Did you know that you can claim Bitcoin hard forks coin if you owned Bitcoin at the moment of the fork?
Bitcoin, the first and most popular cryptocurrency ever created, has not been free from conflicts within the community. Over the years, many individuals and groups of developers have come up with ideas to make Bitcoin even better.
But most of these suggestions ended up dividing the community. That’s why over 100 Bitcoin hard forks have taken place since Bitcoin’s creation in 2009. Here’re the top BTC hard forks and how to claim them.
On October 31, 2008, a whitepaper was published that described the concept of Bitcoin ━ a trustless peer-to-peer system for digital currency to replace traditional money. The paper was published under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, but the author’s identity remains a mystery to this day. Many believe that the name is a pseudonym of one or a team of developers.
On January 3, 2009, the genesis block (block 0) was mined on the Bitcoin network, and the miner, the unknown Satoshi, was rewarded with 50 bitcoins.
From that point on, Bitcoin (BTC) was mined by other early contributors up to 2010. Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer, made the first commercial transaction using cryptocurrency by purchasing two Papa John’s Pizzas for 10,000 BTC.
Bitcoin has been traded many millions of times since then. The first major transactions were made in black markets. The largest was the Silk Road, an online black marketplace, which traded close to 10 million Bitcoin during its lifetime.
As Bitcoin grew more as a currency on different markets, regulations emerged from many countries. For instance, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) made the news headlines when they adopted these three separate actions and issued new regulations regarding cryptocurrencies.
The price of Bitcoin fell by half after each of these events. However, it always found a way to rise again to new astonishing values. This is because many countries and institutions allow cryptocurrency use. Also, as of September 7, 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
Another aspect of what makes Bitcoin increase in price is the maximum supply. There can only be 21 million BTC. As more investors join the cryptocurrency market, the coin experiences scarcity and the Bitcoin (BTC) price surges as with any supply and demand market.
Additionally, Bitcoin is more transferable and divisible than gold or another material asset and can be stored more easily. It will cost you a lot to transport gold, as well as the cost of storage in secure facilities. However, investors can store Bitcoin on a USB stick, also known as a cold wallet or hardware wallet.
As Bitcoin gained more popularity, it inspired other developers to create other blockchain platforms, and subsequently, some created Bitcoin hard forks.
Many of the cryptocurrencies that exist today use part of Satoshi’s technology. However, many others adapted the Bitcoin blockchain model or tried to improve it.
As more users joined the blockchain, it became increasingly difficult to update the network as no single person or group could decide on unanimous future development.
To modify the Bitcoin blockchain, all miners must agree on the new rules and what constitutes a valid block on the chain. To change the rules, you must “fork” it to change to indicate that something has changed from the original protocol. These situations are called Bitcoin forking.
Usually, forks are used to add new features or change some blockchain parameters. The forking process results in the blockchain being divided into two distinct blockchains after a certain point in time. Although there have been many forks since the inception of Bitcoin, only a few are viable projects.
Crypto forks can be either soft or hard forks. The main difference is that soft forks are not a fork that results in a new currency and new branches of the blockchain. Soft forks slightly modify the Bitcoin protocol, but the core Bitcoin blockchain remains the same. Soft forks are backwards compatible, which means that the upgraded chain can successfully share and use data from earlier network versions.
However, during a hard fork, the programming code of the Bitcoin blockchain and its mining processes are upgraded. Once a user has updated their software, it rejects transactions from any older version, creating a new branch to the blockchain. Users who keep the older software can still process transactions. This means that transactions are being processed on two separate chains, and two different currencies result from the hard fork.
This is how various digital currencies, similar names to Bitcoin, have been created. These include Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold.
While not many investors know, anyone who owns Bitcoin, during a hard fork, is entitled to the new cryptocurrency. That’s why some consider that there’s an obvious financial incentive to fork Bitcoin’s blockchain and made some investors sceptical of the necessity of these forks.
Since it can be confusing for casual investors to distinguish between these cryptocurrencies, we’ll be going through the top Bitcoin hard forks.
Bitcoin has over 100 forks, but not all projects were further developed, and only a few remain functional today. You can find the complete list of Bitcoin forks on forkdrop.io. We’ll mention the most noteworthy Bitcoin forks here.
Bitcoin XT fork took place on December 27, 2014.
Bitcoin XT is the first known Bitcoin hard fork. Mike Hearn incorporated some of his ideas into the Bitcoin blockchain and launched Bitcoin XT in late 2014. It is said that Hearn is one of the few to have contacted Satoshi Nakamoto via email.
Bitcoin XT was designed to allow 24 transactions per second. The previous version of Bitcoin could only handle seven transactions per second. It proposed to increase the block size from 1 megabyte to 8 megabytes.
Initially, Bitcoin XT was a success. In 2015, it had more than 1,000 nodes running the software. But, just a few short months later, investors lost interest, and the project was abandoned. Bitcoin XT has been removed from the internet, and its website is not functional anymore.
Bitcoin Classic fork took place in early 2016.
Jonathan Toomim launched Bitcoin Classic in early 2016 as some community members wanted to see block sizes increase after Bitcoin XT’s decline.
Bitcoin Classic, like Bitcoin XT, saw a lot of initial interest. In 2016, there were approximately 2,000 nodes in use. The Bitcoin Classic (BXC) fork proposed a smaller block size of 2 MB.
The BXC coin still exists, but it seems that the community has moved on. The website is no longer live.
Bitcoin Unlimited (BU) fork took place on March 11, 2016.
Bitcoin Unlimited has remained a mystery since its initial release in 2016.
Bitcoin Unlimited is unique because it allows miners to choose the size of their blocks. Nodes and miners can limit the number of blocks they accept up to 16 megabytes. The community behind Bitcoin Unlimited believes in market-driven decision making, emergent consensus, and giving their users choices.
Despite some initial interest, Bitcoin Unlimited has not been widely accepted. Only a few nodes are still online.
Bitcoin Cash fork took place on August 1st 2017 (BTC block 478,558).
Pieter Wuille, a Bitcoin Core developer, presented the idea for Segregated Witness (SegWit) in late 2015. SegWit is a project that aims to decrease the size of Bitcoin transactions, thus allowing for more transactions to occur simultaneously. Technically, SegWit is a soft fork.
In response to SegWit, some Bitcoin developers and users decided to initiate a hard fork to avoid the protocol updates it brought about. Bitcoin Cash was the result of this hard fork. It split off from the main blockchain in August 2017, when Bitcoin Cash wallets rejected Bitcoin transactions and blocks.
Bitcoin Cash allows blocks of eight megabytes and does not accept the SegWit protocol.
Bitcoin Cash remains the most successful Bitcoin hard fork, and it is backed by many in the cryptocurrency community. BCH can be traded on popular exchanges (Binance, Coinbase, Huobi, Gate.io).
BitCore (BTX) fork took place on April 24, 2017.
BitCore is an unspent transaction output (UTXO) fork of Bitcoin, and it was launched in 2017. BitCore used Bitcoin’s source code to create a new blockchain but updated the core to make the blockchain size smaller (which makes the network easier to scale). BitCore uses the MEGABTX consensus algorithm, which is ASIC-resistant.
Because anyone can become a BitCore miner, it is impossible to centralise mining power. BitCore also has a 10 MB Segwit-enabled block that allows it to handle 17.6 billion transactions per annum or 48 million transactions per hour.
The entire crypto community can mine BTX using PoW and Masternodes.
Bitcoin Gold fork took place on October 23rd 2017 (BTC block 491,407).
Bitcoin Gold is a hard fork that occurred shortly after Bitcoin Cash. The creators implemented this hard fork to restore mining functionality using basic graphics processing unit (GPU) because they felt mining had become too specialised.
The Bitcoin Gold hard fork featured a pre-mining of the Bitcoin Gold crypto. Pre-mining is when the development team creates the coin from the start. In this case, the Bitcoin Gold developers pre-mined 100,000 BTG. Developers said that these pre-mined coins will be used to grow the Bitcoin Gold ecosystem and pay developers.
Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) fork took place on November 24, 2017 (BTC block 495.966).
Bitcoin Diamond is a fork of the original Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin Diamond was created only two weeks after the Bitcoin Gold fork.
The BCD’s code allows for 100 transactions per second, increasing the block size to 8 megabytes, thus making it more efficient than Bitcoin. While this is an improvement, considering Bitcoin’s seven transactions per second, other cryptocurrencies have much greater transaction throughput, and that’s why some consider Bitcoin Diamond obsolete.
However, the first major Bitcoin hard fork, Bitcoin Cash, can process 116 transactions per second through its increased block size. Although these cryptocurrencies may not be the same, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Diamond are very similar. Some investors wonder if Bitcoin Diamond was a necessary hard fork.
Bitcoin SV hard fork took place on November 15th 2018 (BCH block 556,766). It is a fork from the Bitcoin Cash blockchain.
Bitcoin SV‘s goal is to realise the original vision and design of Bitcoin as described in Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper.
BSV is designed to provide stability and scalability while keeping Bitcoin a peer-to-peer electronic money system. It also aims to become a distributed data network that can support enterprise-level advanced blockchain applications.
It has also removed artificial block sizes limits, re-enabled script commands, and other technical capabilities that had been previously disabled or restricted by protocol developers on the BTC blockchain. The network can process thousands of transactions per second while keeping transaction fees low for micropayments. It also offers advanced capabilities like tokens, smart contracts and other use cases.
The block size of Bitcoin SV can go up to 2Gb and can process over 10,000 transactions per second. BSV reached over 50.000 TPS on the testnet.
BSV is unmatched in its ability to scale on-chain without any restrictions while being closer to the original Bitcoin design than any other blockchain.
Bitcoin Cash ABC fork took place on November 15, 2020 (BCH block 661648).
Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHA) is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2020 as a result of a hard fork within the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. This split the original chain into two new ones called “Bitcoin Cash ABC” and “Bitcoin Cash Node.”
Amaury Sechet is the leader of the Bitcoin Cash ABC developers. They proposed an update to the Bitcoin Cash network. This update included a controversial new “Coinbase Rule,” requiring 8% of all mined Bitcoin Cash to be distributed to BCH ABC to finance protocol development.
Another group, Bitcoin Cash Node from the Bitcoin Cash community, opposed the upgrade. They removed the so-called “miner tax” from their source code.
In July 2021, Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHA) was rebranded as eCash (XEC). With this relaunch, the team also announced their plans to integrate the proof-of-stake consensus layer Avalanche, which introduces great improvements to the network.
Three main improvements are:
The eCash (XEC) rebrand also decreases the coin’s decimal from eight to only two.
You should also bear in mind that some Bitcoin forks were created as a scam. Bitcoin Platinum, for instance, was created to lower Bitcoin’s value. Other scams, such as the fake Bitcoin Gold wallet, were created to steal your real funds. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your crypto funds safe and don’t trust everyone you talk to over the internet.
At the same time, you should be aware that some developers just want to make quick money. While some Bitcoin forks seem to be similar, the primary reason for their creation is more marketing buzz. Many developers are looking for free coins, and Bitcoin forks have become the new ICOs. The team creates the fork only to sell the coins on crypto exchanges as soon as it starts trading.
To reduce your chances of losing any Bitcoin, you have to move your Bitcoin to a new wallet before claiming any coins.
Before attempting to claim any Bitcoin fork coins, you should research the new project and the team of developers behind it to establish its legitimacy. They should also provide a clear and accurate roadmap for the project they want to build.
For instance, a Bitcoin fork coin should implement replay protection, to allow the new network to separate from its original.
Depending on the specific Bitcoin fork, you might need to perform certain risk actions such as exposing your Bitcoin wallet private keys, installing specific software or validating your identity on centralised crypto exchanges.
One of the easiest ways to claim Bitcoin fork coins is to use wallets that support them. Note that most wallets don’t support many of the Bitcoin forks simply because the process requires complicated technical developments, which is not feasible for most wallets. This is because most of the Bitcoin forks don’t have a great market value and lack a development team and community.
Before attempting to claim any Bitcoin fork coins, you should go through these simple (but effective against theft) steps.
For all Bitcoin fork claims and any forks in general, users need to provide the wallet’s private keys in which the Bitcoin was held at the time of the Bitcoin fork. You should never share the keys of an active wallet.
That’s why, for safety reasons, moving the crypto funds to a different crypto wallet should be performed first before revealing the private keys to any third party. By doing this, you eliminate any possibility of having your Bitcoin stolen.
If you still have a Legacy Bitcoin wallet with addresses beginning with 1, claiming these forks can be a great motivation to move your coins to a SegWit account. This will lower your transaction fees and allow you to use Lightning Network.
Firstly, you will need to export your private key from the wallet that was used to hold the Bitcoin funds at the time of the fork. Most wallets are able to export a file containing all the addresses and private keys. However, hardware wallets don’t allow private keys export, and for such cases, you need to enter the seed phrase into specific claiming software.
Using the seed phrase, you can also use open-source tools such as BIT39 to find a wallet’s pirate keys.
You can import only private keys that have funds to save time.
Using your Bitcoin wallet address, you can check if your address is entitled to a Bitcoin fork claim on Findmycoins.ninja.
You should save all the claimable wallets’ addresses and private key combinations.
All valid addresses and private key combinations should be recorded in a spreadsheet or text file that allows you to copy, paste, or replace text. The recording format should include a private key followed by the address.
Each entry should be numbered and the amount of Bitcoin they contain at the time of the first fork. It will be helpful to number each key pair for ordering purposes. It may be useful to note the sizes. You can, for example, use the address with the smaller amount to test the process.
There are several secure crypto wallets that can help you claim some of the most popular Bitcoin forks, such as:
While the BitPie and Bither wallets are the most common solution you can find on the web these days to claim your Bitcoin forks, the wallets do not support BTC fork claiming anymore. We tried this option without any success.
Firstly, make sure you have the latest version of Coinomi on your mobile device. Afterwards, create a new wallet, and make sure to write down its seed phrase to recover your funds later, in case something happens to the mobile device. You will also be asked to set up a password for this specific wallet and device.
Before claiming the Bitcoin forks in the Coinomi wallet, you need to select the specific coins as balances in your Coinomi wallet.
Click on the bottom-right plus sign and select Add coins. Select the Bitcoin forks you will be adding (e.g. Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), BitcoinSV (BSV)).
Select the coin you want to claim the Bitcoin fork for, and within that specific wallet, click on the top menu > Sweep wallet.
You will have to paste or scan the wallet’s private key that had the Bitcoin at the time of the fork.
After you get all the transaction details (The amount of Bitcoin fork coins you will receive, the value in USD, the transaction fee), review all the details and tap Confirm.
You will then see the updated balance for the Bitcoin fork coins.
Repeat this step for every address with a balance of the forked coin.
More advanced crypto users that do not want to rely on a specific Bitcoin wallet, can use Ymgve’s script to claim the most Bitcoin forks. This method will require some technical knowledge on the user’s side because you will need to run a Phyton script.
The Ymgve is open-source. It is available on GitHub, along with all the information about how to use the script. Ymgve supports standard P2PKH and Segwit P2SH-P2WPKH addresses.
Using the Ymgve fork claimer script is recommended if you want to claim most forks, although it’s riskier and mistyping any of the commands can result in a loss of funds.
By the end of 2021, there have been over 100 Bitcoin hard forks, and investors expect to see more soft and hard forks in the years to come. However, out of all the hard forks to date, only a few are still operational.
Long time investors are entitled to claim all of these Bitcoin hard forks. Luckily there are ways to do so, using the wallets described in this article. However, as of the beginning of 2022, no Bitcoin fork has raised more in popularity than the original Bitcoin.
What is a metaverse NFT? The metaverse has been one of the most awaited online experiences. Now it is now available for users from all around the world through a simple internet connection.
Here’s what the metaverse brings and how the metaverse NFT tokens can be used.
The metaverse is an immersive virtual world, where users have their own avatar and can interact with each other, share experiences and create places and objects similar to real life. A metaverse is likely to build a completely new ecosystem, a massive-multiplayer online game if you will, with an incorporated economy, that enables users to buy and sell items.
