Crypto World August 2019: The world’s first crypto bank, crypto salaries and Bitcoin support on Samsung devices

Crypto World August 2019: The world’s first crypto bank, crypto salaries and Bitcoin support on Samsung devices

by | Sep 2, 2019 | News

The summer of 2019 is over, but August has left us with some great news for the crypto community and for the overall fintech sector. What happened in the crypto world in August 2019?

Crypto World August 2019: The world's first crypto bank, crypto salaries and Bitcoin support on Samsung devices

World’s first crypto bank

The Swiss financial regulator has given funding market and securities trader licenses to 2 blockchain businesses (Sygnum and SEBA), set to become the world’s very first crypto banks.
The businesses are going to have the ability to issue, shop, commerce, and handle digital assets, specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum, and convert fiat currencies like Swiss francs, US dollars, and euros to the 2 cryptocurrencies.

They also aim to give their shareholders custody, broker and tokenization services due to their electronic assets. The two companies, however, have to fulfil particular “secondary standards” required by FINMA to turn into fully-operational Swiss banks. These standards have never been revealed to the general public.

The co-founders of all Sygnum crypto lender have hailed the award of a Swiss banking permit for a game-changer that may open the gates to the integration of cryptocurrencies and other electronic assets to the recognized financial industry.

“This is the first time such licenses have been granted worldwide, so Switzerland is playing a pioneering role,”

-Manuel Krieger, CEO of Sygnum Switzerland

“We now have a responsibility as an enabling platform to help banks and other financial players make the step into the digital asset world.”

“Cryptocurrencies will come out of the shadows if dealing with these assets can be done in a 100% compliant manner upholding all the rules that a strict regulator demands. That is a game-changer,” he added.

Crypto World August 2019: The world's first crypto bank, crypto salaries and Bitcoin support on Samsung devices

New Zealand adopts rules for crypto payroll

Crypto salaries do not really require dedicated legislation or unique permissions by governments to be lawful. Many countries allow a part of a worker’s compensation to be non-monetary assets and/or commodities. And in authorities where electronic coins aren’t referred to as currencies, they’ve been given a commodity standing.

But it will seem like a step ahead when a government service explicitly mentions crypto salary in its official records. And that is exactly what the taxation jurisdiction in New Zealand lately did, deeming it lawful for companies to pay salaries in bitcoin. Businesses will then have the ability to withhold tax on income obligations under the present pay-as-you-earn schemes such as those of frequent fiat salaries, in accordance with the nation’s present taxation laws.

And while crypto-enthusiasts have welcomed the agreement as a person which may promote crypto adoption, doubters have expressed worries its sole objective is to make sure the group of more earnings from the authorities in Wellington.

Of course, this comes under a set of conditions.

To start with, only workers working under official arrangements can be compensated with cryptocurrency. Afterwards, the obligations should be for a fixed sum, not exceeding half the complete pay, together with the value of this crypto asset pegged to one or more fiat currencies. The crypto salary has to be a normal part of the worker’s remuneration and be substituted to government-issued fiat cash such as the New Zealand Dollar.

The IRD also pointed out that wages have to be compensated in a coin which can easily be exchanged for fiat. This condition aims to protect workers from being compensated in an illiquid asset or little altcoin. Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Core(BTC), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) are on the list of the currencies which meet the criteria.

Crypto World August 2019: The world's first crypto bank, crypto salaries and Bitcoin support on Samsung devices

Samsung has added Bitcoin support

Samsung has added bitcoin service to its Blockchain Keystore, which means the newest Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note10 versions are going to have the ability to store Bitcoin private keys.

Control over a pocket’s personal keys is frequently cited as one of the most overlooked and important facets of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, together with many of their largest crypto exchange hacks and thefts occurring because individuals don’t put away their crypto in personal wallets.

The Samsung Blockchain KeyStore is called “a secure and convenient place for your cryptocurrency,” and can be saved on the telephone’s secure-element, very similar to Apple Purchase and Google Pay, and “never saved to a Samsung or external cloud.”

Meanwhile, technology firms across the world, from societal networking giant Facebook into iPhone-maker Apple, have taken an interest in bitcoin and crypto this season, bringing the bitcoin and crypto marketplace from a year-long bear industry.

As technology businesses combine the classic financial sector in trying to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies since the future of cash, new consumers are expected to stream in the area, which can lead to a surge in adoption.

Support is limited to Samsung’s Galaxy S10e, S10, S10+, S10 5G, Note10 along with also the Note10+.

The rising of crypto banks and how do they work

The rising of crypto banks and how do they work

by | Aug 13, 2019 | Blockchain

Bitcoin was first born with the promise to give people their own bank. Looking at the financial solutions offered by banks, we can understand how bald this statement was, especially in 2008, when Bitcoin was created.

Here we are in 2019, when the decentralized model brought by Bitcoin can replicate many financial solutions using the blockchain technology, all which were previously solely in the world of banks.

Why is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)?

By enabling individuals to connect to brand new decentralized lending, trade, economics and other DeFi platforms, blockchain could supply a cryptocurrency option to conventional banking services, and people that are comfortable working within this ecosystem are consequently able to wield their resources with increased fungibility.

Make no mistake: DeFi isn’t a bank, as it merely mimics banking purposes and remains not able to offer the thing banks have been appreciated for – safety.

Lorenzo Pellegrino, CEO of Skrill:

“Many companies claiming to be banks operate in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, however almost all would find it hard to maintain that title in a regulated space. They use this terminology as it implies a level of safety and regulation found in the wider financial world, something that will most likely be missing from their product.”

