What you need to remember is that all transactions are recorded and stored on the blockchain.
Some cryptocurrencies offer their own official wallets, while other products allow you to store multiple currencies within the same cryptocurrency wallet.
But different digital currencies have different address types, and you’re usually able to send coins between like wallet addresses only. For example, you’ll need to send Bitcoin to a Bitcoin wallet address and Ethereum to an Ethereum wallet address.
What is a cryptocurrency wallet used for? A crypto wallet (or more generically, an electronic wallet) keeps tabs on security keys used to sign transactions digitally, but also, it stores the address onto a blockchain in which a specific asset resides.
There are two varieties of crypto wallets: hardware and software (also called hot and cold storage pockets ( respectively). Hot storage pockets are available via an online service like Coinbase, among the most significant cryptocurrency exchanges which provide online wallets for consumers, and it may be further segregated into online wallets and client-side wallets handled locally on an individual’s personal computer or mobile device.
Additionally, there are paper pocket generators, which make keys which may be printed out or left as QR codes.
Cold storage pockets are downloaded and live offline onto a piece of hardware like a USB drive or a smartphone. Exodus.io and Dash QT are two examples of cold storage wallet software. Cold storage pockets may also be bought as devices using the applications already installed; vendors like Trezor and Ledger offer these sorts of devices.
Hardware pockets can be divided into crypto-assist type wallets, which deal with the keys and registering of random data and are occasionally referred to as hardware security modules (HSMs). “And then there are hardware wallets that handle generating and signing complete transactions that are then sent to the distributed ledger network,” Huseby said.
When you speak with all the blockchain, the hardware communicates via the codes onto the apparatus.
A cold storage pocket is more secure than the usual hot wallet since it is not on the web. Many cryptocurrency heists have happened when a hacker strikes an internet wallet support and transports the critical keys to their wallet. Basically, transferring the related funds.
In 2014, as an instance, the Japanese online crypto trade Mt. Gox endured the theft from the hot wallet of 850,000 bitcoins valued at over $450 million. In 2018, bitcoin exchange support Coincheck suffered a theft of nearly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency out of its alluring wallet support. Many smaller thefts have happened within the previous five decades, mainly through the hacks of internet wallets.
Instead of holding physical coins, a cryptocurrency wallet is electronic and includes a public and private key.
What are the desired traits of a crypto wallet and how hard can choose a wallet to be?
Wallets can be broken down into three distinct categories – software, hardware, and paper. Software wallets can be a desktop, mobile or online.
To send funds from your wallet, you’ll need a wallet address — or the recipient’s public key. These addresses are either:
Once you have this address, you will need to:
Note that the exact process varies depending on the brand of wallet you choose. For example, hardware wallet users typically need to connect their wallet device, enter a PIN or password and manually verify the transaction on the device.
Most experts recommend keeping crypto keys in a colt wallet. This means creating a paper copy of these keys and keeping that newspaper in a safe place like a bank safety deposit box.
Paper may also be utilised as a kind of wallet via applications that produce a QR code which may be scanned to allow blockchain transactions. Otherwise, Gartner urges the use an internet exchange with a pocket service which enforces two-factor authentication through drive technology. Push technology evolves the next aspect to some documented cellular phone so that an operator’s telephone can accept an entry request pushed out from the market wallet’s authentication support.
However, cryptocurrency hackers also have successfully stolen the SIM identity of a cell phone using a phone-based wallet onto it.
It is crucial to realise that hackers can circumvent most mobile authentication techniques utilising an assortment of technologies, according to Gartner. These include “SIM swaps,” in which a hacker registers an existing to their telephone so that it pushes messages or notifications to be delivered to this phone, rather than to the valid owner. Hackers do so typically through social technology of cell phone customer support agents, Gartner’s report stated.
There are ways to mitigate all of these attacks, but the best solution so far is to use some hardware wallet and also to have a hard copy backup of your secret keys somewhere safe,” Huseby said. “The hardest part of wallets is that they are responsible for the secure storage of small, highly sensitive data. Most people are not familiar with the levels of security and paranoia that is required to truly defend against people determined to steal your keys.”
Wallet security is crucial for any crypto owner, so keep these tips in mind to keep your funds as safe as possible:
Used by the most secure and trustworthy wallets, two-factor authentication requires a regular username and password combination and another authentication method.
It’s often a PIN code texted to your smartphone, expiring after a set time and different every time you log in. This means that an attacker would need to know your username and password and also have your phone.
Some crypto wallets require you to install a secondary app on your smartphone that generates these PIN codes for you, adding another layer of security.