In 1992, the SF novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson was the first published piece to mention the term “metaverse”. In the book, humans could interact with software within a 3D space similar to the real world.
However, the idea of the metaverse exists since the late 1970s. That’s when the internet pioneers talked about the internet as a place to create a bridge between the real and the digital world.
The Metaverse and Metaverse NFTs are taking over all industries, including crypto, gaming and social media. It has become one of the most used words in 2021, as more platforms are developing and integrating a metaverse experience for their users.
When Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook will be rebranding and will be called Meta, he described a virtual world that will enhance and step up our online experiences.
The metaverse can be experienced through a computer, smartphone or a virtual reality (VR) headset.
Since the metaverse requires a safe and transparent technology to incorporate all aspects of a virtual world, including a financial environment, the rise of crypto metaverses has started. A metaverse app can be built on top of a programmable blockchain that supports smart contracts, such as Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Harmony and others.
A crypto metaverse is all around the economy within the virtual space, which will rely on metaverse NFTs and tokens.
How are crypto metaverse app different from traditional online multiplayer games?
Firstly, the core component of the crypto metaverse apps and NFTs are :
Several crypto metaverse protocols have been already launched in 2021 and more are announced to be released in the near future.
The most popular crypto metaverses apps and are:
The blockchain network of a crypto metaverse game is one of the most important aspects of the experience, since a congested and hard to scale network may lead to high network fees for transactions and slow speed to confirm and register transactions.
A metaverse non-fungible token (NFT) enables internet users and metaverse participants to truly own the digital assets purchased within the metaverse.
By owning a metaverse NFT token, the user gets to own a part of the internet and has complete control over it, to trade it, store it and use it.
A metaverse NFT can by any crypto asset in the metaverse, such as digital objects or land. The ownership of the metaverse NFT is recorded on the blockchain network of that specific metaverse and represents a real value on the decentralised finance (DeFi) market.
Metaverse NFTs can be traded for digital assets, such as bitcoin (BTC) or ethereum (ETH) on supported NFT marketplaces and decentralised exchanges (DEXs).
With the great surge in the interest in NFTs and other crypto tokens for the past years, Metaverse NFTs are a great investment opportunity. However, it’s important to check the scarcity of the metaverse NFT that you want to purchase, as well as the brand and community behind it before you make your investment.
To buy a metaverse NFT you will first need to decide on which metaverse you want to start your digital experience. Some of the most popular crypto metaverses that support NFTs are Decentraland, Star Atlas and Alien Worlds.
Metaverse NFTs are traded using a cryptocurrency wallet, such as MetaMask and other wallets supported by WalletConnect.
After you connect your wallet, you will be able to access and experience the metaverse. Users can interact with each other and set a custom avatar for the metaverse.
Metaverses have incorporated NFT marketplaces, where you can buy or sell NFTs, using the crypto metaverse native token. To buy an NFT, you will need to hold the required sum in the wallet you used to connect the metaverse.
Obviously, users can enjoy the metaverse for free, and there’s no requirement to buy a metaverse NFT.
Now that you know how the metaverse works and how to access the metaverse NFT tokens, we hope you will enjoy this new era of the internet.
What is the best way to earn free cryptocurrency and free NFTs? We’ve all heard of airdrops and signup bonuses, as a way to earn cryptocurrency, but none of these methods gives you a significant amount of crypto to actually do something with it.
After some in-depth research of the current ways to earn free crypto, we can recommend a platform that doesn’t require any initial investment.
How to earn free cryptocurrency and free NFTs? Continue reading to discover how you, too, can make a monthly income from crypto and start earning.
Giving away free crypto as a reward for performing an action has been one of the main drivers for adoption at the beginning of the crypto era.
Some of these methods are still used today, and anyone can use them to get free crypto. What are the old strategies you can still use to earn crypto and bitcoin rewards?
Just like traditional giveaways, crypto companies will sometimes organise a giveaway for their users to create awareness around their coin.
Most of these crypto giveaways will have specific rules to follow that may differ from one giveaway to another and in return, participants may earn cryptocurrency.
An example would be when an exchange when it lists a new coin on its platform.
That’s when they need more users and publicity to spike up the volume. By organising a giveaway, they ask users to share the news on social media, follow them on their socials, and sign up for a new account.
The prizes are incredibly enticing for new crypto enthusiasts, but the competition is also high.
Beware of the many giveaway scams on social media. Most of these scams require participants to send a specific amount of crypto to a given address. Don’t do it. You’ll lose your crypto.
Usually, new cryptocurrency projects perform airdrops.
They give their cryptocurrency to new users in exchange for a small task, such as a share on social media.
Airdrops allow people to obtain free crypto and to become investors while the company gets free publicity and creates awareness around its product. Airdrops may also help users start learning about crypto and their project.
Platforms such as Coinbase and eToro are offering signup bonuses in crypto for new users.
The bonus is often received after a specific condition has been fulfilled, such as taking a quiz about a new cryptocurrency or deposing a specific amount of cash in your exchange wallet.
Note that some platforms ask for ID verification, and then they report back to the fiscal entities.
Stacking is a way to support the security and operations of a blockchain by locking your funds in for some time and receiving rewards for it. Staking is one of the safest ways to generate a passive income from your crypto funds. It is much safer than crypto trading, although the rewards may be smaller.
Some platforms allow users to stack crypto directly from their crypto wallets, such as Trust Wallet. Exchanges also offer the option to stake your tokens by keeping the coins in the exchange wallet. PancakeSwap is famous for this practice.
Users who participate in staking contribute to the consensus mechanism of the blockchain by facilitating the Proof of Stake (PoS).
Unlike the Proof of Work used by Bitcoin’s blockchain, the PoS algorithm randomly chooses one of the staking participants to validate the next block.
Earning free crypto is awesome, but you need to signup to many different platforms to collect all the small bonuses.
What all of the ways mentioned above to get free cryptocurrency have in common is that you only get the bonus once, and after that, you need to trade or perform other actions that require you to spend money.
In this case, what’s the best way to get free cryptocurrency for an indefinite time?
We found a platform that rewards users with free cryptocurrency for staying active, and it doesn’t require you to spend any money.
It’s a fantasy football game on blockchain called FootballCoin.
Yes, you will need to know a thing or two about football, but you might get lucky anyway.
The win the game’s cryptocurrency, XFC, you need to create a valuable football squad.
Unlike real life, fantasy football gets really fun when choosing the lucky combination of 11 players.
The players from real football games all have collectable football cards in the game. According to their real-life performance, they get a score in the fantasy football game.
In FootballCoin, more points equal a higher chance of winning XFC prizes in the daily fantasy football contests.
That’s why you need to be intentional when choosing your team in fantasy football. The better the players play in real life, the better for your fantasy football team.
FootballCoin organises daily contests for the main European football leagues and tournaments. It also features the North American MLS league and the Chinese league CSL.
Contests in FootballCoin reflect the games played in real life.
FootballCoin players are called managers. The managers can choose the football players in their fantasy football team based on those playing in real life, in those particular football games.
The contests are free to join and have substantial prices in the game’s cryptocurrency, XFC.
The game’s mechanics also allow users to create their own contests, for which they can charge a participation fee. These are called private contests and are fun to play within a group of friends passionate about football.
One of the best ways to earn bitcoin and free cryptocurrency is by joining a free blockchain game. What sets apart FootballCoin from other blockchain games is the free-to-play feature.
It’s free to set up an account. And it is free to play. There are free daily contests that anyone can join to win real crypto.
The free daily contests in FootballCoin are tournaments. There are two kinds of tournaments. The Double Up tournaments reward the first half of the ranking managers. The Top 30% tournaments reward the top 30% of managers.
After a contest is finished and all, the rankings are calculated according to the scoring system. The players from the contest are rewarded automatically with XFC, depending on their rank in the contest.
The free cryptocurrency is deposited automatically in your FootballCoin wallet, and you are free to use it however you want.
You can choose to invest in the game, get more NFT digital assets in the game, or you can simply send it to one of the crypto exchanges that accept XFC and trade it.
By now, most crypto enthusiasts have been talking about and investing in non-fungible tokens and some big names in the industry have talked about acquiring NFT collections.
It’s important to note that FootballCoin supports non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In fact, its market for football player cards is actually an NFT marketplace.
NFT marketplaces are where the cards can be traded. In the FootballCoin market, the game’s users are able to freely buy, sell and lease non-fungible tokens and grow their NFT collections.
Furthermore, the player card tokens can be easily exchanged for another card, for a small fee. In this way, the game guarantees that users will always have cards that can be used in the game.
Assuming you start right now playing FootballCoin with a new account, you will get free crypto if you join the free daily contests. According to your real football knowledge, you will be able to create better fantasy football teams for free.
These teams that perform well will allow you to get the game’s crypto, XFC. You can later use that crypto to buy the game’s NFTs.
In FootballCoin, there are two different kinds of NFTs.
You can get football player NFT cards, which are usually for more famous players, such as Christiano Ronaldo. Having these cards will eventually help you rank better in the tournaments and earn even more XFC.
The other kind of NFT is the stadium card. These can be used to create your private contest, and you can earn a passive income from the fees that managers pay to join your contest.
By definition, NFTs come in limited supply and are often called collectable cards in the game.
While NFTs are a good way to store value and generate more income in FootballCoin, they are not required to play. However, it’s nice to know that you can buy them if you perform well in the free contests without investing your money.
FootballCoin doesn’t require any investment to play or to win in the game.
Unlike the famous mobile games that are pay-to-win, which sell worthless assets, in FootballCoin, you own everything you collect and win.
The game has many different assets that might help you advance and earn even more crypto, but no investment is required.
Most players start with nothing, and after a few months, are able to trade or sell their assets for a profit.
It’s important to point out that regular players get a monthly income from the game without an initial investment.
Manchester City Football Club will launch a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to honor their victory in the English Premier League.
🔥 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 #𝗡𝗙𝗧 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴! 🔥#ManCity x @JonNoorlander collab series – 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟰 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟴𝗽𝗺 𝗕𝗦𝗧
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 19, 2021
An exclusive collection to mark our @PremierLeague title win! 🏆
Preview on @makersplaceco: https://t.co/avs0QxODBL
NFTs will appear on the MakersPlace platform on May 24 – the day after the trophy is presented to the team. Part of the proceeds from the sale of non-fungible tokens by Manchester City will go to charity.
The collection, designed in collaboration with artist John Nordlander, contains four works. One of them – The Champions Medal – can be received by the club’s fans for free by taking part in the drawing.
NFT’s gain more and more popularity among Football fans.
From the popular FootballCoin game where you can Collect, Trade or Lease Player cards from all major leagues to the NFT release from Brazilian footballer Pele that took place in May on the Ethernity Chain platform.
In June, Bayern Munich player Alfonso Davies will present a collection of non-interchangeable tokens on the Binance platform.
Ark Investment CEO Catherine Wood expects Bitcoin to rise to $ 500,000 despite the latest price swings this week.
Catherine Wood has once again expressed her opinion about bitcoin. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, the founder of Ark Investment Management said that bitcoin is now “sold out”, and even during yesterday’s fall, the cryptocurrency may not have reached a minimum yet.
She describes the current market as emotional and says the bottom is difficult to predict. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has almost completely won back yesterday’s losses.
During the interview, Wood expressed her opinion on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s comments on the environmental issues posed by bitcoin miners. The use of solar energy in the mining industry is about to skyrocket, she said.
In a research collaboration with $SQ, @yassineARK, @wintonARK, and @skorusARK debunk the myth that #Bitcoin mining is damaging the environment. Instead, as crypto mining, energy storage, and AI technologies converge, the adoption of renewable energy is likely to accelerate! https://t.co/EmMy1jXGlL
— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) April 22, 2021
Wood also noted that prospects for Bitcoin ETF approvals in the US this year have been boosted by the recent fall in prices.
“Now that we’ve gone through this correction, the odds are better,” she said.
Last month, Catherine Wood said that Bitcoin could become the new gold standard as it can increase purchasing power. She also believes that bitcoin will continue to grow and the first trillion in cryptocurrency capitalization is just the first step.
Earlier, Catherine Wood also warned BTC holders in the United States against converting crypto assets into fiat currency pending tax changes.
The entire world is pushed to the edge of their nerves as a global pandemic and civil wars are knocking on its door. What has happened in the Crypto world in February 2020?
A Lawmaker from New Jersey wants to create a crypto license for crypto exchanges. The Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act was introduced by Yvonne Lopez, whose proposal is to provide licences to any service of digital asset trading, storage, purchase, sales, exchange or issuing services. If the bill passes, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance would be responsible with the licences and regulating businesses.
When traditional investors think about Bitcoin, they mostly think about its price volatility.
The volatility is determined by measuring the past prices and is typically measured for a 30-day period, calculating the standard deviation of daily price variations. But volatility only measures the price deviation and not its direction.
The price of oil has been more volatile than the price of Bitcoin.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price’s volatility stood at 105.3% on Feb. 10. The oil price’s volatility hit a 4-month high of 119.6% at the end of January.
Bitcoin’s historical volatility recently dropped to 42.3%, the lowest level since September.
Ripple has paid over $11 million in the past half year to MoneyGram, as a continuation of their partnership. MoneyGram is the first money transfer company which scales the blockchain capabilities usage.
“The Company is compensated by Ripple for developing and bringing liquidity to foreign exchange markets, facilitated by Ripple’s blockchain, and providing a reliable level of foreign exchange trading activity. The Company expects that this partnership, at scale, will reduce our working capital needs and generate additional earnings and cash flows,”
Ripple is closely tied to MoneyGram and own 10% of their stocks.
Revolut is a London-based bank and it has raised over $500 million in a Series D funding round.
Revolut offers the option to purchase cryptocurrency to its users and it is valued at over $5.5 billion. Revolut aims to challenge the traditional bank systems, by minimizing the prices on the provides services.
Revolut has raised a total of $836 million in its funding rounds.
The Tax authority of New Zealand is considering a change in the crypto space, that would eliminate the current goods and service tax.
The current regulation considers digital currencies as a form of property and it is liable for a 15% tax when the currency is traded. The double taxation issues arise when the income tax is applied.
The New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD) suggests eliminating the property tax for cryptocurrencies and keeping the income tax for these assets.
In a policy issues paper made public on Monday, the IRD states:
“Because of their innovative nature, [cryptocurrencies] will often also have different features to … other investment products. This means that some existing tax rules can be difficult to apply, involve very high compliance costs or may provide policy outcomes for some crypto-assets that lead to over-taxation compared to other alternative investment products.”
An IT employee of the Judicial Administration in Ukraine has been charged with illegally mining cryptocurrency at his workplace.
The employee was working in the data system division of the court administrative department and was taking advantage of the equipment and internet bandwidth from his office to mine cryptocurrency from January to May 2018. He has also used servers from his workplace to host external websites.
If he will be found guilty, he faces up to six years in prison and he will not be allowed to work in any governmental agencies.
Yemen is in a state of civil war and is has the biggest humanitarian crisis on its hands. With half of the country being controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group, which have their own crypto, locals are wary of being associated with them and with cryptocurrency.
So far, it appears using bitcoin (BTC) in a war zone may be riskier than cash, especially when illicit actors use cryptocurrency as well as civilians.
The ongoing civil war in Yemen highlights the contradictions underlying bitcoin adoption: It’s difficult for civilians to acquire cryptocurrency without heavily regulated infrastructure that makes them vulnerable to coercion and surveillance. Such is the case in Yemen, where the Iran-backed Houthi militia controls the northern half of the country and a failing government controls the central bank in the south.
For most people in Yemen, purchasing bitcoin is nearly impossible. Most international companies avoid doing business in Yemen due to concerns over U.S. sanctions, which aren’t comprehensive like the sanctions against Iran but nonetheless raise compliance questions.