Accordingly, these programs aren’t able to accept or draw funds as it would be in the case of a bank, which can be a red flag. They don’t defray the accountability through legal precedent, and there aren’t any investor-protection schemes covering the tokens when a smart contract goes wrong. In this sense, crypto banks are not yet a widespread concept.

However, they really do exist, as blockchain options created by teams from the finance industry have grown and as regulators start to find out more about the revolution knocking at their door.

What is a crypto bank?

Crypto banks are banking associations which participate in the conventional selection of money-related tasks like withdrawals and deposits, savings, borrowing and lending, and investing in a larger array of markets and instruments.

While this describes a normal lender flawlessly, crypto banks also have incorporated cryptocurrency within these fiscal purposes. They have also gained legality in the view of local fiscal watchdogs.

But the challenge the blockchain technology is facing goes to ways: It has to be at a tolerating regulatory environment and to possess sufficient local talent to offer mature, reliable solutions. In areas with innovative policymakers like Germany, institutions and businesses holding fiat and fiat-money-based resources can easily take part in the decentralized market using a crypto bank.

A convincing yet futile facsimile

On account of the distinctive capacities of a blockchain fund, many of the biggest centralized crypto companies can give bank-like services for additional enterprise-level companies, even where regulations don’t exist yet.

In the US, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has yet to decide if such systems can be integrated within the banking sector, and until further notice, they are classified as investment funds.

Coinbase Custody is among the most complicated cases, but it could simply play being a”lender” until authorities approve it.

The investors and companies who prefer to run accordingly to the local taxation authorities need to report their investments from fiat into tokens on Coinbase Custody. It enables individuals with big investments from the crypto marketplace to get out of segregated cold storage while experiencing the seamless integration with Coinbase Pro, deposits insurance, staking tools, customized reports and third-party auditing.

Burgeoning BTC banks worldwide

For U.S taxpayers, Coinbase supplies trusted exchange and storage, but you can’t pay invoices from a Coinbase account or receive your salary in it.

When going into the films in the U.S., crypto may be applied as payment or to refund a buddy (who bought your ticket) by sending money to their bank accounts. In order to repay a loan to a friend, an individual would first have to cash out Bitcoin (BTC), and ship it from Coinbase into some connected bank, then in the connected bank into the friends’ bank. That is because, without regulatory approval, fiat could be flipped into crypto (and vice versa), however fiat and crypto don’t belong to the exact same definition of cash when we are talking about banks. Certainly, there are still hurdles ahead.

Pellegrino opined:

“While cryptocurrency will definitely play a large role in the future of payment rails, we believe that they will be complementary to the current systems, rather than in full out competition. Established payments companies like ours will be key in helping this adoption.”

It becomes more clear as you understand that fitting crypto into the present monetary system is just like attempting to put a square peg into a round hole. Even the most innovative platforms are trying their hardest to leave the entrenched government and competition obsolete, but they forget that without transferability, among those five properties of money is missing out of crypto.

Tokens are scarce, durable, divisible and fungible, but authorities can induce a stalemate on transferability. That is the reason why advanced platforms like MyCryptoBank.io may utilize fiat-pegged stablecoins to get free cross-border trades, investing and spending — but the moment an individual decides to hold actual USD or exemptions (rather than blockchain derivatives), there’s an issue. Regulators can stop this motion of cryptocurrencies and make roadblocks for people to utilize their own money to their particular purposes, or perhaps move their funds to fiat currencies.

Banking is more a label than a verb

People wish to have the ability to use their cash where they need to, not in just 90% of the situations. Derivative instruments or precariously piled debit card solutions assembled on tenuous partnerships are not enough. Without regulatory acceptance, all blockchain fund is subject to the inherent fiat marketplace’s three to five day settlement period. According to a McKinsey report, If counterparties were to exchange cryptocurrency assets (digital currencies that do not need a central regulating body) rather than fiat currencies, for example, payments could be made and settled in minutes via blockchain, rather than in days as with current systems.”

Measures toward the universal understanding that crypto can store and pass on value are being created, but these measures are slow. Since cryptocurrency still struggles to find its legs in the next years, incorporated economies having the most liberal banking government will benefit the most. Together with the earliest cryptocurrency still on the fringes of finance, it is safe to forecast that mainstream acceptance remains at a distant moment in the future.

Can IoT be integrated with blockchain?

Can IoT be integrated with blockchain?

by | Aug 9, 2019 | News

Collecting data and exploiting it is the way the internet works today.

But this amount of information should be used to drive conclusions and to transform the digital world.

However, how do businesses tap into the growing expanse of the information available out there in the online market?

The Internet of Things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence are only three ‘alternatives’ that will assist companies in collecting, accessing and researching this increasingly valuable resource.

Blockchain and IoT

In order to integrate IoT with blockchain, the result should be practical, depending on the case.

It’s projected that by 2022, there’ll be over 50 billion IoT operating devices. And the challenge isn’t the storing the amount of information generated, but security.

“Processing power is an available commodity, but trust and security is something that is limited. There is a need for something that is resilient, tamper resistant and secure,” explained Hugh Simpson, Global Solutions Lead — Data & Analytics, AI, Industry 4.0 — at Ciklum, referring to the potential for blockchain technology.

What is the problem with IoT and blockchain?

“What are you trying to achieve from a business perspective,” asks Simpson? “Once you’ve answered that, it will dictate whether you need to integrate IoT and blockchain.”

The blockchain technology has become like a magic ingredient to any type of business. But let’s not lose our heads, yet. As in any other industry, a company first needs to identify the problem, before picking a technology to solve it. It just can’t work the other way around.

So the question is: How can these 2 technologies work together? The answer lays with assets and business who deal with them.

When talking about a physical business like transportation, road, mining and railroad, or electronic business, such as media or music entertainment material, incorporating IoT and blockchain enhances safety and trust.