The most critical problem with a cold pocket, however, is in case you have not backed up the info on it or saved a hard copy of it somewhere secure, and you also lose that device, you shed your electronic assets once and for all. In other words, you do not understand where your cryptocurrency resides to a blockchain or possess the keys to authenticate that those assets belong to you.
Hot storage wallets, by comparison, have the advantage of the support of the provider. Should you lose your access code into the wallet, you will find challenge-and-answer queries which will make it possible for you to regain them.
There are limited procedures for recovering private keys at a cold storage pocket that’s been missing, and they’re generally not simple to use. By way of instance, Coinbase permits consumers a restore mechanism which is composed of 24 arbitrary word retrieval phrase users should record when they produce their own wallet.
Blockchain ledgers work predicated on a trustless consensus mechanism, which means that you do not need to be aware of the individual or people you are transacting with about the ledger. A dispersed ledger will anticipate any trade properly signed with a legitimate secret key.
“Wallets serve the purpose of storing those keys securely and doing the digital signing necessary for the distributed ledger to accept the transaction,” Huseby said.
While the vast majority of crypto wallet software is utilised to store cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple or even Litecoin, the program may also save the keys to fungible and non-fungible digital tokens representing products, monetary resources, securities, and services.
By way of instance, a token saved in a crypto wallet can signify concert or airplane tickets, unique art or products in a supply chain. Practically anything using an electronic value attached to it.
All distributed ledgers with decentralised consensus mechanics trust the capacity security model, meaning possession of an encryption key, demonstrated with an electronic signature over a trade, authorises the actions the trade represents.
“So any application modelled on a distributed ledger requires users to have wallets that they use to sign transactions that work for that application,” Huseby said. For Bitcoin, the transactions just transfer bitcoins to another encryption key and therefore to another owner. For things like a supply chain, they sign transactions that track the asset being managed (e.g., electronic parts, raw materials, etc.).”
Later on, a brand new, “trustless” global market could be contingent upon blockchain and crypto wallets which allow everything from individual professional or financial histories, tax info, medical advice, or customer tastes to corporations preserving employee or spouse electronic identities and controlling program access.
There’s no one-size-fits-all cryptocurrency wallet. The right crypto wallet for you is the one that matches your needs. If security is your No. 1 concern, you’ll likely choose a different wallet than someone who wants fast and easy access to their coins.
Do your research and compare wallets. Start with our crypto wallet reviews to get an idea of what’s available and key features to consider.
How do you know if a cryptocurrency is a coin or a token? Cryptocurrency is either a coin or a token. Here’s the main difference between coins and tokens:
Coins have their own blockchain. Tokens do not.
Most big-name cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin BTC, Ethereum ETH, and Ripple XRP) are coins. These coins have their own blockchain, meaning that a decentralised, peer-to-peer network records all transactions on a digital ledger.
A token does not have its own blockchain.
The Ethereum blockchain is the most popular platform for token creation, though you can theoretically create a token on any blockchain. 0x (ZRX), Maker (MKR) and Basic Attention Token (BAT) are examples of ERC-20 tokens, meaning a specific type of Ethereum-based token. In other words, their protocol exists ‘on top of’ the Ethereum blockchain.
Read more on What is cryptocurrency, and why do we need it?
Since coins have their own blockchains, it makes sense that they serve as currency, a means of exchange, within that network.
This is why Bitcoin is called digital gold and Ripple is known for its fast transactions: Bitcoin is a store of value, like gold, and Ripple facilitates cross-border bank transactions.
Also, it’s easier to exchange USD for a coin, rather than a token. Investing in a token usually requires exchanging USD for a coin first.
The value of a token is a little more complicated. Tokens are typically released in ICO, which stands for Initial Coin Offering. ICOs are like IPOs for cryptocurrency. ICOs give the investor access to tokenised services or products or represent a stake in a cryptocurrency company.
This is where tokens get a little confusing: Tokens fall under different SEC regulations depending on what they represent. You can separate tokens into two types of cryptocurrency that represent either a utility or a security.
Read more on Why Should You Use Cryptocurrency?
Understanding the distinction between these two types of cryptocurrency is absolutely necessary for investors, cryptocurrency companies and the government.
In other words, the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) has much stricter regulations for security tokens than it does for utility tokens because, as their name suggests, they’re considered to be digital securities.
Most Tokens Are Utility Tokens
If you can buy or trade a token on a cryptocurrency exchange without being an accredited investor, then it’s a utility token. In broad terms, a utility token gives an investor access to a service or product. This can mean that a token can represent exclusive access, a discounted rate, or early access.