Plus, peer-to-peer markets are hampered by both cash shortages and a lack of reliable communications infrastructure. Yemeni-American researcher Ibraham Qatabi at the Center for Constitutional Rights said telecom and electricity companies are owned by governments, both foreign and domestic, depending on the region. There’s no need for a warrant if Big Brother already owns the pipes. Plus, Qatabi said, most international money transfers are monitored by local authorities.
“Everything is monitored. They have everyone’s information,” Qatabi said. “If they want to go after somebody, they’ll have access to those files.”
Hamza Alshargabi, a doctor who worked in Yemen until 2012 and briefly mined ether (ETH) after he immigrated to the U.S., agreed it’s “almost impossible” to get a safe and reliable internet or phone connection in most of Yemen. He said in big cities connectivity is “so expensive that it’s unusable,” so he can’t imagine his sister using bitcoin in Yemen.
As such, some Yemeni civilians and expats are scared to be associated with cryptocurrency, including bitcoin. If protests last year in Iran and Lebanon offered a peek at bitcoin’s limitations, then Yemen is the full picture of bitcoin usage still relying on government infrastructure.
The increasing fear of new pandemic is showing the financial markets as stock prices go down. Indexes are going down form the beginning of 2020. Bitcoin’s price has taken a hit and it is trading below $8,000.
One strategy some traders are contemplating to prepare for COVID-19 is not holding volatile cryptocurrency assets unless absolutely needed. That’s what Althena’s OTC desk is doing. “We manage inventory very tight and run a matched book, so the coronavirus hasn’t been a factor,” said Althena’s Leon.
Bitcoin transactions are over 500 million as of the beginning of February 2020. The number of transactions doubled in 3 years, from 250 million in 2017 to 500 million in 2020.
The Bitcoin network went live on January 3, 2009. Eleven years later, in 2020, the network processes over 500 million transactions.
Since 2017, Satoshi.info, named after the pseudonym of the presumable creator of Bitcoin, started tracking and recording the number of transactions on the Bitcoin network.
The data on Satoshi shows a constant increase in the Bitcoin transactions, year after year. In only 3 years, the volume of Bitcoin transactions has doubled and considering the same growth rate, Bitcoin transactions can exceed 1 billion transactions.
How did the community react to the 500 million milestone?
Today, as of block 00000000000000000001145bf2e7cb7f04df55feaf3b55d9f6511522bbbf333f at height 616064, Bitcoin surpassed 500 million transactions confirmed on the blockchain. https://t.co/eVLbYnHohj
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 5, 2020
500 million transactions confirmed on the Bitcoin blockchain.
— hodlonaut🌮⚡🔑 (@hodlonaut) February 5, 2020
Bitcoin isn't talking about this. Or about how revolutionary and unprecedented its traits of censorship resistance and immutability are.
Bitcoin just is. And does.
One block at a time.
500.000.000 transactions processed on the #Bitcoin Network
— ◼️➖◻️➖🔳 (@themazuma) February 5, 2020
📲Sender of bitcoin
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📲Receiver of bitcoin pic.twitter.com/9qmIteOiCH
Now, on to the next 500 million.
IT’S FAIR ENOUGH TO SAY THIS USES CRYPTOCURRENCY TECHNOLOGY
This is sort of a controversial matter. There is also a public ledger, though only some individuals are permitted to mine the coin. It is said that Libra is limited in how the blockchain functions.
Bitcoin is a permissionless system. In order to participate in it, you have to provide proof of work in a competition of solving a complex puzzle, and this will let you add a block to the chain. So, basically, anybody can participate. This is only one of the most important thoughts behind Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 newspaper: bitcoin demands consensus, not trust.
The Libra cryptocurrency, in contrast, is permissioned, meaning just a few trusted entities may keep tabs on the ledger. That makes it like electronic money as opposed to a cryptocurrency.
On the flip side, Libra is delegated to pseudonymous “wallets,”, Transfers are done through public key operations.
Nicholas Weaver, a researcher at the International Computer Science Institute stated that the permissioned model implies less computing power is necessary. Bitcoin wastes a whole lot of energy, preventing so-called Sybil attacks where an attacker fills the system with computers that the attacker handles and wreaks havoc.
The conclusion is that there’s not just one definition of “cryptocurrency,”. We shall call Libra a cryptocurrency so that everyone knows what we are talking about, but it does come with some special characteristics.
Basically, Facebook would like to make it easy to move cash around the world since it is to send a text message.
The Business published a White Paper to describe the details. It will not observe the cryptocurrency as an effort to substitute the present financial system, as is Bitcoin’s goal. Instead, it is meant to expand an electronic payment system to under-served populations which don’t now have easy access to conventional financial institutions.
Worldwide, nearly two billion adults”stay beyond their fiscal system with no entry to a conventional lender, although one billion possess a cell phone and almost half a billion have net access,” reads the newspaper.
In the U.S., where buyers have access to a wealth of payment choices, the FDIC quotes that over 8 million families are unbanked.
“For big chunks of the Earth, Libra will be about using a superior kind of payment and wealth preservation,” states Colas. Agents from Libra didn’t respond to CNBC Make It is petition for comment.
Facebook’s strategy to run its digital money presents dangers to the global banking system which should activate a fast response from international policymakers, according to the organisation which represents the world’s central banks.
Even though the transfer of major tech companies like Facebook, Amazon and even Alibaba into monetary services could accelerate transactions and reduce costs, particularly in developing world nations, it may also endanger the stability of a banking system which has just recovered from the wreck of 2008.
Echoing warnings from several technology experts, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) stated that while there were potential benefits to be made, the digital currencies’ adoption beyond the existing financial system could decrease competition and make data privacy problems.
“The aim should be to respond to big techs’ entry into financial services so as to benefit from the gains while limiting the risks,” said Hyun Song Shin, economic advisor and head of research at BIS.
Libra is going to be handled by a Swiss-based nonprofit. Contrary to other cryptocurrencies, Libra is going to be endorsed by”actual” government-backed resources from central banks to provide it stability.
Facebook states Libra is going to be made accessible to Messenger and WhatsApp users, that will cash in their regional currency to purchase Libra. The money is going to be held at an electronic wallet named Calibra (more on this below) and may be spent on goods and services at participating merchants, exactly as with any other money.
To withdraw money, users will have the ability to convert their electronic money into legal tender according to a market rate. It will not be so equivalent to if you swap U.S. dollars for euros through a European holiday, for instance.
Presently, Libra isn’t”pegged” into one currency. However, this will allegedly make it less volatile compared to other cryptos.
For all those concerned about safety, Libra obligations won’t be linked to an individual’s Facebook information and will not be utilized for ad targeting.
The white paper includes some detail about Libra’s design. Nonetheless, there’s very little debate about why people do not have a bank account.
In accordance with that the World Bank data Facebook is mentioning, nearly two-thirds of men and women who do not have bank accounts state it is because they do not have sufficient cash to start one. A third of individuals who do not have bank accounts stated they do not need one. Libra doesn’t fix these issues.
Libra simplifies just the popular reasons people do not have a bank account. Approximately a quarter of respondents said banks’ large and unexpected prices were part of why they did not have balances; the lack of proximity to a bank is a barrier for another 20%.
To utilize Libra, you need to purchase Libra.
Problem is, individuals who don’t use banks don’t have bank accounts and do not have credit cards. They use cash.
The Libra’s whitepaper doesn’t mention anything about how Libra will reduce prices to convert fiat money into Libra currency, which will be a challenge for any user of Libra.
In terms of mobile banking, other challenges arise. For instance, in Nigeria, individuals prefer cash money because they worry that if their mobiles are stolen, their money is gone, also. This is an issue of societal norms, not technology. This, also, isn’t a problem you can resolve through technology. You can find several other, more mundane issues as soon as it comes to mobile banking also, such as the price of getting inactive clients.
Libra doesn’t make it clear why a mobile payments agency such as the one Facebook is suggesting requires cryptocurrency in any way. It feels like a non-starter in lots of the markets in which mobile payments may be needed. And Libra does not cover the principal problem that the documentation says it is.
Concluding from the documentation, Libra is not intended for individuals without a bank account; it is meant for men and women that have cash. Facebook is a company; companies need to create money. As we’ve observed, individuals without a bank account, don’t have money.
Of course, all of this could be a transition towards the mobile digital identity, which is a plausible game.
Facebook is constructing an app for the privileged class. However, Facebook is unlikely to do so for the greater good.
“Before we allow such a giant corporation to begin processing millions to billions of financial transactions, we have to study these issues and ensure we have the tools and guardrails in place to deter terrorists, extremists, and/or enemies from utilizing such a platform to do harm to our nation.” – Emanuel Cleaver, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Calibra, a subsidiary company of Facebook, and which operates independently from Facebook, enrolled as a money services company with FinCEN.
Broadly, people are discovering new ways to run illegal financial activities, Cleaver stated in the announcement, citing cryptocurrencies along with other brand new marketplaces as tools that these celebrities can accommodate.
“Now that we’re seeing a giant corporation like Facebook—which has already shown an inability to identify and impede these kinds of actors at an acceptable level—creating its own virtual currency called Libra, it cannot be understated the importance of Congress and financial transmitters to be proactive in utilizing the newest and most powerful technologies to ensure the financial system is not being used improperly,” he added.
Whether Libra succeeds, it affirms the inescapable fact that international currency movements in the electronic age is going to be contingent on blockchain-like options that disintermediate the present gatekeepers and challenge the bank-and-sovereign money-dominated version of this 20th century. Additionally, it emphasizes the way we’re moving into an era of electronic assets.
Beginner exchanges are exchanges that offer a simple way to buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with as little confusing jargon and setup time as possible. Here are 6 cryptocurrency exchanges that are fairly easy to use by a new cryptocurrency investor.
Coinbase is one of the best options for a new crypto investor. Coinbase is the best-known cryptocurrency exchange in the US. It is the simplest and easiest on-ramp for crypto beginners.
Coinbase is the most trusted place for all things crypto.
It allows you to deposit fiat and crypto, offers a small variety of crypto (Bitcoin and Ethereum included) and has never been hacked before! As for security, you can activate the two-factor authentification and it is available in 100+ countries around the world (January 2020).
As any entity operating with fiat, there will be some fees, especially for deposing fiat. Coinbase Fees vary based on location and amount.
The user interface is intuitive, and the design is clean and simple. You can link up your bank account or pay with a card. There’s also a deep library of guides and explainers for newcomers.
Coinbase has a limited choice of cryptocurrency options to keep things simple. However, they consider the addition of more altcoins.
As for security, Coinbase stores 98% of customer funds in cold storage, in safe deposit boxes and vaults around the world, making it relatively secure. The remaining 2% is insured in case of hacks.
Lastly, there’s a handy mobile app to buy and sell cryptocurrency on the go.
Get started on Coinbase.
Shapeshift is a crypto-only exchange. You can’t buy cryptocurrency with dollars or euros. You can only trade between cryptocurrencies. However, due to its simplicity, we still recommend it for beginners.
The crypto offer is vast, and you can trade anything for anything and it is available all over the world. Make sure to switch on the two-factor authentification, in case of a future security breach. The exchange rate shown is exactly what you’ll receive, minus only the “miner fee.” There is no exchange fee, or service fee.
ShapeShift allows you to transfer currency between addresses of your choosing, rather than between accounts on its platform. It means ShapeShift doesn’t hold any customer deposits, making it relatively safe.
ShapeShift has been hacked three times, which all occurred in the same month due to internal sabotage. The exchange was extremely transparent in what happened over the hack, with the CEO going so far as to write a blow-by-blow explanation of what exactly happened.
Get started on ShapeShift.
Gemini was founded by the Winklevoss Twins. It’s a US-based exchange noted for being a licensed platform (Regulated by NYSDFS). Gemini gained headlines in 2019 by announcing full insurance coverage for funds on its exchange and in custody.
We believe that crypto investors deserve the same protections as investors in other asset classes, so we’ve built a rules-based marketplace with security at its core.
They operate in all U.S. states except Hawaii. Other countries in which they operate are Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and the U.K. Gemini has never been hacked before and the few selected trading pairs are perfect to start your journey as a crypto investor.
Gemini and the Winklevoss Twins pride themselves on being fully compliant and working within existing regulations. As such, there’s a decent amount of safety from fraud and insurance coverage on this exchange. Of course, that comes at a cost: handing over a lot of personal information.
Gemini offers a decent chunk of volume, though few trading pairs compared to other exchanges. Security wise, aside from the standard 2FA, withdrawal address whitelisting is a welcome sight.
The Gemini app is also slick and easy-to-use for beginners.
Get started on Gemini.
Changelly is a crypto exchange similar to ShapeShift. It is address-to-address so Changelly never holds your funds. You can exchange crypto to crypto or fiat to crypto. A vast number of trading pairs are available.
Changelly is a cryptocurrency exchange with the most favorable rates and the fairest terms.
Your exchange has never been so smooth.
Changelly accepts users from any country in the world. As well, they will accept payments in any currency, but it will be converted to either the Euro or USD. They have never been hacked before and it supports two-factor authentification. There is a flat fee of 0.25% for each transaction made via the service.
There’s a simple frontend for buying bitcoin and converting it to whatever cryptocurrency you would like. Much like ShapeShift, Changelly transfers happen between addresses you own, rather than between accounts that the exchange controls.
It’s super fast and efficient. There’s a mobile app too for making transactions on the go.
Get started on Changelly.
Luno offers a great platform for African and European traders looking to get started. Alongside their exchange, Luno offers a wallet service with a companion mobile app. The exchange has been around since 2013 and has never been hacked, giving it a fairly solid reputation for security.
Luno makes it safe and easy to buy, store and learn about cryptocurrencies. Upgrade your money today.
Luno supports fiat/crypto exchanges on a few selected pair, which will be fairly easy to use by a new crypto enthusiast. They have never been hacked before and the platform supports two-factor authentification. Fees Maker / Taker. Makers fees are a flat 0% and takers fee range from 0.20% to 1.0%.
It’s designed to be as simple as possible, including an “instant buy” feature.
Get started on Luno.
Coinmama is a good choice for those looking to buy crypto using a credit card or other fiat sources. Coinmama is a broker so you’re buying directly from the company itself which makes transactions fast.
Trusted by over 1,800,000 people across 188 countries since 2013
However, there are some things to be aware of. Coinmama is “buy only” so you cannot sell cryptocurrencies on the platform. There is also no wallet feature on the exchange, so you need to withdraw directly to a wallet. This is no bad thing as keeping your funds on an exchange is risky, but you will need a wallet set up first.
Unfortunately, Coinmama’s simplicity is offset by the incredibly high fees charged for every transaction. Coinmama’s market rate is based on the XBX + 2%. In addition, there is a commission fee of up to 3.90%. For credit/debit card transactions, there is an additional 5.00% processing fee. This fee will be added after choosing your method of payment.
Get started on Coinmama.
We hope you have found the best cryptocurrency exchange that works for you. And if you ever decide you are serious about the cryptocurrency world, then remember there are ways to earn free cryptocurrency and Bitcoins.
Yes, you can earn free cryptocurrency and the list of services offering free cryptocurrency is growing.
Currently, the most popular way for people to get hold of a cryptocurrency (aka electronic money) is to buy it on an exchange with fiat currencies or through mining, but there are other ways you can earn cryptocurrency without getting out your wallet. In this article, you will discover services and platforms to help you earn free cryptocurrency without investing or mining.
No matter how you call it, electronic money, cryptocurrency or digital currency is something the entire planet started to be interested in.
While mining cryptocurrency and Bitcoin isn’t the cheapest way to get cryptocurrency, new blockchain platforms have emerged and are ready to help you earn this new electronic money, which is called cryptocurrency.
As Bitcoin makes it more and more on the international news, companies have come up with a different way in which you, can take part in this blockchain world, without investing any fiat money, or mining the cryptocurrency.
Sure, by signing up for any of these apps, you won’t be able to quit your day job anytime soon. But they give you the opportunity to earn money while you practically sleep and they also provide you with valuable experience in the up-and-coming decentralized sharing economy.