Also, by replicating the data on more than one node, the access to that data becomes available to more people. With regulations such as the GDPR, also, the blockchain will help organisations keep control of their information.

The thing to remember is that the blockchain technology isn’t the solution to everything.

Security

It is a fact that the blockchain technology reduces the risk of a break, but an important note, which we have to keep in mind is that no technology will have the ability to guarantee absolute protection.

As Hugh Simpson, from Global Solutions Lead said: “Blockchain improves the audit trail of assets,”. “Take a very simple use case of a pump on a truck in a mine — by decentralising the asset and processing, you’re not relying on a centralised cloud-based solution for asset information and authorised users can see the audit trail of when that pump is maintained, how it’s been used, what it’s been used for. All of that data can better inform your decision-making process,”

The Economy of Things

The effects of blockchain won’t be transformational unless it is integrated with other technology, such as the IoT. As in everything else, it is far better to be a part of a group. Within this network composed of countless gamers, blockchain can build the Economy of Things:

1. Build connected instruments/devices
2. Create sensor networks
3. Collect the data
4. Optimise the assets
5. Finally, progress to the monetisation of these assets

The blockchain comes in handy with this one, building a secure, trustworthy and a traceable economy.

Why Walmart Wants a Cryptocurrency

Why Walmart Wants a Cryptocurrency

by | Aug 6, 2019 | Cryptocurrency, News

On August 1, it was made public that Walmart had filed a patent for a stablecoin backed by the US dollar.

If the project would come to an end, the stablecoin would be issued to some of the chain-store retailers. The description of the patent also covers the use of this stablecoin outside of this use case.

This announcement comes after the controversy with the cryptocurrency announced by the social media giant, Facebook, and the specifications of the two have a striking similarity.

What does Walmart patent say?

The entire crypto community, from all over the world had started taking an interest in all of these projects announced by big-names corporations.

The announcement of Libra, on the 18th of June, will be remembered for a long time for now on, as everyone is still speculation oh how this will be regulated and adopted (or not) by the community. They hope to launch it in 2020.

Of course, this got the US politicians to look more into is and so for, Facebook got a  regulatory pushback from global leaders and threats by U.S. members.

Now as Walmart made this step towards building its own cryptocurrency, the company enters the ring as well.

Walmart’s coin could be used in its 11,368 hypermarkets, department stores and grocery store clubs situated in 27 countries.

The Walmart patent is described like this:

“[The] method includes: generating one digital currency unit by tying the one digital currency unit to a regular currency; storing information of the one digital currency unit into a block of a blockchain; buying or paying the one digital currency unit.”

“The digital currency may be pegged to the US dollar and available for use only at selected retailers or partners. In other embodiments, the digital currency is available for use anywhere. The digital currency can provide a fee-free, or fee-minimal place to store wealth that can be spent, for example, at retailers and, if needed, easily converted to cash,” Walmarts filing adds.

What does Walmart’s patent bring to the table?

At a closer look proves that the Walmart coin delivers numerous attributes like “pre-approved biometric (e.g. eye or fingerprint pattern) credit” and could keep a user’s transaction history and provide loyalty points. Much like Facebook’s Libra, the coin made by Walmart intends to help low-income households globally.

“Using a digital currency, low-income households that find banking expensive may have an alternative way to handle wealth at an institution that can supply the majority of their day-to-day financial and product needs,” the Walmart submitting details.

“In some embodiments, retailers may be direct to aid organizations for assistance that may be used to provide goods. Retailers may tie into assistance that can provide vehicles or funding for vehicles to get goods to customers when the customers do not have sufficient mobility otherwise,” the patent shows.

Walmart’s coin to be used to pay employees?

A number of the speculation concerning a Walmart cryptocurrency is hard to digest, and these are some of the issues:

Paying

Imagine paying the 2 million employees that Walmart has in cryptocurrency. Those of you who have been in a Walmart store might be giggling now, but let’s make it more clear for those who haven’t been to one of their stores.

It seems highly unlikely that the people working at Walmart are the kind interested to be part of the international crypto market.  Assuming that the workers are actively militating for such a change, Walmart would have to change its systems to pay salaries in cryptocurrency and that’s not an easy thing to do, or cheap.

Introducing the banking system

The idea of bringing decentralization to the masses and “banking the unbanked” as a benefit of cryptocurrency is not a good enough reason for the regulators. A study from Aite Group found that half of the unbanked are using prepaid debit cards, which is an alternative to having a bank account.

“Customers without traditional bank accounts can create a microbank at an institution such as a retailer, which gains interest while their money is there. A customer buys digital currency, such as at the beginning of a month.”

Walmart’s patent meeting regulatory bodies

Jaret Seiberg, a senior policy analyst in investment banking firm Cowen, stated that Walmart’s proposed electronic coin shouldn’t face as much regulatory pushback as Libra, Facebook’s suggested virtual money.

As Bloomberg reports on Aug. 5, Seiberg additionally added that Walmart’s crypto could have a market appeal to Democratic legislators that are eager to get an alternate financial infrastructure for individuals that don’t frequently utilize banks.

Seiberg remarks that Facebook has international intentions that do not seem to be shared with Walmart.

Walmart’s proposal won’t probably find automated approval from Congress. Seiberg pointed out that, for example, Walmart’s coin may be regarded as a danger to banks and credit unions. However, Seiberg considers that lawmakers would finally approve Walmart’s proposal.

Concerning the specifics of Walmart’s projected money, Seiberg composed to customers on Monday the money may arrive in the kind of a stored-value card that’s pegged to the U.S. buck, somewhat like a rechargeable card.

According to the report, a Walmart spokesperson said on Friday, 2nd of August 2019,  that it’s not likely to immediately make the most of its own newly-filed patent.

