered by Coinbase, separates client accounts from each other in much the same way as the traditional banking system does. This is clearly designed to make Institutional investors more comfortable, as the system resembles one they are accustomed to.

The latter is a less ridged form of StaaS, which is hyped as the more profitable of the two. As per Jason Stone, founder of staking service firm Battlestar Capital.

“If you deposit your Tezos with a group running a self-bonding strategy, you earn the amalgamated yield of bonding plus delegating, as opposed to allowing the service provider you chose to receive the greater yield from posting bond themselves, leaving you with only the rewards (less a fee) from traditional baking, i.e., choosing a provider to delegate to.”

Possible Benefits

For the market at large, StaaS services offer another way for the much anticipated entry of international Investors. This is widely viewed as the next big step towards mass adoption.

For individual Investors, this creates an interesting and somewhat more involving interaction than simply hodling your cryptocurrency. The environmentally friendly nature of PoS protocol in an added bonus.

Governance Concerns Surrounding StaaS.

This is one of the biggest concerns surrounding the transition. Because voting rights on a PoS network are directly related to how much digital assets a particular party stakes.

Institutions getting their hands in the cryptocurrency and Blockchain sector may have the greatest influence on the direction of a related network’s growth. This, for some, is a direct contradiction of the cryptocurrency revolution’s founding values.

However, one could argue that the situation is exactly the same with most PoW networks. The more money you have, the better the mining equipment you can acquire. Ideally, this would mean better return on investment.

Future Outlook for StaaS

As the migrations to PoS continue in their steady stride, one can assume that Staking as a Service may become a major trend in the cryptocurrency space. For institutional investors and custodian services alike, this could be a very lucrative business model in time to come.

Being that this is a relatively new market, and the much anticipated migration of market leader Ethereum is still in the works. There isn’t much more than possibility to work with. However, there might be on certainty here.

The margin compression phenomenon.

As time goes on and more “stakers” get involved, the related margins should theoretically decrease. This is quite the same, as In PoW. The more individuals there are in a mining pool, the more people there are to split the bounty with.

The post Staking As A Service: What Is It All About? appeared first on Bizznerd.

Here, the focus is on the former. Nations have been at work trying to develop regulatory environments that are fertile and fluid enough to sustain this rapidly growing industry. At the same time working to protect the interests of investors and consumers.

Japan

The Asian island state was one of the foremost states to, though its regulatory structures, officially recognise Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Widely considered the most progressive when it comes to cryptocurrency, the land of the rising sun swiftly positioned itself as an ideal location for crypto start-ups and individual enthusiasts.

As of December 2018, the country saw approximately 190 business entities express an interest in setting up shop there. For individuals, Japan’s tech-savvy disposition led to as many as 260,000 retailers and merchants accepting Bitcoin as far back as 2017, as reported by Nikkei.

Progressive regulatory framework coupled with a very active crypto community makes Japan a true leader in the cryptocurrency and Blockchain sectors.

Luxembourg

The country of a little under 600,000 people had established itself as a financial and business hub a while before the onset of the cryptocurrency revolution. The country’s regulatory and taxation regimes could make it a favourable destination in future.

In Luxembourg, transactions executed in cryptocurrencies are not subject to VAT. Further, the small state’s framework -thus far- regards cryptocurrencies as intangible assets, which do not incur income tax until they are liquidated.

Switzerland

A country that has been friendly towards the new technology for a while now. The country has seen some success in attracting Blockchain start-ups, with a 2018 report stating that the country’s top 50 cryptocurrencies and DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) companies were collectively valued at USD $44 billion at the time.

Generally speaking, Switzerland has an attractive tax environment for business. As far as cryptocurrency is concerned, the country’s tax authorities view digital currencies as assets subject to wealth tax.

Singapore

The tech-savvy city-state has long been an attractive geographic starting point for tech start-ups. For crypto-related start-ups, the ground might have been a little shaky in the early days, however, last October saw the country’s financial regulator announce its readiness to work with crypto start-ups in the form of providing banking services.

Though the country doesn’t match up to Japan in terms of cryptocurrency acceptance just yet, Singapore’s regulatory body has been steadily steering towards that result. Last year, the framework that is to regulate cryptocurrency payment processing businesses was finalised.

Estonia

This country may come as a surprise to some, but Estonia is one country that expressed a speculative desire to launch a national cryptocurrency called Estcoin. The plans were later put on hold after criticism from the EU, however, the country is looking into applications for Estcoin in its e-residency program.

In one of Europe’s least crowded nations, cryptocurrency exchanges are not persecuted. Instead, they must adhere to a well-defined set of rules which include strict KYC and AML compliance. For the sake of consumer protection, an exchange must acquire a Virtual Currency Exchange Licence and a Virtual Currency Wallet Services Licence from the Financial Intelligence Unit of Estonia before it can operate legally.

Conclusion

These are just a few states that have taken a bold leap. So if you are looking for clear regulatory framework for your cryptocurrency/ Blockchain start-up, these country could be a good fit.

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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.

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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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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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