Something you shouldn’t miss on is the chance of earning free cryptocurrency! Since you are already online, so why not earn cryptocurrency online?!
Where to find services which help you earn cryptocurrency without investment? Here is what we found so far. (The list of where to get free cryptocurrency is updated regularly).
A decentralized open innovation platform empowering anyone to earn cryptocurrency,
Crowdholding is a co-creation platform were you log in, give feedback and earn crypto for it. They have over 70 crypto startups and over 40,000 signups. They have new startups as well as establish coins such as SmartCash, DeepOnion and ITF. (All on CoinMarketCap).
It’s free to sign up! How do you earn free crypto? After you sign up, you can give feedback, take part in bounties and airdrops to earn free cryptocurrency without investing.
The stages of Crowdholding, according to their website:
Earn anywhere, anytime, from any device
What is Storm?
According to its website, “Storm Token is a premium cryptocurrency reward used to fuel the world’s only blockchain-supported microtask platform.”
Storm Play is an app started in 2017, which pays you Bolt for doing a simple task such as downloading apps, surveys, and quizzes.
Storm (STORM) intends to make a blockchain-based, gamified, micro-task market (Storm Marketplace) that empowers users to earn STORM ERC-20 tokens by completing different tasks.
Micro-tasks in the app have been ‘gamified’ into a reward system that allows you to easily earn tokens for playing games or trying out new products or service.
“Participate in short surveys, try out new products, watch videos, and help finish small tasks to earn rewards in Storm Token, Bitcoin, or Ethereum.”
Some of the tasks, for example, involve achieving goals in games you have to download. Some mobile gamers may find that StormPlay gets them the entertainment factor they need, all while earning cryptocurrency without investment.
Bolt is the in-app currency which you can convert to Bitcoin, Ethereum or Storm coin when you have reached the minimum withdraw limit.
Steemit, or as the founders say, ”Come for the rewards. Stay for the community,” is a Reddit-like portal which supports posting content as well as up and down-voting.
Steemit is based on a blockchain that runs on a native coin called STEEM.
Steemit’s developers say that their Blockchain, in contrast to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work, is based upon “proof-of-brain.” That is to say, cryptocurrency is generated by participants creating original content. If you are some sort of content creator, then you definitely have to have an account on Steemit and you can earn cryptocurrency without investing by simply creating the content you are really good at.
This works as follows: A certain pool of STEEM tokens is dedicated to incentivizing content creation and curation. And how exactly these tokens are distributed for specific pieces of content is determined by “crowd wisdom” – the participant community assesses the value of the content and its token reward.
LBRY is an open-source and decentralized platform for video content sharing which rewards you for content consumption. Yes, you read that right. Not only are you rewarded for content creation, but for content consumption.
Why is that? Of course, in the long run, the main point of LBRY’s economy will be the remuneration of content creators, namely with tips from content users in the app’s native LBC token (short for LBRY Credit). The app comes with a dedicated LBC wallet. Other ways to obtain LBC’s are contributions to the LBRY project and mining – see here for all the ways of earning LBC.
However, to encourage widespread adoption of the LBRY app, the LBRY team is currently providing in-app rewards for early adopters. They can be earned simply by surfing video channels and watching videos.
SMSChain is a decentralized SMS gateway. It is based upon one of the most classical sharing economy concepts: Take a resource that someone has paid for, but isn’t using, and enable that person to share this resource with others.
These messages mostly consist of standard templates, not individualized content. These templates will be defined in SMSChain nodes, and participants can choose in advance which types of content they wish to permit to go through their SIM card.
SMSChain offers exactly this marketplace, and the marketplace’s currency is their native token SMSTO. You can earn SMSTO simply by signing up for an account on the SMSChain website, and by agreeing to sell your unused SMS capacities.
In the context of SMSChain, you are known as a “miner” – similar to Bitcoin’s concept of mining. However, the mining mechanism in SMSChain is not wasteful proof-of-work, as in other cryptocurrencies, but proof-of-delivery. That means that you do the useful work of delivering SMS in order to earn your SMSTO.
The explosion of cryptocurrencies has created a market where you can offer your services and receive remuneration in cryptocurrency.
There are subreddits such as /r/Jobs4Crypto and /r/Jobs4Bitcoins, or you can simply contact ICOs if you have a desirable skill set. Got something to sell? There are also multiple sites where you can sell your unwanted items for cryptocurrency. Some examples are Bitify (a platform similar to eBay) and BazaarBay (a platform that acts like Etsy).
SweatCoin will help you earn cryptocurrency for simply walking around outside.
SweatCoin might be the app that sounds familiar to you because it’s the easiest to use, and therefore the most popular. SweatCoin pays you in a currency that will eventually be turned into actual cryptocurrency on the blockchain.
Blockchain games are taking gaming to a whole new level. And yes, playing games can actually help you earn cryptocurrency without investing. More and more startups and companies are on their way to change their business model and the gaming industry is a big part of it.
You can earn free cryptocurrency by playing arcade games such as Alien Run and collectable fantasy football games like FootballCoin if you are a football enthusiast. Let’s not forget about attention games like Block Stacker. All these games are ready to reward you for your time and attention. And if you get really good at any of them, this could a permanent way of earning free cryptocurrency.
Remember there is an essential difference between blockchain games and crypto games. The two notions mean different things.
These are some of the most in handy and obvious ways in which you too can earn free cryptocurrency without investing. If you have more suggestions, feel free to send them and we will happily add them to the list.
Remember that there is a big cryptocurrency market and it grows at an exponential rate. As always, the firsts ones are the most advantaged players.
Read more on What is Bitcoin?
Although this is the case, and Bitcoin is running over 110 billion dollars in market cap, BTC is still not widely regulated across all countries in the world in the same manner.
Even though many countries marked BTC as a legal entity, there are many parts of the worlds where Bitcoin trading is considered illegal.
Bitcoin got a green light from the United States, as trading this digital asset is not set as illegal by the law. The Securities and Exchange Commission found proof that Bitcoin does not represent a security but rather currency, and FinCEN deemed it as legal.
FinCEN has been following up with Bitcoin on legality matters since 2013, so there are no laws prohibiting the trading of Bitcoin in the United States of America.
The European Union as a whole hasn’t yet issued any specific regulations or laws that would prohibit Bitcoin from being traded within the states that belong to the European Union.
That is how trading Bitcoin is legal in EU, while some countries like Bulgaria, Cyprus, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and more have issued their own regulations all in favour of the top currency in the market.
Bitcoin is a perfectly legal entity in Australia. That means that all activities regarding Bitcoin are allowed and legal in Australia.
Canada says “Yes” to Bitcoin as far as the law is concerned. According to them, Bitcoin like any other entity that allows trading.
That means that Bitcoin is being regulated the same way as any other investment in Canada. However, this country is concerned about the possibility of money laundering when it comes to using Bitcoin.
That is why all Canadian Bitcoin exchanges have to report their records and suspicious transfers.
In early December, each G20 nation signed an acknowledgement of “necessary reform” due to the global economy’s “digitalization.” The document refers to “crypto-assets,” which may be cryptocurrencies. Therein, the G20 agreed to regulate such assets consistent with FATF standards.
“We will regulate crypto-assets for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in line with FATF standards and we will consider other responses as needed.”
The United States has been the first country to take concrete action against the financing of terrorism with its report by the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control. The report discussed two Bitcoin wallet addresses and warned them and the financial community that those who were transacting may be subject to sanctions.
According to their website, the FATF acts as a financial police:
“The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Minister of its Member jurisdictions. The objectives of the FATF are able to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. The FATF is, therefore, a ‘policy-making body’ which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.”
BAT promises to create a transparent network, where those interested in receiving or selling advertising services, are free to do so without the involvement of intermediaries, in a healthy, competitive environment.
The BAT token is meant to be used to power the Brave network, set up by the developers using the ERC20 technical standard. Brave is a browser service that can also act as a marketplace to be used by those selling or buying advertising.
The project’s biggest calling card is the involvement of Brendan Eich, BAT’s founder. Eich is best known for his participation in the developing of Mozilla and Firefox, projects he helped co-found. Eich’s reputation alone was enough to garner a lot of attention for BAT.
The other members of the BAT team share an impressive background in the world of services and internet services, having worked for the likes of Yahoo, Evernote, or AOL.
There is another element that works in favour of BAT. It’s the general anti-ad attitude of the vast majority of internet users. BAT promises to offer a revenue system for those targeted by ads. As the name suggests, BAT’s objective is to convince users to provide them with their attention in exchange for BATs. And similarly, advertisers will receive BATs in proportion with the level of attention users provide them.
BAT was conceived with the ERC20 system in mind. At the time of writing, Ethereum blockchain technology continues to be highly popular in the crypto world. BAT will to remain dependent on Ethereum and subject to be influenced by the possibility of its popularity fluctuating.
The Brave network will also need to fight against several high profile competitors, among them CDX (a representative of alt-media), Bitclave, or AdEx (a company with a similar vision to BAT).
BAT set an ambitious roadmap, with confidence helped by the company able to raise a large sum of money in the ICO stage ( $35M). Initially, 1 billion tokens, of the total amount of 1.5 billion, were put on sale.
The developers held a further giveaway at the start of 2018. The number of users on the Brave network also increased, with an estimated 5 million downloads at the time of writing. The company also claims to have over 18,000 verified Brave publishers.
Yes, there is undoubtedly a real market need for advertisers and their customers to connect without additional interference. There also exists a real need for the consumers to feel they are genuinely rewarded for the amount of attention they decide to invest in various marketing campaigns.
The Brave browser and the accompanying BAT token aim to offer a solution to these issues. Indeed, the hurdles they will need to overcome will be high, and the competitors they face will present a challenge. However, how the project has developed, the level of interest it has garnered from users, promises to make it an exciting prospect for the future.
Cryptocurrencies are a kind of alternative currency and digital currency (of which virtual currency is a subset).
Cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.
The decentralized control of each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database.
Bitcoin, first released as open-source software in 2009, is generally considered the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since the release of bitcoin, over 4,000 altcoins (alternative variants of bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies) have been created.
The first decentralized cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was created in 2009 by pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. It used SHA-256, a cryptographic hash function, as its proof-of-work scheme. In April 2011, Namecoin was created as an attempt at forming a decentralized DNS, which would make internet censorship very difficult. Soon after, in October 2011, Litecoin was released. It was the first successful cryptocurrency to use scrypt as its hash function instead of SHA-256. Another notable cryptocurrency, Peercoin was the first to use a proof-of-work/proof-of-stake hybrid. IOTA was the first cryptocurrency not based on a blockchain, using the Tangle instead.
On 6 August 2014, the UK announced its Treasury had been commissioned to do a study of cryptocurrencies, and what role, if any, they can play in the UK economy. The study was also to report on whether regulation should be considered.
According to Jan Lansky, a cryptocurrency is a system that meets six conditions:
In March 2018, the word ‘cryptocurrency’ was added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Stephanie Yang of The Wall Street Journal defined altcoins as “alternative digital currencies,” while Paul Vigna, also of The Wall Street Journal, described altcoins as alternative versions of bitcoin. Aaron Hankins of the MarketWatch refers to any cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin as altcoins.
A blockchain account can provide functions other than making payments, for example in decentralized applications or smart contracts. In this case, the units or coins are sometimes referred to as crypto tokens.
Decentralized cryptocurrency is produced by the entire cryptocurrency system collectively, at a rate which is defined when the system is created and which is publicly known.
In centralized banking and economic systems such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units of fiat money or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers.
In the case of decentralized cryptocurrency, companies or governments cannot produce new units and have not so far provided backing for other firms, banks or corporate entities which hold asset value measured in it.
The underlying technical system upon which decentralized cryptocurrencies are based was created by the group or individual known as Satoshi Nakamoto.
As of May 2018, over 1,800 cryptocurrency specifications existed.
Within a cryptocurrency system, the safety, integrity and balance of ledgers are maintained by a community of mutually distrustful parties referred to as miners: who use their computers to help validate and timestamp transactions, adding them to the ledger in accordance with a particular timestamping scheme.
Read more about the Distributed Ledger Technology(DLT).
Most cryptocurrencies are designed to gradually decrease the production of that currency, placing a cap on the total amount of that currency that will ever be in circulation. Compared with ordinary currencies held by financial institutions or kept as cash on hand, cryptocurrencies can be more difficult for seizure by law enforcement. This difficulty is derived from leveraging cryptographic technologies.
The validity of each cryptocurrency’s coins is provided by a blockchain. A blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.
Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp and transaction data. By design, blockchains are inherently resistant to modification of the data. It is “an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way”.
For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network collectively adhering to a protocol for validating new blocks. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires collusion of the network majority.
Blockchains are secure by design and are an example of a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus has therefore been achieved with a blockchain. Blockchains solve the double-spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server, assuming no 51% attack (that has worked against several cryptocurrencies).
Read more on What is Bitcoin and how does Bitcoin work?
Cryptocurrencies use various timestamping schemes to “prove” the validity of transactions added to the blockchain ledger without the need for a trusted third party.
The first timestamping scheme invented was the proof-of-work scheme. The most widely used proof-of-work schemes are based on SHA-256 and scrypt.
Some other hashing algorithms that are used for proof-of-work include CryptoNight, Blake, SHA-3, and X11.
The proof-of-stake is a method of securing a cryptocurrency network and achieving distributed consensus by requesting users to show ownership of a certain amount of currency. It is different from proof-of-work systems that run difficult hashing algorithms to validate electronic transactions.
The scheme is largely dependent on the coin, and there’s currently no standard form of it. Some cryptocurrencies use a combined proof-of-work/proof-of-stake scheme.
In cryptocurrency networks, mining is a validation of transactions. For this effort, successful miners obtain new cryptocurrency as a reward.
The reward decreases transaction fees by creating a complementary incentive to contribute to the processing power of the network.
The rate of generating hashes, which validate any transaction, has been increased by the use of specialized machines such as FPGAs and ASICs running complex hashing algorithms like SHA-256 and Scrypt. This arms race for cheaper-yet-efficient machines has been on since the day the first cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was introduced in 2009.
With more people venturing into the world of virtual currency, generating hashes for this validation has become far more complex over the years, with miners having to invest large sums of money on employing multiple high-performance ASICs. Thus the value of the currency obtained for finding a hash often does not justify the amount of money spent on setting up the machines, the cooling facilities to overcome the enormous amount of heat they produce, and the electricity required to run them.
Some miners pool resources, sharing their processing power over a network to split the reward equally, according to the amount of work they contributed to the probability of finding a block. A “share” is awarded to members of the mining pool who present a valid partial proof-of-work.
As of February 2018, the Chinese Government halted trading of virtual currency, banned initial coin offerings and shut down mining. Some Chinese miners have since relocated to Canada. One company is operating data centres for mining operations at Canadian oil and gas field sites, due to low gas prices.
In June 2018, Hydro Quebec proposed to the provincial government to allocate 500 MW to crypto companies for mining. According to a February 2018 report from Fortune, Iceland has become a haven for cryptocurrency miners in part because of its cheap electricity. Prices are contained because nearly all of the country’s energy comes from renewable sources, prompting more mining companies to consider opening operations in Iceland. The region’s energy company says bitcoin mining is becoming so popular that the country will likely use more electricity to mine coins than power homes in 2018.
In October 2018 Russia becomes home to one of the largest legal mining operations in the world, located in Siberia.
In March 2018, a town in Upstate New York put an 18-month moratorium on all cryptocurrency mining in an effort to preserve natural resources and the “character and direction” of the city.
An increase in cryptocurrency mining increased the demand for graphics cards (GPU) in 2017. Popular favourites of cryptocurrency miners such as Nvidia’s GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 graphics cards, as well as AMD’s RX 570 and RX 580 GPUs, doubled or tripled in price – or were out of stock.