IBM Blockchain World Wire promises to move money further and cheaper than ever before

IBM Blockchain World Wire promises to move money further and cheaper than ever before

by | Aug 1, 2019 | Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, News

Everybody knows that among Bitcoin’s most important resource is its borderless character and it may be utilized as a cross-border payment alternative. On the other hand, the decentralized character of Bitcoin has hamstrung its widespread adoption marginally, and many businesses have thus seen a market in the standard industry.

To begin with, there was Ripple, among just three blockchain-first businesses that were recently appointed from the Forbes Blockchain 50 listing, which has created its mandate to associate with big and institutionalised financial banks and institutions.

Some think this has happened. JP Morgan Chase this season also declared its blockchain-based cross-border payment alternative experimentation, the JPM Coin.

IBM has a substantial stake in the burgeoning blockchain marketplace with Hyperledger Fabric the most-used from the Forbes Blockchain 50 record, accounting for 26.

So, the race is really to supply a cross-border blockchain payment option, but are such enterprise businesses overlooking the mark somewhat, and even overlooking their key market altogether? Many companies and companies may see the significance of utilizing IBM’s solution, although the guy in the road, who are fed up with the standard financial system, may be more prone to use decentralised alternatives like Bitcoin.

However, where’s the viable, simple to use, user-friendly alternative which produces cryptocurrencies and their cross border possible available for everybody?

Ripple wishes to function as go-to for banks, JPM coin has been born of a lender, as well as the World Wire alternative has software predominantly for fiscal and business associations.

None of those solutions is made for the different side of this marketplace; the customers and the people who wish to have the ability to profit on the effectivity and worth of sending cash across boundaries throughout the blockchain.

Nowadays, many here will state Bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies, fill this market; they’re resources for your people and planned to aid people who wish to operate out the standard financial regime. However, it also has to be recalled that cryptocurrency adoption is nowhere close wide enough to attain critical mass.

On the flip side, there’s the decentralised cryptocurrency world which nonetheless has a gigantic ‘Wild West’ standing, this leaves a huge marketplace stranded in the centre.

“The biggest barrier for something like World Wire to get off the ground is the traditional banking system and its resistance to innovation,” explains Elizabeth White of The White Company, a company hoping to give cryptocurrency solutions which appeal to both customers and companies.

“Large intentional banks have been using systems like SWIFT for decades and have whole ‘wire departments’ dedicated to processing transactions. While blockchain would significantly modernize, automate, secure and speed up the whole process, it would require retraining and reworking a bank’s entire operations to implement,” White stated.

“IBM is using World Wire to compete with SWIFT for international bank transfers. While the system has a lot of potential and has a real chance of supplanting SWIFT; Individuals or companies cannot use World Wire, so they would still have to go through the regular banking process to send international payments.”

“For many banks, moving to XRP, JPM Coin, or World Wire is just not worth it because their customers are not yet demanding the speed and low cost of blockchain transactions, and in fact banks are making a lot of revenue on wire fees and the like.”

“There is also some apprehension amongst many banking professionals about using ‘blockchain’ because sadly there are quite a few that still don’t understand the technology and may even associate blockchain with money laundering, completely missing the significant anti-fraud prevention advantages of distributed ledger.”

A hybrid payment method

The growth of the cryptocurrency area was required thanks to its tumultuous and tumultuous past. It started as this bewitching online cash that could interrupt every business possible and captured the imagination of swaths of individuals, but in addition, it opened the doors for fraudsters, scammers, and speculators.

The backlash was a far more controlled, controlled and quantified approach to 2019. It has opened the other door for its business companies and major associations to join, but these polarised sides have left a major gap open from the centre.

White, along with the White Company, consider they’re on the ideal path to achieve this abandoned over target market since they’re providing stability and safety of important financial institutions because of supplying things like insurance by a leading UK Bank Lloyds, in addition to using a blockchain, Stellar is endorsed by IBM.

However they also feel the offering of a simple to use and user-friendly end, using a coin that is stable, and chances to exchange different cryptos, will help lure even more customers.

“Our payments platform, for example, is built on Stellar, which is a dedicated payments protocol supported by IBM, Deloitte, Stripe and others, and is focused on optimizing speed and efficiency of payments,” adds White.

When it’s to be considered at across a spectrum – based decentralised cryptocurrencies on one end, venture cross-border blockchain options on another – a middle ground has to be constructed and established. Users would like to have the safety of financial and banking institutions, with no bureaucracy and heritage connected with that.

What’s IBM World Wire?

72 countries, 47 currencies, 44 banking endpoints and more than 1081 unique currency trading pairs. IBM Blockchain World Wire is here.

In March 2019, IBM announced the launching of World Wire, a worldwide payments system, which is using the Stellar network.

The great news is that this system can be used by any financial system in the world, and it’s not limited to banks. By using the speed and flexibility of Stellar, World Wire intends to replace the heritage correspondent banking system using easy point-to-point transactions. At the moment of the launch, World Wire was handling 47 currencies in 72 nations, and it is just likely to rise from that point.

World Wire promises to unlock the planet’s financial potential making money more fluid, wider markets.

BUT…

Since IBM launched  World Wire, a global payments alternative which uses Stellar, some have been disappointed because it is not exactly a blockchain infrastructure. Basically, if the trades aren’t placed in”Blocks”, then it isn’t a Blockchain. And they’re not.

IBM has created a worldwide online banking protocol which sits between two transacting banks. It is faster but not as quickly as Blockchain (when we factor in resolutions). In global settlements, there are 3 Important variables:

Messaging . The sender and the recipient are notified of the transaction status.
Clearing . All intermediary activities that contribute to the settlement.
Settlement.  The funds are in the receiver’s account.