When you hear about smart contracts and DApps, you should assume that a utility token is involved.
Basic Attention Token (BAT) is a utility token that has received a lot of press. It’s a means of exchange for digital advertising attention, hence the name. Integrated with the browser Brave, BAT works in three ways:
BAT represents attention, not stock or currency, making it a utility token. This means that anyone can trade utility tokens on a cryptocurrency exchange.
Read more on Blockchain Games Will Be the Catalyst for Blockchain Mass Adoption
Security Tokens are different.
Like securities, security tokens represent part-ownership in a tradeable, real-world asset external to the blockchain. And because security tokens are regulated by the SEC like securities, you have to be an accredited investor to participate in STOs, meaning Security Token Offerings.
The SEC decides whether something is a security token using the Howey Test. In simple terms, the Howey Test determines whether a cryptocurrency investment is ‘speculative’, meaning that the investor makes money based on the labour of a third party.
Investing in security tokens is slightly more difficult. Investors must use a security token issuance platform, like Polymath or Swarm, to buy and trade tokenized securities.
Unlike Coinbase or Binance, which are cryptocurrency exchanges that allow anyone to create an account, security token issuance platforms require their users to meet specific requirements. This typically means having your accredited investor status confirmed by a KYC provider. The platform will then create a customized profile that specifies how and how much each investor can trade.
Read more on Blockchain technology used in non-cryptocurrency applications
Since companies have access to a much smaller investment pool with security tokens, some try to pass off their security tokens for utility tokens. There is also debate over whether tokens can represent currency, like coins, rather than access to a service. To make matters less clear, stablecoins are often technically ‘stabletokens’.
What is a Stablecoin?
Stablecoins are an increasingly popular type of cryptocurrency, especially in a Bitcoin bear market. This is because stablecoins are “pegged” to traditional assets like fiat (meaning government-backed currency like the US Dollar or Euro) or gold.
For example, the theoretical exchange rate between a stablecoin pegged to the USD and the US Dollar itself is 1 to 1. In theory, the company behind a stablecoin has the same exact amount in assets, stored in bank accounts, as they do tokens.
The advantage of stablecoins is that in a bear market, crypto investors can move their money from volatile cryptocurrency to stablecoins, a more ‘stable’ asset class in theory. This is instead of converting it back to USD, which can be a two-step process that incurs transaction fees. When a bull market returns, investors can convert their stablecoin back into other more volatile currencies at little to no cost.
Historically, however, stablecoins have ‘broken their peg’ in both directions. For example, controversial stablecoin Tether (USDT) has been worth less than a dollar, and Gemini Coin (GUSD) has exceeded the value of a dollar.
This highlights another feature of stablecoins: Most have “USD” in their name. But keep in mind that not all do. For example, Maker (MKR), another stablecoin, does not.
Stablecoins Are Generally Tokens
Despite being called stablecoins, stablecoins are usually tokens, meaning that they don’t have their own blockchain.
Maker (MKR) exists on the Ethereum blockchain. Tether (USDT) was built on the Bitcoin blockchain. Similarly, both these “tokens” function as “currency,” which is a characteristic of coins, not tokens.
As we develop new applications for digital currencies, distinctions between types of cryptocurrency become increasingly blurred, which makes SEC regulation even more uncertain.
Why should you care whether something is a coin or a token, a utility token or a security token?
Though the world of digital currency appears new and unclear, every prospective investor should know the value of the crypto they’re considering and, above all, how current and future SEC regulation will affect it.
Furthermore, the distinction between coins and tokens represents two potential forks in the evolution of cryptocurrency: cryptocurrency as tokenized securities and cryptocurrency as a payment method.
Will crypto replace the stock market, the US Dollar or both? As it stands, both revolutionary applications of cryptocurrency are making headway.
Games have been part of our human experience and present in all cultures around the globe for over 4000 years. As new technologies got discovered, many used the power of games to try to teach or to redefine values. Today, we see the blockchain community doing the same, adopting the same technique. Blockchain games are real, free to play and you can win cryptocurrency by playing. Check these free blockchain games and start playing to earn free cryptocurrency. Additionally, check out other methods to get free cryptocurrency.
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are sometimes played purely for entertainment, sometimes for achievement or reward.
We’ve found some ways to earn Bitcoin without depositing one single Satoshi of your own. We researched some blockchain games, which you can play for free.
Every single game listed in this article is free to play. No deposit required. So let’s talk about some games that are actually fun to play. Some require a bit of skill, while others need just some luck.