A GTX 1070 Ti which was released at a price of $450 sold for as much as $1100. Another popular card GTX 1060’s 6 GB model was released at an MSRP of $250, sold for almost $500. RX 570 and RX 580 cards from AMD were out of stock for almost a year. Miners regularly buy up the entire stock of new GPU’s as soon as they are available.
Nvidia has asked retailers to do what they can when it comes to selling GPUs to gamers instead of miners. “Gamers come first for Nvidia,” said Boris Böhles, PR manager for Nvidia in the German region.
An example paper printable bitcoin wallet consisting of one bitcoin address for receiving and the corresponding private key for spending
A cryptocurrency wallet stores the public and private “keys” or “addresses” which can be used to receive or spend the cryptocurrency. With the private key, it is possible to write in the public ledger, effectively spending the associated cryptocurrency. With the public key, it is possible for others to send currency to the wallet.
Bitcoin is pseudonymous rather than anonymous in that the cryptocurrency within a wallet is not tied to people, but rather to one or more specific keys (or “addresses”).
Thereby, bitcoin owners are not identifiable, but all transactions are publicly available in the blockchain. Still, cryptocurrency exchanges are often required by law to collect the personal information of their users.
Additions such as Zerocoin have been suggested, which would allow for true anonymity.
In recent years, anonymizing technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and ring signatures have been employed in the cryptocurrencies Zcash and Monero, respectively. Cryptocurrency anonymizing implementations such as Cloakcoin, Dash, and PIVX use built-in mixing services, also known as tumblers.
Most cryptocurrency tokens are fungible and interchangeable. However, unique non-fungible tokens also exist. Such tokens can serve as assets in games like CryptoKitties.
Cryptocurrencies are used primarily outside existing banking and governmental institutions and are exchanged over the Internet.
Transaction fees for cryptocurrency depend mainly on the supply of network capacity at the time, versus the demand from the currency holder for a faster transaction.
The currency holder can choose a specific transaction fee, while network entities process transactions in order of highest offered fee to lowest. Cryptocurrency exchanges can simplify the process for currency holders by offering priority alternatives and thereby determine which fee will likely cause the transaction to be processed in the requested time.
For ether, transaction fees differ by computational complexity, bandwidth use, and storage needs, while bitcoin transaction fees differ by transaction size and whether the transaction uses SegWit. In September 2018, the median transaction fee for ether corresponded to $0.017, while for bitcoin it corresponded to $0.55.
Cryptocurrency exchanges allow customers to trade cryptocurrencies for other assets, such as conventional fiat money, or to trade between different digital currencies.
Atomic swaps are a mechanism where one cryptocurrency can be exchanged directly for another cryptocurrency, without the need for a trusted third party such as an exchange.
Jordan Kelley, the founder of Robocoin, launched the first bitcoin ATM in the United States on 20 February 2014. The kiosk installed in Austin, Texas is similar to bank ATMs but has scanners to read government-issued identification such as a driver’s license or a passport to confirm users’ identities.
An initial coin offering (ICO) is a controversial means of raising funds for a new cryptocurrency venture. An ICO may be used by startups with the intention of avoiding regulation.
However, securities regulators in many jurisdictions, including in the U.S., and Canada have indicated that if a coin or token is an “investment contract” (e.g., under the Howey test, i.e., an investment of money with a reasonable expectation of profit based significantly on the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others), it is a security and is subject to securities regulation.
In an ICO campaign, a percentage of the cryptocurrency (usually in the form of “tokens”) is sold to early backers of the project in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies, often bitcoin or ether.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, four of the 10 biggest proposed initial coin offerings have used Switzerland as a base, where they are frequently registered as non-profit foundations.
The Swiss regulatory agency FINMA stated that it would take a “balanced approach“ to ICO projects and would allow “legitimate innovators to navigate the regulatory landscape and so launch their projects in a way consistent with national laws protecting investors and the integrity of the financial system.”
In response to numerous requests by industry representatives, a legislative ICO working group began to issue legal guidelines in 2018, which are intended to remove uncertainty from cryptocurrency offerings and to establish sustainable business practices.
The legal status of cryptocurrencies varies substantially from country to country and is still undefined or changing in many of them.
While some countries have explicitly allowed their use and trade, others have banned or restricted it. According to the Library of Congress, an “absolute ban” on trading or using cryptocurrencies applies in eight countries: Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. An “implicit ban” applies in another 15 countries, which include Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macau, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan. In the United States and Canada, state and provincial securities regulators, coordinated through the North American Securities Administrators Association, are investigating “bitcoin scams” and ICOs in 40 jurisdictions.
Various government agencies, departments, and courts have classified bitcoin differently. China Central Bank banned the handling of bitcoins by financial institutions in China in early 2014.
In Russia, though cryptocurrencies are legal, it is illegal to actually purchase goods with any currency other than the Russian ruble. Regulations and bans that apply to bitcoin probably extend to similar cryptocurrency systems.
Cryptocurrencies are a potential tool to evade economic sanctions for example against Russia, Iran, or Venezuela.
In April 2018, Russian and Iranian economic representatives met to discuss how to bypass the global SWIFT system through decentralized blockchain technology. Russia also secretly supported Venezuela with the creation of the petro (El Petro), a national cryptocurrency initiated by the Maduro government to obtain valuable oil revenues by circumventing US sanctions.
In August 2018, the Bank of Thailand announced its plans to create its own cryptocurrency, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency advertisements were temporarily banned on Facebook, Google, Twitter, Bing, Snapchat, LinkedIn and MailChimp. Chinese internet platforms Baidu, Tencent, and Weibo have also prohibited bitcoin advertisements. The Japanese platform Line and the Russian platform Yandex have similar prohibitions.
On 25 March 2014, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that bitcoin will be treated as property for tax purposes. This means bitcoin will be subject to capital gains tax. In a paper published by researchers from Oxford and Warwick, it was shown that bitcoin has some characteristics more like the precious metals market than traditional currencies, hence in agreement with the IRS decision even if based on different reasons.
As the popularity of and demand for online currencies has increased since the inception of bitcoin in 2009, so have concerns that such an unregulated person to person global economy that cryptocurrencies offer may become a threat to society. Concerns abound that altcoins may become tools for anonymous web criminals.
Cryptocurrency networks display a lack of regulation that has been criticized as enabling criminals who seek to evade taxes and launder money.
Transactions that occur through the use and exchange of these altcoins are independent of formal banking systems and therefore can make tax evasion simpler for individuals. Since charting taxable income is based upon what a recipient reports to the revenue service, it becomes extremely difficult to account for transactions made using existing cryptocurrencies, a mode of exchange that is complex and difficult to track.
Systems of anonymity that most cryptocurrencies offer can also serve as a simpler means to launder money. Rather than laundering money through an intricate net of financial actors and offshore bank accounts, laundering money through altcoins can be achieved through anonymous transactions.
In February 2014 the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, declared bankruptcy. The company stated that it had lost nearly $473 million of their customers’ bitcoins likely due to theft. This was equivalent to approximately 750,000 bitcoins, or about 7% of all the bitcoins in existence. The price of a bitcoin fell from a high of about $1,160 in December to under $400 in February.
Two members of the Silk Road Task Force—a multi-agency federal task force that carried out the U.S. investigation of Silk Road—seized bitcoins for their own use in the course of the investigation. DEA agent Carl Mark Force IV, who attempted to extort Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht (“Dread Pirate Roberts”), pleaded guilty to money laundering, obstruction of justice, and extortion under colour of official right, and was sentenced to 6.5 years in federal prison. U.S. Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty to crimes relating to his diversion of $800,000 worth of bitcoins to his personal account during the investigation, and also separately pleaded guilty to money laundering in connection with another cryptocurrency theft; he was sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison.
Homero Josh Garza, who founded the cryptocurrency startups GAW Miners and ZenMiner in 2014, acknowledged in a plea agreement that the companies were part of a pyramid scheme, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2015.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately brought a civil enforcement action against Garza, who was eventually ordered to pay a judgment of $9.1 million plus $700,000 in interest. The SEC’s complaint stated that Garza, through his companies, had fraudulently sold “investment contracts representing shares in the profits they claimed would be generated” from mining.
On 21 November 2017, the Tether cryptocurrency announced they were hacked, losing $31 million in USDT from their primary wallet. The company has ‘tagged’ the stolen currency, hoping to ‘lock’ them in the hacker’s wallet (making them unspendable). Tether indicates that it is building a new core for its primary wallet in response to the attack in order to prevent the stolen coins from being used.
In May 2018, Bitcoin Gold (and two other cryptocurrencies) were hit by a successful 51% hashing attack by an unknown actor, in which exchanges lost estimated $18m. In June 2018, Korean exchange Coinrail was hacked, losing US$37 million worth of altcoin. The fear surrounding the hack was blamed for a $42 billion cryptocurrency market selloff. On 9 July 2018, the exchange Bancor had $23.5 million in cryptocurrency stolen.
The French regulator Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) lists 15 websites of companies that solicit investment in cryptocurrency without being authorised to do so in France.
Cryptocurrency is also used in controversial settings in the form of online black markets, such as Silk Road. The original Silk Road was shut down in October 2013 and there have been two more versions in use since then.
In the year following the initial shutdown of Silk Road, the number of prominent dark markets increased from four to twelve, while the number of drug listings increased from 18,000 to 32,000.
Darknet markets present challenges in regard to legality. Bitcoins and other forms of cryptocurrency used in dark markets are not clearly or legally classified in almost all parts of the world. In the U.S., bitcoins are labelled as “virtual assets”.
This type of ambiguous classification puts pressure on law enforcement agencies around the world to adapt to the shifting drug trade of dark markets.
Cryptocurrencies have been compared to Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes and economic bubbles, such as housing market bubbles. Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management stated in 2017 that digital currencies were “nothing but an unfounded fad (or perhaps even a pyramid scheme), based on a willingness to ascribe value to something that has little or none beyond what people will pay for it”, and compared them to the tulip mania (1637), South Sea Bubble (1720), and dot-com bubble (1999).
While cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that are managed through advanced encryption techniques, many governments have taken a cautious approach toward them, fearing their lack of central control and the effects they could have on financial security.
Regulators in several countries have warned against cryptocurrency and some have taken concrete regulatory measures to dissuade users. Additionally, many banks do not offer services for cryptocurrencies and can refuse to offer services to virtual-currency companies.
Gareth Murphy, a senior central banking officer has stated: “widespread use [of cryptocurrency] would also make it more difficult for statistical agencies to gather data on economic activity, which are used by governments to steer the economy”. He cautioned that virtual currencies pose a new challenge to central banks’ control over the important functions of monetary and exchange rate policy.
While traditional financial products have strong consumer protections in place, there is no intermediary with the power to limit consumer losses if bitcoins are lost or stolen.
One of the features cryptocurrency lacks in comparison to credit cards, for example, is consumer protection against fraud, such as chargebacks.
An enormous amount of energy goes into proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining, although cryptocurrency proponents claim it is important to compare it to the consumption of the traditional financial system.
There are also purely technical elements to consider. For example, technological advancement in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin results in high up-front costs to miners in the form of specialized hardware and software.
Cryptocurrency transactions are normally irreversible after a number of blocks confirm the transaction. Additionally, cryptocurrency can be permanently lost from local storage due to malware or data loss. This can also happen through the destruction of the physical media, effectively removing lost cryptocurrencies forever from their markets.
The cryptocurrency community refers to pre-mining, hidden launches, ICO or extreme rewards for the altcoin founders as a deceptive practice. It can also be used as an inherent part of a cryptocurrency’s design. Pre-mining means the currency is generated by the currency’s founders prior to being released to the public.
Paul Krugman, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences winner does not like bitcoin, has repeated numerous times that it is a bubble that will not last and links it to Tulip mania. American business magnate Warren Buffett thinks that cryptocurrency will come to a bad ending.
In October 2017, BlackRock CEO Laurence D. Fink called bitcoin an ‘index of money laundering’. “Bitcoin just shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world,” he said.
Source wikipedia.org
Originally devised for the digital currency, Bitcoin, the tech community is now finding other potential uses for the technology.
“Bitcoin is first and foremost a currency; this is one particular application of a blockchain. However, it is far from the only application. To take a past example of a similar situation, e-mail is one particular use of the internet, and for sure helped popularise it, but there are many others.” – Dr Gavin Wood, Ethereum Co-Founder
Picture a spreadsheet that is duplicated thousands of times across a network of computers. Then imagine that this network is designed to regularly update this spreadsheet and you have a basic understanding of the blockchain.
Read to understand how a basic blockchain works How to Run a Blockchain on a Deserted Island with Pen and Paper
Information held on a blockchain exists as a shared — and continually reconciled — database. This is a way of using the network that has obvious benefits. The blockchain database isn’t stored in any single location, meaning the records it keeps are truly public and easily verifiable. No centralized version of this information exists for a hacker to corrupt. Hosted by millions of computers simultaneously, its data is accessible to anyone on the internet.
“The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.” – Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016)
Blockchain technology is like the internet in that it has a built-in robustness. By storing blocks of information that are identical across its network, the blockchain cannot:
Bitcoin was invented in 2008. Since that time, the Bitcoin blockchain has operated without significant disruption. (To date, any of problems associated with Bitcoin have been due to hacking or mismanagement. In other words, these problems come from bad intention and human error, not flaws in the underlying concepts.)
The internet itself has proven to be durable for almost 30 years. It’s a track record that bodes well for blockchain technology as it continues to be developed.
The blockchain network lives in a state of consensus, one that automatically checks in with itself every ten minutes. A kind of self-auditing ecosystem of a digital value, the network reconciles every transaction that happens in ten-minute intervals. Each group of these transactions is referred to as a “block”. Two important properties result from this:
In theory, this could be possible. In practice, it’s unlikely to happen. Taking control of the system to capture Bitcoins, for instance, would also have the effect of destroying their value.
“Blockchain solves the problem of manipulation. When I speak about it in the West, people say they trust Google, Facebook, or their banks. But the rest of the world doesn’t trust organizations and corporations that much — I mean Africa, India, the Eastern Europe, or Russia. It’s not about the places where people are really rich. Blockchain’s opportunities are the highest in the countries that haven’t reached that level yet.” – Vitalik Buterin, inventor of Ethereum
These computers, which are part of the blockchain network, are called nodes. Every time a transaction occurs it has to be approved by the nodes, each of whom checks its validity. Once every node has checked a transaction there is a sort of electronic vote, as some nodes may think the transaction is valid and others think it is a fraud.
Each node has a copy of the digital ledger or Blockchain. Each node checks the validity of each transaction. If a majority of nodes say that a transaction is valid then it is written into a block.
A block is a container data structure. In the Bitcoin world, a block contains more than 500 transactions on average. The average size of a block seems to be 1MB. A block is composed of a header and a long list of transactions. Let’s start with the header.
The header contains metadata about a block. There are three different sets of metadata:
This dependence of one pair on the previous pair makes it a chain, thus getting its name — Blockchain (a chain of blocks).
The whole family of blocks is the Blockchain. Every node has a copy of the Blockchain. Once a block reaches a certain number of approved transactions then a new block is formed.
The Blockchain updates itself every ten minutes. It does so automatically. No master or central computer instructs the computers to do this.
As soon as the spreadsheet or ledger or registry is updated, it can no longer be changed. Thus, it’s impossible to forge it. You can only add new entries to it. The registry is updated on all computers on the network at the same time.
Blocks in Blockchain are tied to the next block by hashes. If data in one block is modified, hashes need to be recalculated for all the following blocks and since calculating the hash is a very resource intensive operation, it gets practically impossible to do that and hence the network rules out the invalidated block. The calculation of the hash is called mining. Here are some Crypto Mining Business Model Used Worldwide
Bitcoin is the result of mining.
All the computers on the blockchain network, keep a copy of the full blockchain, so if one block or one complete chain at a particular computer or multiple computers is modified, the whole network tries to compare it with their own copies of the full chain.
In the case of blockchain technology, private key cryptography provides a powerful ownership tool that fulfils authentication requirements. Possession of a private key is ownership. It also spares a person from having to share more personal information than they would need to for an exchange, leaving them exposed to hackers.