While PayPal incorporates the preceding three functions into one port, IBM’s World Wire goes a step further and incorporates them completely rather than only via the frontend.

Considering that the IBM World Wire essentially assimilate everything into information pieces and sets them onto a uniform ledger, it’s confronted with the most frequently encountered issue of cryptography: Asset Transport without inflating the strength worth. Consider it like this. If I wish to send you a car within the Blockchain, I would be able to only move the ownership rights, but not the asset itself.

Escrowmybits ibm world wire

(credit: Escrowmybits)

This is the point where the crypto-tokens come in the picture. I am now able to send the car into an escrow at the same time you move a sum of cash (or even cryptocurrency) into the escrow. We need to trust that the escrow will ease the exchange, not run off with both, your cash and my painting.

Thus, you and I get substituted with our individual banks and as all of us know, they’re wiser than everyone.

How does IBM World Wire work?

IBM World Wire need tp create a stablecoin for each transfer to take place. Why? Because the purchase price of the car varies in real-time, as does the cost of the money the receiver pays when the 2 individuals have decided to make the trade. That’s why IBM World Wire enables both banking associations to come up with a stablecoin on the Stellar protocol and use it an exchange currency.

IBM world wire

Credit: IBM

Let’s take the example of sending money from one country to another. If X from the UK wants to send money to Y in the US, the two corresponding banks have to create a settlement, or better said, a stablecoin for them to trade.

This means that X from the UK, or his bank, has to purchase that stablecoin created for this transaction, using the local currency, the pound, and then the bank in the US buy US dollars using that stablecoin. the entire operation is set to take place in minutes.

This alternative to the old transactional methods focuses on the rate of transport and the simplicity of producing resources (cryptocurrencies generated on Stellar are called resources ). If, however, IBM can attract the Central Banks into the dining table, the World Wire could address an important issue that the banks from all over the world face every day.

A route to the future

It’s fairly pleasant that blockchain tokens, digital resources, cryptocurrencies, or anything type of tag lands on these, are the long run.

There will however have to be a middle-out expansion which will help lure the majority of users to this brand new and largely misunderstood area. If the businesses are searching for themselves along with other large businesses, along with the cryptocurrencies are used by people in the know, then humanity is still waiting for the groundbreaking moment when your smartphone will bring this to the masses.

Crypto World July: Indian regulation, new markets for cryptocurrency and taxes in the US

Crypto World July: Indian regulation, new markets for cryptocurrency and taxes in the US

by | Jul 29, 2019 | News

July is almost over and the world of crypto is trembling over the recent fluctuations of the cryptocurrency prices. Crypto world July: What happened in the crypto world in July 2019? Here are the top 3 topics from the crypto community.

Smaller jurisdictions offer easier market access

Belarus and other small countries are actively looking for ways to develop their own fintech market and they consider cryptocurrencies for this step.

Numerous players in the business are considering alternatives and come up with specific regulations and rules for cryptocurrencies. Malta, Bahrain and Gibraltar are one of the very first to perform in the attempt to attract new blockchain and crypto businesses. Other perks like tax breaks can also be offered which is a much larger incentive in regards to the US regulations.

There’s no guarantee that this strategy will be successful, but it might represent a chance for all these states to catch a piece of an emerging marketplace. This may then possibly attract additional investment and create new projects.

Bahrain, for example, is developing its legal framework to accommodate electronic assets.

Belarus has also introduced regulations allowing people to exchange and invest in cryptocurrency. This may also offer you a lifeline for people trying to run from oppressive states like India and China. The number of smaller states willing to embrace this new digital era is on the rise.

IRS has begun sending thousands of letters to US cryptocurrency holders

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it has started sending letters to taxpayers who own cryptocurrency, advising them to pay back taxes that they might owe or to file amended tax returns regarding their holdings.

According to the announcement, there are 3 variants of this correspondence which were sent.

The IRS further stated that it’ll have sent these letters to “over 10,000 taxpayers” at the end of the month,” adding that “the names of these taxpayers were obtained through various ongoing IRS compliance efforts.”

The IRS Commissioner, Chuck Rettig said:

“Taxpayers should take these letters very seriously by reviewing their tax filings and when appropriate, amend past returns and pay back taxes, interest and penalties. The IRS is expanding our efforts involving virtual currency, including increased use of data analytics. We are focused on enforcing the law and helping taxpayers fully understand and meet their obligations.”

In May, it had been reported the IRS had started working on new cryptocurrencies guidance, its first such attempt since 2014. Quite a few associations and business advocates have called on the bureau in previous years to upgrade its advice after its decision to take care of cryptocurrencies as a kind of intangible property for taxation purposes.

India is considering banning all cryptocurrency except for those backed up by the state

It is no surprise to hear about the recommendation of an inter-ministerial committee which urges India to prohibit cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin.

Indian policymakers and administrators have repeatedly made clear their distaste for these, their presence dropped almost entirely to innovative encryption technologies.

The Reserve Bank of India has warned the public of those dangers related to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, the most notable among them, has yo-yoed tremendously in value, even over short intervals.

A May 2019 post by Bloomberg, citing information in blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, stated: “speculation remains Bitcoin’s primary use case”. Its usage in prohibited online marketplaces which deal with drugs and child porn is well-documented. There have been instances of consumers being scammed, and this accusation is valid in India as well.

Authorities and financial regulators throughout the world are alert to personal cryptocurrencies. As they want neither a central issuing authority nor a fundamental validating service for trades, these currencies can exist and flourish without regulation and authority.

They’re even deemed as a danger to the official currency and financial system.