The longest-running Bitcoin RPG to date, Spells of Genesis is everything you ever wanted in a Bitcoin RPG game and more. You can play this amazing RPG on both desktop and mobile devices. This RPG mixes the trading card game genre, with a strategy based game, as well as implementing arcade-style gaming elements.
Spells of Genesis game developed by a Swiss-based company named EverdreamedSoft. This game use BitCrystal as a premium currency, include card as assets are stored on Blockchain but not on the player account.
You’ll need to collect, trade, and combine orbs in order to build the strongest gameplay deck you can in order to test them against other opponents while exploring the vast world of Askian.
Unlike other free Bitcoin RPG games, players are able to actually own their in-game items and cards outside of the game itself on the blockchain. Now keep in mind that you can exactly earn Bitcoin directly within the game, however, you do build up a collection of rare cards, which when fully upgraded, can be stored on the Bitcoin blockchain utilizing Counterparty protocol.
If you know everything about the biggest football leagues in Europe and you can put together a winning team, then this fantasy football manager game is for you. FootballCoin gives you the chance to showcase your managerial abilities by allowing you to create your perfect football team.
FootballCoin is the first game ever built entirely on blockchain and promises “A new and transparent crypto-economy”.
This blockchain game has its entire economy based on its own cryptocurrency, XFC. It features collectable footballers’ and stadium cards, you can participate in private contests with your friends and everything is based on real game stats. The teams with the highest-ranking win cryptocurrency!
The best part is that you choose how you spend your cryptocurrency. You can either spend it in the game or withdraw it and exchange it for any other crypto or fiat.
If you’re a Minecraft fan you’re going to absolutely go crazy over this game. If not, I guarantee you’ll still get addicted. This popular “sandbox game” allows players to build game worlds in which you define a story and have full control over all aspects of your creation.
The MineCraft style game includes Bitcoin as its main in-game currency which you earn by mining, trading, and interacting with other players.
Forged by the great powers of augmented reality and blockchain technologies, Augmentors puts you in control of fantastical creatures. Collect an army of powerful and rare creatures as you battle, train, buy and sell them. You, on Heroic One, will become the greatest Augmentors player in the augmented reality world.
Every single creature in your legion has its own unique history, its own past, and all of its lore is stored in the blockchain.
Beyond the Void is about to show us the power of a full-on, crypto-powered in-game economy.
Beyond the Void gives players a free-to-play interstellar Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. The secret sauce here is that the in-game economy is based on a cryptocurrency token called Nexium. What’s more, is that the in-game spaceships and items you buy are all registered on the blockchain. That means you really own your items.
This means that there is a marketplace for game items and currency that exists outside of the game that is both safe and transparent. This will come as a refreshing change for those games used on the market economies of games like World of Warcraft.
Beyond the Void’s cryptocurrency, Nexium (NXC), is a standard Ethereum ERC20 token. To get started, you’ll need to use an Ethereum wallet, such as Misk or Metamask, and load it with some Ethereum. The game assets and currency can be freely traded on the blockchain, but the developers have also made an online shop where you can buy new assets from the team or trade with other players.
Ethereum tokens like Nexium are popping up all over the Internet and in all kinds of games. Spend some time playing Beyond the Void and you’ll add to your token portfolio while leaving you the option to cash out if you want to move onto a new game.
The developers of Privateers Life are striving to take this idea even further and create an in-game economy that truly mirrors a real-life one. It’s a place where no goods can appear out of nowhere, but have to harvested, mined, or manufactured from the materials found the game.
This adds a whole new dimension to the game. You can be a part of the production of goods in the Privateers Life economy and sell them for crypto-tokens worth real money. You can think of it as the World of Warcraft gold-mining economy if all in-game items and commodities could be produced, and the gold couldn’t just appear out of nowhere causing rapid inflation.
While playing the game, you can buy things using Ludem tokens (the currency of the game) in-game from other players or from the store.
However, the goods in the premium store need to be crafted from other players by collecting all of the materials and ingredients to make them. The developers take a cut of the items sold in the premium store, and also charge a tax on items sold on their “territory.” If you want to avoid this tax as an in-game merchant, you’ll have to buy your own island and really set yourself up.
Games have traditionally had to clamp down on the real-money economies that develop around popular multiplayer games. Games like this one are taking a completely different approach and actually encouraging it. As a player, you can easily start foraging, harvesting, mining, and crafting to earn yourself an in-game income that you can easily and safely cash out on.