Authentication is not enough. Authorization – having enough money, broadcasting the correct transaction type, etc – needs a distributed, peer-to-peer network as a starting point. A distributed network reduces the risk of centralized corruption or failure.
This distributed network must also be committed to the transaction network’s recordkeeping and security. Authorizing transactions is a result of the entire network applying the rules upon which it was designed (the blockchain’s protocol).
Authentication and authorization supplied in this way allow for interactions in the digital world without relying on (expensive) trust. Today, entrepreneurs in industries around the world have woken up to the implications of this development – unimagined, new and powerful digital relationships are possible. Blockchain technology is often described as the backbone for a transaction layer for the Internet, the foundation of the Internet of Value.
In fact, the idea that cryptographic keys and shared ledgers can incentivize users to secure and formalize digital relationships has imaginations running wild. Everyone from governments to IT firms to banks is seeking to build this transaction layer.
Authentication and authorization, vital to digital transactions, are established as a result of the configuration of blockchain technology.
The idea can be applied to any need for a trustworthy system of record.
It is this difference that makes blockchain technology so useful – It represents an innovation in information registration and distribution that eliminates the need for a trusted party to facilitate digital relationships.
Yet, blockchain technology, for all its merits, is not a new technology.
Rather, it is a combination of proven technologies applied in a new way. It was the particular orchestration of three technologies (the Internet, private key cryptography and a protocol governing incentivization) that made bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s idea so useful.
Most significant companies will run business processes on their private blockchains.
Sources dev.to hackernoon.com blockgeeks.com coindesk.com cointelegraph.com
In reality, Bitcoin is but one of many hundred software which uses blockchain technologies now.
“[Blockchain] is to Bitcoin, what the internet is to email. A big electronic system, on top of which you can build applications. Currency is just one.” – Sally Davies, FT Technology Reporter
The vital distinction between Bitcoin and Ethereum, is that Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency ledger, a method to keep tabs on electronic currency trades, whereas the Ethereum system is centred on creating and take care of the code for any programming code of a decentralized program.
As ethereum.org states:
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third-party interference.
On the Ethereum blockchain, miners operate for Ether, the token that fuels the system. Ether can be utilized to cover transactions services and fees within the Ethereum network. The second sort of token utilized on the Ethereum blockchain is GAS. Gas has to be compensated for each and every smart contract implementation and to be set in the blockchain.
A smart contract is a personal computer code used to ease the exchange of material, cash, assets and whatever of worth. A smart contract is a self-operating computer application which automatically implemented when certain conditions are satisfied on the blockchain. As these are all programmed, there’s absolutely not any chance of fraud, downtime or some other third party hindrance.
While all blockchains can procedure code, Ethereum differs, allowing its developers to make whatever sort of software they wish.
“ [Ethereum] blockchain has some extraordinary capabilities. One of them is that you can build smart contracts. It’s kind of what it sounds like. It’s a contract that self-executes, and the contract handles the enforcement, the management, performance, and payment” – Don Tapscott
Blockchain programs were restricted before the invention of this Ethereum blockchain. The functions provided by Ethereum are supposed to fix and operate any sort of problem. Ethereum Virtual Machine EVM is its own heart invention.
The EVM enables the introduction of blockchain software, which makes this process a lot simpler than before. Practically, rather than developing a new blockchain for every program, Ethereum permits developers of distinct software to utilize only 1 platform.
Ethereum is utilized to deploy decentralized software (Dapp). These programs can serve a specific function to its own users.
It supplies a peer-to-peer digital money system that permitted online bitcoin payments. Decentralized applications are constructed on a blockchain system, which means that they aren’t controlled by any central entity or person.
Read the Ethereum white paper.
A DAO is completely autonomous, a decentralized company without a single leader.
The code was made to replace the principles and construction of a conventional business, eliminating the need for individuals and concentrated control. A DAO is possessed by everybody who buys clippings, but in lieu of every token equating to equity stocks and possession, tokens act as gifts that provide individuals voting rights.
“A DAO consists of one or more contracts and could be funded by a group of like-minded individuals. It operates completely transparently and completely independently of any human intervention, including its original creators. A DAO will stay on the network as long as it covers its survival costs and provide a useful service to its customer base” – Stephen Tual, Slock.it Founder, former CCO Ethereum.
Ethereum can be being utilized as a platform to establish different cryptocurrencies. Due to the ERC20 token benchmark characterized by the Ethereum Foundation, other programmers can subject their own variations of the token and increase funds with a first coin supplying (ICO). Inside this fundraising plan, the issuers of this token set a sum they would like to increase, provide it in a crowdsale, and get Ether in exchange.
Billions of dollars are increased by ICOs over the Ethereum stage in the previous two decades, and among the very precious cryptocurrencies in the Earth, EOS, is the ERC20 token.
Ethereum has just made a new standard known as the ERC721 token for monitoring unique digital resources. Among the greatest use instances now for these tokens is electronic collectables, since the infrastructure permits people to demonstrate possession of infrequent digital products. Many games are now being constructed using this technology, like the overnight strike CryptoKitties, a sport at which you are able to collect and strain electronic cats.
Since causal applications run on the blockchain they gain from all its attributes.
Despite attracting lots of advantages, decentralized software are not faultless. As clever contract code is composed of people, smart contracts are just as good as the men and women who compose them.
If an error in the code becomes tapped, there isn’t any efficient way where an assault or manipulation could be stopped beside acquiring a community consensus and copying the underlying code. This goes contrary to the basis of the blockchain that’s intended to be immutable.
Additionally, any actions taken by a central celebration raises serious questions regarding the decentralized character of a program.
I would like to come up with a program. How can I get Ethereum?
There are a lot of ways that in which you can plug in the Ethereum system, among the simplest ways would be to use its native Mist browser. Mist provides a user-friendly interface & electronic wallet for consumers to exchange & shop Ether in addition to compose, handle, install and utilize intelligent contracts. Like internet browsers provide accessibility and help individuals navigate the web, Mist provides a gateway to the world of decentralized blockchain software.
There’s also the MetaMask browser expansion, which turns Google Chrome to an Ethereum browser. MetaMask enables anyone to run or create decentralized software from their own browser.
As soon as it’s still early days, Mist, MetaMask and also an assortment of different browsers seem set to create blockchain-based applications available to more individuals than ever before. Even people with no technical background can potentially construct blockchain programs. This is a radical jump for blockchain technologies which could bring decentralized software to the mainstream.
“If you think the internet has affected your life, Ethereum will have that same pervasive influence on our communications, on our entire information infrastructure. It’s going to impact all aspects of our existence
Building the public Ethereum ecosystem: As scalability and configurable privacy/confidentiality grow on public Ethereum over the next two years, consumers will use their blockchain identity and access point (uPort) to interact with a variety of interesting early stage offerings.
Including crowdfunding platforms (Weifund), group governance tools (Boardroom), music/film/art content registration and utilization platforms (ujo), wisdom markets (Gnosis), and gaming apps (Virtue Poker)”
Joseph Lubin, CEO of Consensys
The European Union’s research body delves into the possibilities of using the metaverse to enhance children’s health and education while also addressing the accompanying risks and challenges.
The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), which is like a big brain for the European Union, recently wrote a letter talking about how kids can have good and bad things happen to them in the metaverse.
Maria Niestadt, who works at EPRS, says the metaverse can make kids more creative, help them learn, and maybe even make them feel better if they’re sick.
But there are also lots of problems to think about, like making sure kids don’t feel bad mentally or physically because of things like using special goggles or worrying about their privacy and safety.
The metaverse is like a big, virtual world where people can explore and do all sorts of things. It’s not just one place but a whole bunch of different digital spaces that connect to each other.
Imagine it like a huge playground where you can play games, chat with friends, go to school, or even work, all without leaving your computer or special goggles.
The EPRS letter says there are lots of good things kids can do in the metaverse. It doesn’t say kids should always use special goggles, but it talks about some good ways they can use them.
The letter from EPRS talks about how the metaverse offers many opportunities for children.
While it doesn’t fully say that kids should always use virtual and mixed-reality headsets, it does highlight some positive ways they can be used.
According to EPRS, virtual worlds can help doctors find out and treat things like autism or ADHD in kids. They can also help kids exercise in a fun way and get over things like being scared of heights. Besides that, kids can learn about history and culture in virtual lessons and make friends in a safe way.
Although there are many opportunities in the metaverse, the EPRS also points out various challenges that need attention to keep EU children safe from the possible risks of metaverse technology.
Children often encounter similar risks in virtual worlds as adults do, but their vulnerability makes them more susceptible to harm. Reports, like the one from the Centre for Countering Digital Hate in 2023, show that minors are frequently subjected to different types of harassment, abuse, and content that isn’t suitable for their age in virtual environments.
The main concerns are about how being in digital worlds and using special equipment can affect kids’ minds and bodies. This includes things like feeling alone in real life, facing bullying or seeing things they shouldn’t do online, and even feeling sick or scared.
One big challenge is figuring out the right age for kids to use the metaverse. Right now, it’s up to the companies that make the special goggles. But sometimes, they lower the age limit. For example, in 2013, Meta made it okay for kids as young as 10 to use their Quest headsets, down from 13.
Overall, the metaverse in the European Union is changing a lot, and regulators are trying to find ways to make it safer. They’re counting on companies to follow the rules and make sure kids stay protected while using these technologies.
According to the letter, the metaverse is rife with opportunities for children. While it stops short of offering a full-throated endorsement for the use of virtual and mixed-reality headsets by children, the think tank lays out several claims for their positive use.
Per the EPRS:
“Virtual world technologies can be used to diagnose and treat various paediatric mental and physical health disorders (such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). They can also be used to promote physical health through immersive fitness exercises, to help prepare children for psychological difficulties (such as the fear of heights) or to aid in their physical rehabilitation.”
Other opportunities include educational uses such as virtual immersion in lessons of historical and cultural significance and the potential for positive social interaction.
As Bitcoin goes through its 4th pivotal halving event, the landscape of cryptocurrency has transformed significantly. This new financial territory brings key changes and developments surrounding Bitcoin’s halving, from the unprecedented pre-halving price surges to the enhanced global decentralisation and security of its network
Since the Bitcoin halving event in May 2020, the number of people using cryptocurrencies worldwide has skyrocketed by at least 400%, growing from about 100 million to nearly 580 million users by the end of 2023.
This dramatic increase in user base is drawn from estimates by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and Crypto.com.
Although the rate at which new Bitcoins are generated has slowed down due to the halving process, global interest and adoption of cryptocurrencies have not decreased.
As of early 2024, data suggests that roughly 2.7% of the world’s population owns Bitcoin, amounting to about 219 million individuals.
This represents a significant rise—approximately 208%—from the 71 million Bitcoin users estimated four years earlier. It’s important to note, however, that these figures are estimates; accurately gauging the exact number of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency users is challenging.
Factors like the inability of on-chain transaction analysis to distinguish between active users, long-term holders, and lost coins make precise counts difficult.
Source: Crypto.com
The 2024 pre-halving period has shown unprecedented growth in Bitcoin’s price, marking a distinct difference from the previous three halving events.
Historically, significant price surges in Bitcoin occurred after the halving, with new all-time highs typically forming about a year later.
For instance, before the 2020 halving, Bitcoin did not surpass its previous peak of $20,000. It only exceeded this mark 10 months post-halving.
However, the scenario has dramatically changed in the current cycle.
Bitcoin achieved a new all-time high just before the upcoming halving, hitting a record price of $73,600 on March 13, 2024. This kind of price action prior to a halving is unprecedented and has been noted by several analysts.
This time around, the unprecedented surge in Bitcoin’s price before the halving may have bolstered the mining industry, granting miners greater control over their operational costs.
Miners seem to be in better financial standing compared to previous halving cycles, with reduced debt levels and improved cost management, particularly in electricity expenses.
Moreover, the price appreciation preceding the halving is a novel occurrence in Bitcoin’s history, providing an additional boon to miners.
Since the third halving in May 2020, Bitcoin’s mining energy consumption has notably risen, reaching 99 Terawatt hours (Twh) by April 18, 2024. Despite this increase, there’s a positive trend in the utilisation of renewable energy sources for Bitcoin mining, accounting for 54.5% of the network’s energy consumption as of January 2024, up from 39% in September 2020, according to Bitcoin ESG Forecast and CCAF data, respectively.
The 2024 Bitcoin halving stands out as the first to occur alongside active spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in the United States, marking a significant evolution in Bitcoin investment accessibility.
These ETFs, which began trading in January 2024, have opened the doors for institutional investors to engage more directly with Bitcoin.
Bloomberg’s ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, reported that these spot Bitcoin ETFs have achieved “blockbuster success,” indicating a sharp rise in Bitcoin demand. Since their inception, the combined holdings of all ten spot Bitcoin ETFs have increased by at least 220,000 BTC, valued at approximately $14 billion.
Among these, BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF has seen the most substantial inflows, with its holdings skyrocketing more than 10,000% from an initial 2,621 BTC to 273,140 BTC as of April 18.
As for the broader market dynamics, while the halving is significant, it should be viewed as part of a larger narrative that includes ETFs, quantitative easing, and other factors shaping the market’s future.
Bitcoin’s network has seen substantial improvements in security and decentralisation over the past few years.
Previously concentrated primarily in mainland China, where nearly 80% of the mining activity took place as of 2020, the Bitcoin mining landscape has now become significantly more global.
As of February 2024, the United States leads with 40% of the total mining hash rate, followed by China and Russia, which contribute 15% and 12%, respectively, according to Hashlab Mining.
This shift toward geographic decentralisation continues as miners explore regions like Africa and Latin America, which are attracted by lower electricity costs.
Moreover, the security of the Bitcoin blockchain has dramatically increased; its hash rate has quintupled since the last halving, making the network much more robust against attacks.
Now, it requires five times more computing power and associated resources such as electricity, infrastructure, and hardware to pose a threat to the network.
Explore the intricate interplay between Bitcoin’s price movements, economic indicators, and trader behaviors in this detailed analysis.
As the cryptocurrency market approaches a pivotal moment with the upcoming Bitcoin halving, understand the factors influencing price trends, including leverage risks, regulatory impacts, and broader economic conditions.
Gain insights from expert predictions and strategies to better understand how global financial trends and internal crypto dynamics could shape the future of Bitcoin’s valuation.
The relationship between Bitcoin‘s price movements, the S&P 500 index, and broader economic indicators is a complex interplay that reflects broader market sentiment and investor behaviour. This connection can be understood through several key dynamics:
Bitcoin and the S&P 500 often react similarly to changes in global market sentiment.
During times of economic optimism, both markets tend to rise as investors are more willing to take on riskier assets. Conversely, economic downturns or market uncertainties often lead investors to pull back from both equities and cryptocurrencies, which are considered risk assets.
For example, significant drops in the S&P 500 due to economic fears or poor corporate earnings often coincide with declines in Bitcoin’s value as investors seek safer holdings.
Bitcoin has been characterised by some investors as a “digital gold,” akin to a hedge against inflation.
The cryptocurrency’s limited supply contrasts with fiat currencies that can be printed without limit. When inflation fears rise, as indicated by economic indicators like CPI (Consumer Price Index), or when the Federal Reserve signals tighter monetary policy by raising interest rates, both the S&P 500 and Bitcoin can be affected. Stocks generally react negatively to high inflation and higher rates, which can also increase the appeal of Bitcoin as an alternative investment.
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy also impacts liquidity in financial markets. Lower interest rates and quantitative easing generally increase market liquidity, making funds available for investment in both stocks and cryptocurrencies, leading to potential price increases in both markets.
Conversely, quantitative tightening reduces liquidity, which can lead to lower prices. Bitcoin’s reaction to these policies can be swift, mirroring or even exaggerating the movements seen in the S&P 500.