The issue is whether or not banning cryptocurrency is the best method to apply. The inter-ministerial committee believes it is, going so far as to draft a legislation which mandates a fine and imprisonment of up to 10 years for the offences of mining, creating, holding, selling, dealing in, transferring, disposing of, or issuing cryptocurrencies.

But six of the seven authorities that its report cites haven’t prohibited cryptocurrencies outright. Many of these, such as Canada, Thailand, Russia and Japan, appear to be proceeding on the route of regulation, so that trades are within the purview of both anti-money laundering and prevention of terror legislation. Even there, the report states, “owing to the network-based nature of cryptocurrencies, after banning domestic crypto exchanges, many traders turned to overseas platforms to continue participating in crypto transactions.” Trading in China is low but it does exist.

However, why would an outright ban be a better option than regulation, particularly in an area driven by rapid technological inventions? This is a question still left unanswered.

Poli Iasi is the first Romanian football club to be sponsored by a cryptocurrency start-up

Poli Iasi is the first Romanian football club to be sponsored by a cryptocurrency start-up

by | Jul 26, 2019 | Blockchain Games, News

Footballcoin, the first blockchain fantasy game, is now the official sponsor of Politehnica Iasi, a football team from the Romanian football championship, Liga 1.

XFC, the official cryptocurrency of the game, is now closer in creating a bridge between the world of live sports and fantasy games.

Poli Iasi Football Club, one of the best football teams in the Romanian football championship, is now endorsing a fantasy football manager blockchain game.

ACSMU Politehnica Iași, was officially founded in 2010, and it represents the most important Romanian football team in the north part of Romania.

Despite their complicated past, the team made its way to the first league of Romania after only 2 years of playing in the second league. In 2016, Poli Iasi managed to qualify for the preliminary round for the Europa League championship. 

The most recent results from the newly started Romanian championship are promising and the players are excited.

Poli Iasi is the first Romanian football club to be sponsored by a cryptocurrency start-up

FootballCoin is the official sponsor of the Romania football league team Poli Iasi

Footballcoin, the official sponsor of Poli Iasi, is a blockchain project and one of the few cryptocurrency and blockchain projects that has a completely functional product since 2017.


The blockchain game offered by FootballCoin is meant as a bridge between the football world and the blockchain world and it aims to spread awareness on the functionalities of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. FootballCoin is starting its third year, as an active fantasy football manager blockchain game, which makes it one of the few active and existing project of its kind.

Year after year, FootballCoin has released new and improved versions of the game, both mobile and desktop, and this season is no exception. Aditional free rewards are set to be introduced in the new version of the game, yet to be released this summer.

Poli Iasi FC is one of the teams included in the fantasy game, among the rest of the Romanian teams. The true fans of Poli Iasi will be thrilled to discover they can be the virtual managers of their teams in FootballCoin and they can include footballers from Poli Iasi and from any other Romanian team.

FootballCoin is a game which combines football knowledge and strategic skills, as a real football manager would need. The difference is that anyone can join the game and winning is free. The best virtual managers are rewarded for their teams with the game’s cryptocurrency, XFC. There are other platforms which can help you get free crypto, but watching football isn’t a bad option, is it?

FootballCoin Poli Iasi is the first Romanian football club to be sponsored by a cryptocurrency start-up

Basically, it’s a free game to play, fully transparent, which can be played by anyone for free. The way we get and see crypto is changing and FootballCoin is part of the revolution. Although football knowledge is recommended, it isn’t necessary. It happened before for managers to get lucky, and be rewarded for their teams.

The FootballCoin team is active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and Telegram. And don’t miss the FootballCoin BitcoinTalk forum for next development phases of the project.

What makes people be interested in cryptocurrency?

What makes people be interested in cryptocurrency?

by | Jul 23, 2019 | Cryptocurrency, News

There is no doubt that the cryptocurrency world is getting bigger with every month that passes, and we are not talking about the capital market, but about the people actually interested in cryptocurrency. But what makes people be interested in cryptocurrency?

Is it the fast ROI due to volatility, is it the new stock exchange of the moment, what is it? We tried to pinpoint some of the reason for which people are increasingly more interested in cryptocurrency.

Financial advantages make people be interested in cryptocurrency

The interest in cryptocurrency is partly a result of the research people have made in finding better alternatives to the financial industry. Fintech is a fast-growing sector and it is seen as the new kid on the block. Like the internet was a few decades ago.

Clearly the interested in these topics had been on the rise, judging from an analytical point of view.

Websites like Coinmarketcap have reached traffic peaks with every rise of cryptocurrency prices, and that’s just a small indicator of the population interest. We are not talking about hearing about Bitcoin or cryptocurrency for the first time. Grandmas from South America have heard about Bitcoin from the radio. Now, we are keen to discover what makes people be interested in cryptocurrency and hopefully discover how to increase awareness and how to explain it to others.

Here are a set of points which seem to make people interested in cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency trading can lead to profit

Cryptocurrency has no borders

One of the defining characteristics of a country is that it has its own currency. The basic aspects of world currencies can be found in cryptocurrency as well, but there are improvements which the fiat currency lacks. Being able to perform borderless transactions is one of them.

By performing cryptocurrency transactions, where no centralized authority is in charge of that, and everything is transparent on the blockchain, payments and financial transfers can be done equally from any part of the world to another. There are no extra fees for overseas transactions. Everyone pays the same. Everyone can participate.

Cryptocurrency trading can lead to profit

As for any other field in this world, the possibility of making money using cryptocurrency is raising interest. Most people work hard for their dollars, but today’s technology makes it easier for individuals to invest, speculate or even get free money.

It’s not how hard you work, it’s how smart you work.