The increasing adoption of blockchain technology and the integration of cryptocurrencies into traditional finance (like Bitcoin ETFs and futures) further intertwine the performance of Bitcoin with traditional stock markets.
As institutional investors enter the crypto space, their investment behaviours — often driven by the same factors influencing their stock market investments — can lead to correlated movements between Bitcoin and the S&P 500.
Global events such as geopolitical tensions, trade wars, or pandemics can influence both the stock market and Bitcoin prices.
For instance, during times of heightened uncertainty, there may be an increase in Bitcoin buying as a hedge against global instability, even as stock markets might falter due to risk aversion among traditional investors.
Understanding the nuanced relationship between Bitcoin, the S&P 500, and economic indicators not only helps in assessing the risk and opportunities inherent in both markets but also in strategizing investments that can withstand or capitalize on the interconnected volatility of these asset classes.
During this turbulent period in the crypto market, traders are expressing a mix of caution and strategic optimism. Here’s a snapshot of the prevailing sentiments and strategies among traders:
As we navigate through a period of significant volatility and anticipation in the crypto market, various traders and analysts have shared their expectations for Bitcoin’s future. These insights combine optimism with caution, reflecting the complex factors influencing the market.
The upcoming Bitcoin halving is a focal point of discussion. Andrew Kang of Mechanism Capital is notably optimistic, predicting that Bitcoin’s price could ascend to new all-time highs, potentially reaching $80,000 by May. This optimism is grounded in Bitcoin’s historical performance following previous halvings, where reduced supply typically led to price increases due to the heightened scarcity of available coins.
The activity of Bitcoin whales—large holders capable of influencing market dynamics through substantial transactions—is also a key indicator to watch. Recent data suggest that whales are accumulating Bitcoin, possibly in anticipation of price increases post-halving. This trend could provide upward pressure on prices if it continues, signaling strong demand overcoming the reduced supply.
Economic announcements, particularly regarding inflation and Federal Reserve policies, have recently impacted Bitcoin’s price.
Traders should continue to monitor these indicators as they provide a critical context for Bitcoin’s behaviour in relation to broader financial markets.
For instance, if inflation remains high, Bitcoin may increasingly be viewed as a hedge, similar to gold, which could boost its price further.
Despite the optimistic projections, seasoned traders like Honeybadger express a more cautious stance, suggesting potential price volatility could lead to unexpected market movements. This sentiment is echoed by others who advise against over-leverage and recommend waiting for more stable market conditions to avoid the risks of sudden price reversals.
Looking further ahead, the integration of blockchain technology and broader financial acceptance of cryptocurrencies may bolster Bitcoin’s position as a mainstream asset. This could lead to greater stability and less susceptibility to sharp market movements compared to the current landscape.
Let’s delve into the world of decentralised stablecoins to get more clarity on a concept that marries cryptocurrency flexibility with traditional financial stability.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to have a stable value, unlike other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which can see their prices fluctuate wildly.
The idea behind stablecoins is to combine the best of both worlds: the stability of traditional money, like dollars or euros, and the flexibility and security of digital currencies.
Stablecoins achieve their stability by being pegged to something with a stable value, such as a widely used currency (like the US dollar) or a commodity (like gold). This means one unit of a stablecoin is meant to always be worth the same as the asset it’s tied to. For example, one stablecoin pegged to the US dollar aims always to be worth exactly one dollar.
This stability makes stablecoins particularly useful for people who want to use digital currency for everyday transactions, like buying coffee or sending money to friends, without worrying about the value of their currency going up or down dramatically in a short period.
It also makes them a popular choice for traders and investors in the cryptocurrency world who are looking for a safe place to store their assets during turbulent market conditions.
According to DeFiLlama, as of April 2024, the total stablecoins market cap has risen to $154.66 billion. However, this value includes both decentralised and centralised stables. The dominant stable is USDT, a centralised stablecoin.
Source: DeFiLlama
USDT, or Tether, stands out in the cryptocurrency world due to its centralised nature, meaning it is issued and managed by a single entity, Tether Limited.
This central authority holds reserves in traditional fiat currencies, like the US dollar, to back and stabilise the value of USDT, ensuring that it remains pegged 1:1 with the dollar.
This centralisation contrasts with decentralised cryptocurrencies, where control is spread across a network of users. The centralised approach of USDT provides users with the perceived stability of traditional financial systems while enabling the flexibility of digital transactions.
However, it also introduces reliance on the trustworthiness and solvency of Tether Limited, making its transparency and regulatory compliance crucial to users’ confidence.
A decentralised stablecoin is a special kind of digital money that aims to keep its value steady, just like regular stablecoins.
What sets it apart is how it operates without being controlled by any single company or government. Instead, it uses a network of computers and sophisticated software to manage itself.
Imagine a community garden where everyone contributes and decides together how to take care of it, rather than one person owning it and making all the decisions.
In a similar way, decentralised stablecoins are managed by a community of users following rules written in computer code. These rules help keep the stablecoin’s value consistent, often by linking it to something stable like the dollar or gold.
This approach offers a couple of big benefits.
First, it can reduce the risk of a single point of failure, like if a company managing a stablecoin goes out of business.
Second, it promotes transparency and fairness, as everyone can see and understand how the stablecoin is managed.
| Comparison criteria | Decentralised Stablecoins | Centralised Stablecoins |
| Control and Governance | Operate based on smart contracts and are often governed by community decisions or a DAO. | Managed by a single entity, such as a company, which is responsible for maintaining the stablecoin’s value and reserves. |
| Transparency and Trust | Transparency is provided by the blockchain and smart contracts, allowing public verification. Trust is placed in the code and the governance model. | Trust is placed in the issuing company to hold sufficient reserves, with varying degrees of transparency and external audits. |
| Reserve Management | Use other cryptocurrencies, algorithmic methods, or combinations thereof to maintain their peg, minimising reliance on traditional systems. | Typically backed by traditional assets (fiat currencies, gold, etc.), managed by the issuer. |
| Regulatory Oversight | Faces a complex regulatory landscape due to its distributed nature, which can both pose challenges and offer resistance to regulatory pressure. | They are more likely to be regulated and comply with financial laws, given their ties to traditional financial entities and assets. |
| Accessibility and Integration | It may offer innovative features within the DeFi ecosystem but might be less accessible to newcomers due to its complexity. | Often offer easier integration with traditional financial systems and are generally more accessible to the general public. |
It’s important to note that most stablecoins used by crypto traders are mostly centralised stablecoins.
USDT (Tether), USDC (USD Coin), TUSD (TrueUSD), BUSD (Binance USD), and PAXG (Pax Gold) are generally considered centralised due to their backing by specific companies or organisations that maintain control over their issuance and backing reserves.
FRAX, DAI, and others like FDUSD, USDE, and XAUT offer more decentralised aspects. Here’s a closer look:
It’s important to distinguish between the operational models of these stablecoins, especially in terms of decentralisation and the mechanisms they use to maintain their peg.
If you intend to invest in crypto or store funds in decentralised stablecoins, consider using eToro, Binance or Wirex, three highly reliable centralised crypto platforms.
In the vast and volatile ocean of the cryptocurrency market, there exists a creature of immense power and influence: the crypto whale. Much like their namesake in the natural world, crypto whales are entities or individuals who hold a colossal amount of cryptocurrency.
They are the big players whose investments are so significant that their trading movements can cause ripples or even tidal waves across the market, influencing prices and trends in ways that affect every other participant.
A crypto whale is someone who owns a huge amount of cryptocurrency. It’s called a whale as it may resemble a real whale, which s a huge creature in the ocean.
Because they have so much crypto, these crypto whales can make big moves in the market. If they decide to buy a lot of one type of cryptocurrency, the price can go up because there’s a lot of demand all at once.
If they sell a lot, the price can drop because it looks like there’s a lot of that crypto available all of a sudden.
Essentially, crypto whales are important because their actions can change the prices in the cryptocurrency market very quickly, influencing how much your cryptocurrency is worth.
Who exactly qualifies as a whale?
While there’s no exact threshold, it’s generally agreed that these are holders of enough digital currency that their buy or sell orders can single-handedly move market prices.
This might mean owning thousands of Bitcoins, millions in Ethereum, or equivalent amounts in other digital currencies.
Many talk about the crypto whales because they can dramatically sway market prices in one direction or another.
These market movements are not just numerical changes on a screen; they can have real effects on other investors.
For instance, a sudden price drop caused by a large sale can trigger panic selling among smaller investors, further driving down the price.
On the other hand, a price increase might encourage more buying, creating a snowball effect that pushes the price even higher.
However, not all impacts of whale activity are negative or manipulative. Sometimes, whales can bring stability to a market by using their substantial holdings to prevent drastic price swings. For instance, they might buy up a cryptocurrency when its price drops to a certain level, providing a safety net that can reassure other investors and stabilise the market.
Luckily, crypto transactions are all recorded on the blockchain. That’s how we can all check the current crypto whales and observe in real-time any sudden massive crypto transactions.
Of course, we can only see the wallets belonging to these whales, but we can’t tie them to a particular person. Also, we cannot know if one or more wallets belong to the same individual. Understanding how the blockchain works will offer great insight into how to interpret the data offered by this technology.
Identifying the movements of crypto whales is key to understanding market dynamics, yet it requires access to specific tools and platforms designed to track and analyze vast amounts of transaction data across different blockchains.
These platforms allow users to view real-time transactions on their respective blockchains, including the amounts transferred and the wallet addresses involved.
By monitoring large transactions, one can infer potential whale movements. For example, a single transaction involving thousands of Bitcoins or a similar magnitude of another cryptocurrency could signal whale activity.
Source: Blockchain.com
These are just some examples. Such a blockchain explorer exists for any blockchain. You can simply search for the “name of the blockchain” + “explorer” on Google and you will find the corresponding blockchain explorer.
Specialised analytics platforms offer more nuanced insights into the crypto market, including the tracking of whale movements. These services analyse blockchain data to highlight large transactions and potentially link them to known whale accounts or institutions.
Social media platforms and cryptocurrency forums are also rich sources of information and speculation regarding whale activities.
Communities on Reddit (such as r/CryptoCurrency), X (former Twitter), and specialised forums often discuss large transactions and potential whale movements, providing context and interpretations that may not be immediately apparent from raw data alone.
Identifying a whale involves more than just spotting a large transaction.
It’s about recognising patterns over time, such as repeated transactions from the same wallet address or significant amounts moving in response to market events.
Wallets holding large amounts of cryptocurrency often belong to individuals, exchanges, or institutional investors, each influencing the market in different ways.
While the tools and platforms mentioned provide valuable insights into whale activities, interpreting this data requires a nuanced understanding of the market. Observing transaction patterns, understanding the context of large movements, and staying informed through community discussions are all crucial for those looking to navigate the crypto waters influenced by whales.
Understanding the role of crypto whales is crucial for anyone involved in cryptocurrency.
Their actions can serve as indicators of market trends, offering insights to savvy investors who keep an eye on whale movements.
By recognising the signs of whale activity, investors can make more informed decisions, navigating the crypto market with a better understanding of its underlying dynamics.
Solana is showing signs of potentially surpassing Ethereum in terms of consumer decentralized applications (DApps), as noted by Solana Foundation’s former head of growth. Despite current market challenges, Solana’s unique features could lead to increased developer activity and user adoption.
Matty Taylor, co-founder of Colosseum and previously part of the Solana Foundation, shared that he believes the Solana blockchain is going to become more popular than Ethereum, especially for regular users.
He said that Solana has been doing better than Ethereum in attracting user-friendly apps that fit with the modern web, thanks to its ability to handle transactions quickly and efficiently.
Currently, according to DappRadar, Ethereum has about 4,520 decentralized applications (Dapps), which is considerably more than the ones on Solana (240).
But even so, Solana has kept its nickname over the years, as it is often mentioned as a potential “Ethereum-killer.” This is because Solana can process transactions faster and more efficiently than Ethereum.
The collapse of FTX and the subsequent market downturn were major challenges for Solana, but according to Matty Taylor, these events actually brought more developers to the platform, even as the value of Solana’s SOL token dropped.
Taylor pointed out that every major blockchain network, including Bitcoin with its Mt Gox incident and the 2020 market downturn, has faced tough times. He believes that Solana has emerged from these challenges stronger and with a growing number of developers.
Despite these advancements, Ethereum still leads significantly in the crypto space.
As of March 2024, according to DefiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum is $50.5 billion, more than 11 times Solana’s TVL of $4.34 billion.
Source: DefiLlama
Source: DefiLlama
Additionally, Solana faced technical issues when its blockchain stopped producing blocks for over five hours on February 6, forcing a network restart by its validators. This was not the first time; Solana has experienced several notable disruptions since January 2022.
Matty Taylor explained that while network problems are usually bad for any system, blockchains trying to expand their capabilities will naturally face some challenges. He mentioned that it’s better for these issues to occur now rather than later, especially before large, critical funds like pensions begin to rely on blockchain technology. He admitted that while it’s not ideal, these challenges are part of the innovation process.
There is no doubt that Solana is becoming a serious competitor to the already established Ethereum blockchain.
According to DappRadar, the top 10 Dapps are divided between Ethereum and Solana. Three of these are native to Solana, six are Ethereum-based, and one (Magic Eden NFT marketplace) supports both blockchains.
However, it’s worth pointing out that the UAW (Unique Active Wallets) interacting with these apps seems to be increasing on the Solana-based Dapps.
Raydium, the Solana-based DEX, has taken the lead with over 1.15 million unique addresses in the last 30 days. This is almost double that of the most popular DEX in the crypto space, Uniswap. However, the top from DappRadar counts Uniswap V3, V2 and the NFT aggregator as separate Dapps, but there’s no way of knowing if those aren’t the same addresses on both Uniswap V3 and V2.
According to CoinMarketCap, Solana (SOL) registered a price surge of over 78% during the last month, reaching a trading price of about $185 at the end of March 2024.
This sharp increase, together with its latest tech developments, played a pivotal role in last month’s TVL increase for its top protocols. Here’s a screenshot from DefiLlama of the top protocols on Solana, sorted by their TVL (total value locked).
Stablecoins are another way to measure how relevant a blockchain really is. Investors and day traders will often use stables, such as USDT and USDC to safeguard their trading profits from the market’s volatility.
While Ethereum still maintains its sovereignty, being responsible for over 52% of all stablecoin transactions, Solana ranks as the 4th blockchain for stablecoin trading, with a 1.86% dominance of the total market share.
Source: DefiLlama, Total Stablecoins Market Cap Dominance
Here is a breakdown for each of the top blockchains for trading stables.
Solana is gradually growing in volume and market capitalization, experiencing more than a 4% increase over the last week. It appears that Solana is steadily outpacing Ethereum. If this trend continues, it will not be a matter of if but rather a question of when.
The Ethereum Dencun upgrade, combining Deneb and Cancun updates, introduces significant changes to enhance scalability and reduce fees. This upgrade, crucial for Ethereum’s future growth, facilitates cheaper transaction storage off-chain.
Dencun combines two updates called Deneb and Cancun into one big change for Ethereum, touching both the part of Ethereum that reaches agreements (consensus layer) and the part that handles transactions (execution layer).
The Dencun upgrade also brings a feature called Proto-Danksharding through EIP-4844, aiming to lower the costs for layer 2 (L2) storage solutions. It introduces a new kind of temporary data storage called “blobs,” which helps in making storage cheaper for rollup providers.
Proto-danksharding is an early step towards full danksharding. It allows layer-2 solutions on Ethereum to keep large transaction data off the main network, similar to using a temporary storage space. This helps reduce costs for users of layer-2 solutions by keeping the main Ethereum network less cluttered and reserved for crucial transactions.
These blobs stay available on the network for about 18 days, or 4096 epochs, after which they are removed. However, even after removal, the validity of the data can still be checked with certain proofs.
This is a major system update in blockchain, and it started at a specific time in Ethereum’s history, rolling out completely in 15 minutes. This update aims to cut down fees for certain transactions and enable Ethereum to handle more activity.
Deneb focuses on improving the agreement part of Ethereum, making sure everyone on the network agrees on what’s happening.
Cancun upgrades how transactions are done, making them smoother and more efficient.
This addition is expected to significantly lower rollup costs, control the size of the blockchain, and accommodate more users while keeping the network secure and decentralized.
This big change comes after another important update last year, which let people take their Ethereum out if they had put it into the network before.
This feature started on March 13, 2024, at 1:55 PM UTC, from epoch 269568.
Major rollup providers like Arbitrum and Optimism have announced they will start using the new blob feature right after the upgrade.
However, the exact time when each rollup will start showing lower fees might differ because each provider needs to update their systems to use the new blob space.
The Dencun upgrade makes Ethereum better by allowing it to handle more users and transactions without raising costs too much. It also keeps the network spread out and not controlled by just a few.
Ethereum is focusing on improving “layer 2 rollups.” These are systems that help handle more users safely.
Rollups work by doing transactions separately and then sending a summary or proof back to the main network. This process costs money, which was high before because every network user had to keep the information forever.
The Dencun upgrade introduces Proto-Danksharding, making it cheaper to store these summaries. Now, they only need to be kept for about 18 days, reducing costs. Since rollups need about 7 days to handle withdrawals, the new 18-day limit is more than enough, keeping everything secure without needing more computer storage.
The Proto-Danksharding update (EIP-4844) requires changes to both the systems that carry out transactions and the ones that help agree on the network’s state.
All the main programs used by Ethereum have been updated to reflect this change.
People running these programs need to make sure they’re using the latest version to stay connected with Ethereum after the update.
Remember, this info can get outdated, so always look for the latest updates. Also, the software used by validators, who help keep Ethereum secure, has been updated for this new change.
Transactions on Ethereum’s Layer 2 can now be stored in two ways:
Blob space saves money by offering short-term storage, enough for all needed security checks. The permanent calldata, though more secure for long-term, costs more.
The choice between using blob space or calldata is usually up to the rollup providers, who decide based on how much blob space is available.
If lots of people want to use blob space, they might have to use calldata to make sure transactions go through quickly.
Even though users might technically pick which storage they prefer, rollup providers typically make this decision to keep things simpler and costs lower. For more details on how this works, you should look at the information given by the rollup providers.
The Dencun upgrade wasn’t mainly about security, but it did bring in some improvements to make Ethereum safer.
Part of the update, EIP-4788, helps the parts of Ethereum that check transactions and the parts that carry out transactions talk to each other better. This could make it harder for attackers to find and exploit weak spots.
Another change, EIP-6780, is about altering the way smart contracts can end themselves through the “SELFDESTRUCT” function. By tweaking how this works, it’s harder for bad actors to misuse this function, which could lead to better overall security for Ethereum smart contracts.
The Dencun update has introduced a new method for Ethereum’s Layer-2 scaling solutions that lowers the cost of transactions.
These Layer-2 networks group many transactions together to save money before sending them to the main Ethereum network.
The key feature of Dencun, called proto-danksharding and introduced in EIP-4844, reduces Layer-2 costs by allowing these networks to store certain transaction information outside the main blockchain.
Not really.
The update brings in a new way to charge for something called blob space, used mainly by rollup providers. Moving rollup data to blobs might lower fees on L1 a bit, but the main goal is to cut costs on Layer 2 (L2). Any decrease in L1 fees would be a small, indirect result.
The lessening of L1 gas costs depends on how much the rollup providers use the new blob data. But since L1 is used for lots of other things too, its costs might stay competitive.
If rollups start using blob space, they will use less L1 gas, which could help reduce L1 gas prices for a while.
However, blob space has its limits; if it gets too full, rollups will need to use the old, more expensive storage, which could make gas prices go up again for both L1 and L2.
Regular Ethereum nodes keep the latest network information, but they can throw away old blob data after about 18 days. Before getting rid of it, Ethereum makes sure everyone who might need it has a chance to:
People might want old blob data for different reasons, and there are a few ways to get it:
When getting old data back, you just need one reliable source to check it against the current network state.
Proto-Danksharding is a preparatory step towards fully adopting Danksharding.
Danksharding aims to spread out the storage of transaction data among different network participants, so no single one has to store everything.
This method will allow more data to be included in each block, helping Ethereum grow to support more users and transactions.
Such growth is key for Ethereum to serve billions of people affordably and run more complex applications while keeping the network spread out and not controlled by just a few.
Without these updates, the equipment needed to run the network would become too costly, possibly leaving only a few large players in charge, which would conflict with Ethereum’s goal of being decentralized.
Pump-and-dump schemes, prevalent in over 90,000 Ethereum projects, are eroding confidence in the DeFi sector by exploiting liquidity and inflating profits, casting a shadow on the cryptocurrency industry’s integrity.
The world of cryptocurrency is like the Wild West, but it’s slowly becoming more like traditional finance. But in decentralized finance, or DeFi, it’s still pretty wild. People often trade in risky ways, leading to scams and unfair trading.
In a scam called a pump-and-dump, someone or a group lies to make people excited about buying a token. They say things that aren’t true to make people afraid of missing out. Then, while others start buying, they sell their own shares for a higher price.
So far, people have created over two million different cryptocurrencies. But many of these are no longer used.
According to a Chainalysis report, in 2023, more than 370,000 new tokens were created just on the Ethereum network. Out of these, 168,600 were listed on decentralized exchanges, where people can trade them.
The report found that many Ethereum tokens show signs of being messed with in the market.
Usually, less than 1.4% of new tokens get more than $300 in trading activity right after they launch. Only 5.7% of the tokens started in 2023 on Ethereum have done better than this.
Also, the research points out that about 90,408 tokens didn’t get more than $300 in trades. And there was at least one case where someone took out more than 70% of a token’s trading money in one go, after buying it five times before.
While this doesn’t prove these tokens were all used in scams, it does show how experts can use the data from the blockchain to find fishy patterns.
The entities that launched these tokens made around $241.6 million in profit in 2023.
This doesn’t include the costs to set up and start their projects. Some of these people launched many tokens. For example, one person started 81 different tokens and made about $830,000.
Many can see how all these events, such as DeFi scams and unregulated trading, can hurt the crypto world’s reputation.
A solution would be to have an independent or clear third-party check for bad practices.
It’s hard to catch wrongdoers in crypto because the laws are not clear.
People choose crypto to avoid traditional banks, which they might not trust. But if crypto faces the same problems as banks, people might go back to banking. To gain more users, the crypto community must stop these bad practices.
Depending on your geographical location, you might have laws that have your back.
Laws like the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) can help. They set rules and punishments to prevent wrongdoing, which could reduce fraud in the industry.
Unlike startups that need time to grow before offering shares, memecoin projects can explode overnight, often inspired by online jokes or trends.
Insiders might use secret tips to make fast, large profits by buying before big news breaks, pushing up the price of their holdings.
Services like Lookonchain can spot these activities, such as a case where someone turned a small investment in Solana’s token into $2 million by trading just five minutes after market launch.
Some crypto influencers push hasty decisions that can lead to losses, as they may profit from hyping certain projects. Regulators try to control this by targeting promoters, but often, the main culprits remain untouched.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken legal action against celebrities, like Kim Kardashian, for unauthorized crypto promotions, with the SEC’s Chair warning against such activities in 2023.
Despite efforts, regulators struggle to control crypto pump-and-dump and insider trading.
Chainalysis’s study shows gaps in enforcement. This might mean that the regulators could try to apply traditional finance protections to crypto. However, unclear laws and guidelines hinder this.
Authorities usually track back from victims, but social media complicates matters. Catching and prosecuting wrongdoers is necessary to stop them from exploiting the system.
The good news is that a simple blockchain analysis can trace stolen funds. However, setting up a capable regulatory team remains a challenge.
On-chain analysis can reveal who owns most of a token, which might indicate a scheme. Overall, transparency, which is unique to blockchain, can assist in monitoring.
Preventing scams requires investor education and skepticism. Self-research and cautious investing are essential. The sector’s growth relies not just on big firms entering but on protecting individual investors in DeFi. Always exert caution, especially with new, quickly rising tokens.
How will the upcoming Bitcoin halving impact miners and the cryptocurrency market? It’s all about energy efficiency strategies, global mining shifts, market reactions, and the potential long-term effects on Bitcoin’s value and mining landscape.
The Bitcoin community is on the brink of a major event – the upcoming Bitcoin 2024 halving.
This anticipated event, occurring every four years, is expected to have significant implications for the market and miners, particularly those based in the United States.
As we approach this pivotal moment, set for April, the mining landscape is bracing for change, with the reward for mining Bitcoin transactions set to decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
This reduction in mining rewards will challenge operations globally, but the impact will vary significantly based on regional factors and operational efficiencies.
In the United States, where recent data from Hashlabs Mining indicates that 40% of Bitcoin mining takes place, the focus has turned towards energy-efficient mining operations. These operations are believed to be less susceptible to the adverse effects of the halving due to their lower operational costs.
The halving is not just a technical adjustment; it serves as a crucial test for the sustainability and profitability of mining activities.
This situation sets the stage for a broader discussion on the future of Bitcoin mining in the U.S. and globally as miners scramble to adapt to the impending reduction in rewards.
The Bitcoin halving is a major event. It happens every four years.
In April 2024, the reward for mining Bitcoin will be cut in half. This means Bitcoin miners will get less Bitcoin for their work.
Why does this matter?
It affects how much money miners make.
When rewards drop, some miners might stop mining because it’s too expensive. This is especially true for those who use a lot of energy.
But it’s not all bad. The halving can make Bitcoin more rare. This can increase its value. People are watching to see how this changes Bitcoin’s price.
In the U.S., many miners are preparing. They are using less energy to stay profitable. This is important because the U.S. has a lot of Bitcoin miners.
The halving tests miners. It shows who can adapt and who can’t. This event is big for Bitcoin’s future. It could change how people see and use Bitcoin.
As the U.S. miners are getting ready for the halving, they focus on using less energy. This can help them stay profitable even when mining rewards are cut.
Energy costs matter a lot. Cheap energy means lower costs and greater profits. This is key for making money after the Bitcoin halving.
Some miners plan ahead. They look for ways to cut energy costs. They have mining sites all over the world. They share their energy costs to stay open about their spending.
The price of Bitcoin is also important. If it stays the same, some U.S. miners might reduce their mining. This is because they will earn less Bitcoin for the same work.
But, if Bitcoin’s price goes up, miners could still do well. Higher prices mean more money for the same amount of Bitcoin.
As the halving approaches, the future of Bitcoin mining hangs in the balance. Miners around the world are bracing for change, with energy efficiency becoming the mantra for survival. Those who have prepared by reducing costs and enhancing efficiency stand the best chance of weathering the storm.
The halving could lead to a shakeout, where only the most efficient miners remain. This is not necessarily bad; it could lead to a more sustainable and robust mining ecosystem. Efficiency gains could offset the reduction in rewards, maintaining the health of the Bitcoin network.
The global hash rate, despite potential short-term dips, is expected to continue its upward trajectory. This reflects confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value and the mining industry’s resilience. New technologies and mining strategies will likely emerge, driving further innovation in the sector.
The price of Bitcoin remains a wildcard. A significant increase could rejuvenate the mining landscape, compensating for the halved rewards. Conversely, if prices remain stagnant or fall, the industry could face further consolidation.
The Bitcoin halving event sparks widespread speculation about future price movements.
Historically, halvings have been followed by significant price increases, fueling optimism among investors. As the supply of new Bitcoins decreases, if demand remains the same or increases, the price could rise.
Currently, Bitcoin’s price is experiencing a notable upsurge, partly driven by the anticipation of the halving.
Investors are keenly observing market trends, with many expecting the price to reach new heights post-halving. This optimism is bolstered by recent rallies and the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds), which have attracted new investors.
However, the market is complex and not immune to downturns. High leverage and speculative trading could lead to volatility and corrections. Analysts advise caution, suggesting that while the outlook is promising, the market may still experience swings.
The post-halving period is a time of uncertainty and opportunity. Market dynamics post-halving will be influenced by a mix of investor sentiment, market liquidity, and broader economic factors.
As always, investors should conduct thorough research and consider multiple perspectives before making decisions. The halving could be a catalyst for growth, but the path is unlikely to be smooth.
In conclusion, the upcoming Bitcoin halving presents both challenges and opportunities. Miners must adapt to survive, while investors watch closely as this event could herald a new era for Bitcoin’s value and its underlying technology.
The next few months will be critical in shaping the future of Bitcoin mining and the cryptocurrency market at large.
The European Central Bank announces a decisive move towards introducing a digital euro. This initiative will enhance privacy, increase competition in the payment sector, and ensure financial stability.
Piero Cipollone, a top official at the European Central Bank (ECB), recently talked to a group of European lawmakers about getting ready to create a digital version of the euro. He mentioned four main challenges they need to tackle and assured that the ECB is working to ensure that everyone can use this new digital currency without having to pay for it.
Cipollone explained that the ECB is already looking for companies that can help build and support this new digital euro. He said it’s important to start looking for these companies now, before they officially decide to introduce the digital euro.
This way, they won’t be behind schedule. He also mentioned that any agreements they make with these companies will be flexible, taking into account future laws and technology changes.
Moreover, he mentioned that only companies based in the EU, or those controlled by EU citizens, will be allowed to be part of this project.
This could be a big moment for Amazon because it was picked to help design a sample online shopping feature for the digital euro, but now they are looking for more applicants for the project.
Piero Cipollone also talked about the rules for using the digital euro. He described it as a single set of guidelines and standards that will make sure the digital euro works smoothly everywhere. According to Cipollone, the digital euro should be as straightforward to use as cash.
This would mean people wouldn’t have to rely on big international companies to make payments and everyone in the euro area would get the same level of service.
Cipollone likened the system supporting the digital euro to railway tracks.
Just like tracks can be used by many different train companies but are owned by the government, the digital euro system would be open for various businesses to use while being controlled by the state.
On February 15, a group called the European Money and Financial Forum, which is independent and not-for-profit, released a study. This study pointed out some tricky legal problems that could come up if the digital euro is made a required form of payment.
It was especially concerned about how this decision could affect companies that handle payments and are part of the euro payment system. The study also criticized the idea of making something a required form of payment, calling it an outdated concept.
To make sure the digital euro doesn’t upset the financial system, Piero Cipollone said they’re adding some safety measures to its design. For instance, the digital euro won’t earn interest, so it won’t compete with banks where people save their money.
There will also be limits on how much digital euro individuals can hold, and businesses and financial institutions won’t be allowed to keep it.
However, people will be able to connect their digital euro wallets to their bank accounts. This means they can make transactions directly without needing to move money into their wallets first.
Cipollone also mentioned privacy with the digital euro, promising that it would allow for very private online payments, more private than what’s currently available through commercial services.
Cash will still be available, and when you pay with the digital euro without using the internet, it will be just as private as using cash.
Only the person giving the money and the person receiving it will know the details of the transaction.
When paying online, the European Central Bank (ECB) will only get a very small amount of data that’s been disguised to protect identities.
This data is only for necessary actions like completing the payment.
Plus, users will have more control over their personal information than they do with private payment services. The digital euro will also have the best protection against online threats.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is taking careful steps towards introducing the digital euro, with the project currently in the research and development phase.
In November 2023, the preparation phase was approved to start after the investigation phase was concluded.
While specific dates for the full rollout are yet to be announced, the ECB has indicated a phased approach.
Initial experiments and prototypes are being tested to ensure the digital euro meets high standards of security, efficiency, and accessibility.
Following this, a pilot phase could be launched to test real-life applications, expected to take several years to complete.
The final introduction of the digital euro to the public would only occur after successful trials and adjustments based on feedback.
This cautious approach ensures that once launched, the digital euro will be ready for widespread use across the eurozone, providing a seamless and secure digital payment option for all citizens.
Ultimately, the final decision to introduce the digital Euro can only be taken after the entire EU adopts a legislative framework.