By learning the basics of investing, learning what newbies mistake to avoid making when trading cryptocurrency, trading cryptocurrency can lead to a profit. The internet is full of stories of how investing in cryptocurrency has changed people’s lives, but don’t get too hyped about it. You might be inspired with your investment, but don’t ever invest more than you are willing to lose and also be open to getting crypto from smaller projects.

Cryptocurrency keeps your identity private

Indeed, it’s advertised that blockchain keeps your identity private, but don’t get fooled. It mostly provides pseudo-anonymity. Because there is no bank or other central authority behind the blockchain, you get this anonymity. But it can also be traced back to you in more complicated or suspicious cases like money laundering or other criminal activity.

What makes people be interested in cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is based on demand

They say that Bitcoin was created as a response to the financial crisis of 2008. It was meant to be a currency that doesn’t depend on banks and that it wouldn’t be affected by inflation.

Bitcoin is mined at a certain speed and it has a finite number. There is no way to fabricate more bitcoin, as it is the case with fiat currency. The value of Bitcoin is based on demand.

Cryptocurrency is transparent

And fraud-free. It doesn’t mean bad people can’t use it, it just means it is transparent and everything can be checked by anyone. No central authority doesn’t mean less control, but more. By using the block explorer of the blockchain, anyone can check what amounts were transferred to what addresses. And of course, you can backtrack addresses and/or amounts.

What makes people be interested in cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency can grow fast in value

This is where the profit can come from. That’s what makes the newspapers’ headlines. This is where all the media attention comes from.

And that’s a principal conductor of people’s interest in cryptocurrency. Based on a simple principle or demand, when someone or more individuals buy a lot, then the prices go up. If they sell, they go down. This is considered to be a risky investment, but most are in for the long run and don’t mind too much if Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency has dropped 10%.

The best thing about this volatility is the awareness it brings and how it attracts more people, as many are attracted by the possibility of making a quick buck. But then most stick around because they learn about the blockchain technology and once it is understood, they can see how it can change the future of our financial sector.

Ready to read and discover more about Bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrencies? Start with the cryptocurrency beginner’s guide.

Learn how to predict crypto price trends

Learn how to predict crypto price trends

by | Jul 17, 2019 | Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrencies are quickly becoming an alternative to the traditional fiat currency. Cryptocurrency has become available to buy in many countries, which makes it accessible to everybody. Some retailers are accepting a variety of cryptocurrencies, which might be an indication that cash as we know it is going to undergo a significant shift. Aren’t you eager to discover how to predict crypto price trends?

Additionally, the blockchain technologies have several other promising software. Implementations of secure, decentralised systems might assist us in beating organisational issues of security and trust, which have plagued our society. In effect, we could disrupt sectors core to markets, companies and societal constructions, eliminating inefficiency and individual mistakes.

So I ask you: how important is cryptocurrency in this context? If you consider crypto to be valuable, then here’s how to predict crypto price trends. After all, these steps should be followed for a successful cryptocurrency investment strategy.  We gathered some of the most known and used methods which can help you predict crypto price trends.

Start with analysing the market

Analysing the market and what kind of analysis to make is the key.

When talking about price analysis, we think about graphs that show how cryptocurrencies have played against fiat currencies, like the $US, over time. At first glance, they seem like meaningless lines moving down and up, but the information tells a story about how recent incidents from the crypto market have influenced costs and what may happen next.

The analysis is essential for traders. It will help them make informed decisions about when it is ideal to purchase, sell or hold crypto. Indeed, the oldest types of price analysis emerged back in the 18th century in Asia, as it had been used to plot fluctuations in the purchase price of rice. There are three kinds of analysis to be made: technical, fundamental and sentimental analysis.

The technical analysis involves discovering statistical tendencies based on historical action, analysing price movements and other indicators that are essential, such as trading volume. These analysts typically have the doctrine that prices follow trends and history repeats itself, and they utilise their information to predict if the cost will go down or up in the long run. Nevertheless, it is like calling the weather, so it might not become true.

Fundamental analysis requires another strategy. Rather than looking where prices are moving, they seem to be looking at what are the things that push the numbers. Like the market or the way the business has been handled, to ascertain an asset’s worth.

Sentimental analysis sees traders effectively take the pulse of important players in the marketplace: journalists, influencers and regular consumers one of them. Here, the philosophy is that data doesn’t always tell the full story. Tendencies such as fear selling or a purchasing spree could be picked up beforehand based on public perceptions.

Predict crypto price trends by reading charts

New to reading charts? Do not worry! It is much easier than you imagine. The graphs can come in a few different forms, but we will discuss the most used chart: the candlestick chart. You can find them in most crypto exchanges, and some even offer the option to change the kind of chart to be shown.

This is a critical step when proceeding with technical analysis. It’s essential to determine how prices have developed over days, weeks or even months. The average price for a period of a 24-hour interval will not tell the entire story.

Candlesticks show the details on how the cost of a crypto asset fluctuated throughout a single trading session and help you make comparisons between more extended periods.

There are a few things to remember about the way the candlesticks are constructed, that will tell you everything you need to know.

 

elements of candlestick how to predict crypto price trends

When costs have gone up over the course of one day, the chart will show a green candlestick. The thin line in the bottom indicates the lowest cost that has been listed for its crypto-asset throughout the trading session. The thin line on top shows the maximum price for which it was traded.

Let’s take a look at the rectangle. The base of it indicates the price for which the cryptocurrency or asset was trading when the market opened, and the top of the rectangle means the price upon closure.

When prices have a downward trend, the candlesticks turn red. The principle for studying the graph is the same, but what is inverted. The thin line on top indicates the maximum price, and the one on the bottom shows the lowest one. The trading session exemplified by the thick red line, from top to base, illustrates where costs stood as soon as the markets closed and opened.

It is a gorgeous invention that has been tried and tested for centuries. Because the crypto world could be so volatile, hourly candlestick graphs are common to find.

 

Know what action to take based on the charts

Traders look for familiar candlestick graphs.

Here are a few recognisable types of candlesticks.

Hammer candlestick generally offers a very long line in the base, which suggests that costs have dropped steeply before recovering to close higher. Ordinarily, this may imply crypto resources were being marketed widely throughout the trading session, but buyers exerted sufficient pressure to assist costs to rise again.

This routine may also be inverted.

Shooting star candlesticks look very like inverted hammers but happen in a different situation. These are generally seen after cost advances and indicate an asset might be about to set off on a downward tendency.

Hanging man candlesticks are also helpful for analysing when markets may begin weakening. These candlesticks appear when the prices have been going up for a while. The long thin line suggests that selling pressure of this trading session has come to an end.

types of of candlestick how to predict crypto price trends

When studying candlestick graphs, it’s vital to find a short-term perspective in addition to a long-term view. Also, don’t forget to take the necessary measures to safeguard yourself in the event of market volatility. This is generally achieved with a stop-loss or stop-limit, which entails mechanically selling an asset once it reaches a predetermined low or high stage. Also, remember that volatility is not all bad. Profits can be made even when crypto markets are going down.

Use the most popular technical analysis techniques to predict crypto price trends

The internet is full of articles and analysists trying to discover how to predict crypto price trends and to forecast where the market is going.

Here are two methods used by these analysts.

1. Trend lines

This method is trying to take out the anomalies and extreme outliers from the trend of one cryptocurrency’s price, in order to detect if there is an upward trend, or downward, if the prices are lowering on subsequent days.

This, together with assessing the form of candlestick graphs (mentioned above), can help show if there is or not a trend that will likely last or that will end soon, allowing traders to make considered decisions about which the short-term strategy they should adopt.

2. Moving average

This similar approach entails monitoring the price of a crypto asset over a definite time. You can set your period: a week, a month or even longer.

By comparing moving averages within a shorter time period with a longer period of time, you can discover new trends and significant levels of growth and decline that a long-term statistical observation would not clearly reflect.

tools for technical analysis how to predict crypto price trends

Even though this technical analysis is the most frequent kind of investigation in the crypto world, it is essential to consider other different variables too.

Always keep in mind that technical evaluation will not tell you the fundamental aspects which are impacting the marketplace and causing prices to head down or up.

Relying on just one kind of analysis is not enough.

Hacking attacks, regulatory rulings, news reports, business agreements and new product launches can help you to stay ahead. This information can also give a hint on where the candlesticks will fall before it does so.

Of course, there are other methods, if you are not the kind of person to stare at charts all day. But please keep in mind that these are just crypto price trends and predictions and that nothing is for sure.

To get the broader picture, it is necessary to stay connected with what happens in the crypto world on a daily basis.

Check out these other resources for a successful start with crypto investments:

How to make money when the crypto market is down?

How to make money when the crypto market is down?

by | Jul 15, 2019 | Cryptocurrency

Even when the crypto market is in a downward trend, there are still a couple of techniques you can use to make money. Of course, there’s a tradeoff between risk and reward, and it’s up to each one of us to find his personal balance between the two.

And if you don’t want to take any risks, remember that you can always get free crypto even when the market crypto is low.

Shorting

What is shorting? Shorting, or short sale is the reverse of purchasing a coin and expecting for the price to rise.

As soon as you close your short position, you then need to buy the exact same amount of coins at the present cost to provide the exchange back precisely the exact same quantity of coins.

Consequently, in a quick sale, the most desirable situation is one where you commence the short position in a high cost, and near your standing at a minimal price, hence selling high and buying low. This technique is usually utilised to hedge funds and reduce risk, but maybe a potent tool when confronting an elongated downturn in the marketplace.

Shorting is somewhat insecure as the losses are uncapped on account of the price’s capability to proceed upward without jump; at a lengthy-standing, your reduction is capped at the of their cost going to 0. 1 method of obtaining coins to short market is using a lending platform like ETHLend.

shorting how to make money when the market is down

Swing Trading

What is swing trading? Swing trading takes benefit of the short-term cost movements in a coin’s graph instead of looking at the massive macro trend.

Within a confirmed up or downward situation of price movement, there’ll remain little peaks and valleys at the cost as it goes within that general direction. Seasoned traders may consequently earn money from their micro-trends, purchasing the lows and selling the highs through a bear market. Within this situation, market volatility throughout crashes is the perfect scenario as it supplies the largest useful local optima from the graph.

swing trading how to make money when the market is down

To be able to conduct trades, you have to become knowledgeable about the many kinds of technical analysis like pattern formation, and indicators like RSI. This is only suggested for individuals who have a high-risk tolerance and enough experience utilising technical analysis to examine short term motions.

Passive Income Coins

In case you’ve got a lower risk tolerance and don’t need to utilise more innovative trading procedures, the next best thing would always be to hold onto coins which generate passive income irrespective of market action.

There are numerous coins which may create a passive income. However, the two most important kinds are staking coins and trade coins.

Staking coins, in exchange for regulating the community, provide added coins for each coin used from the staking procedure. Expect somewhere between a constant 5% to 10% annual yield for staking in the case of the majority of currencies.

Some proof-of-stake versions, for example, Ark’s DPoS, offer higher yields than more first versions of staking. Exchange coins give numerous advantages on exchanges like reduced prices, and a few, for example, KuCoin’s, offer a type of profit-sharing where a percentage of trade prices are returned into coin holders.

The percentage return from such coins is directly tied to quantity, which might fluctuate.

Staking coins are a lot more consistent and comparable to volatility, whereas trade coins continue to be insecure in that you’re gambling on the success of a specific exchange.