When it comes to features, Worldopoly really does have it all. Augmented reality, geopositioning, MMORPG, gameplay, world-building, blockchain assets, and DAG. Worldopoly combines all of these factors and creates an immersive multiplayer mobile game.
Imagine if the world was a Monopoly board you could view through your phone’s camera. You can buy streets and buildings and construct your own hotels on them. Now, imagine if you could sell parts of your empire for cryptocurrency worth real money, rent out your shop fronts to advertisers, and even raid or burn down competing players’ buildings.
Worldopoly uses two platforms for its cryptocurrency economy, Ethereum and Byteball. It uses Ethereum because it’s the most popular blockchain platform and many players are already comfortable using it. The second platform, Byteball, is offered because of its advantages over Ethereum when it comes to transactions.
The main problems with Ethereum are slow response times (~10 seconds) and high transaction costs (~$0.20-$1). These are big turn-offs for players. Byteball is a cryptocurrency platform that uses Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology, which is technically not even blockchain technology. You can think of it as a generalization of blockchain technology, with more relaxed rules about how transactions can be organized. Byteball’s DAG platform allows for less than one second transaction time and basically free transactions of ~$0.0001. This is much more player-friendly.
Games need to be easy and cheap for players, at least to get started. That’s why platforms with rising costs and congestion problems like Ethereum may struggle to become the cryptocurrency platform of choice for games. Playing Worldopoly can give you exposure to more practical cryptocurrency technologies, like DAG, and save you some money in transaction fees while playing the game.
This financial trading simulation has you making predictions on real financial marketplaces, including cryptocurrency markets as well as Forex. The more accurate your predictions are the more points you unlock because of it. You can then cash out your points to Bitcoin at any time.
Another great aspect to the platform is the fact that they provide you with a plethora of tutorials and resources in order to help you become a “real” successful trader.
You can earn up to a few hundred dollars worth of Bitcoin per month if you work hard at.
The game is very well laid out and has a professional interface that you’d expect to see from a fantasy sports website. The company includes both weekly and monthly contests where you can win real Bitcoin thanks to their partnerships.
Choose from a selection of trading contests hosted by various sponsors. View prizes from each contest and sign up to each one of them for free.
You begin a contest with 10,000 virtual US dollars. Your goal is to accumulate as much cryptocurrency (thus increasing your USD value) by the end of the contest period. If you can do just that, you’ll end up winning the contest and awarded your prize money in Bitcoin.
Do you know of any other free blockchain games we can add to our list? Let us know at contact@digitaltokens.io and we will be glad to update our list.
Investor interest in digital currencies has dropped in recent months. Many early investors who were eager to make gains from the ‘cryptocurrency craze’ have since moved on to other ventures, leaving a smaller group of stalwart HODL-ers behind. (HODL – means HOLD (hold you crypto; don’t sell) is a common word used by the crypto community, which was actually a spelling mistake of one of the early adopters). Today, everyone is looking for methods to earn or win cryptocurrency and Bitcoin.
But there are still reasons to be optimistic. By some measures, institutional interest in digital currencies has actually increased over 2018. At the beginning of 2018, the question was how high these coins could get. Now, looking into 2019, the better question might be how this space will adapt in order to survive.
Although trade figures for individual investors are down in many cases, institutions are climbing on board in a significant way for the first time.
Institutional investors allow for significantly larger trading volumes than most individual investors, meaning that even if there are fewer trading partners transacting in the digital currency space, the industry can still sustain itself.
Bloomberg reported in October that institutional investors have replaced high net-worth individuals as the biggest buyers of cryptocurrency transactions worth over $100,000.
According to Bloomberg, traditional investors and buyers such as hedge funds have become more involved in the cryptocurrency market through private transactions. Bloomberg also notes that miners — the biggest sellers on the market — have begun scheduling regular coin sales instead of holding or offloading them during market rallies.
There are several potential developments projected to take place in 2019 that could significantly impact institutional participation in the digital currency market. If crypto is floated on the Nasdaq or a similar exchange, for example, it will immediately get a boost in reputation — and likely, value.
For years, crypto enthusiasts have pined for a digital currency ETF (exchange-traded funds) available to mainstream investors in the U.S. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has repeatedly rejected or delayed bitcoin ETF applications to be decided upon at a future date.
One of the most talked about funds, by provider VanEck, has seen its final approval decision pushed back to February 2019. Some analysts believe that the approval of a mainstream bitcoin ETF could provide a significant jolt to the digital currency world, opening up the industry to investors eager to participate without some of the risks associated with buying and selling tokens directly. As of now, though, the future of VanEck’s fund remains to be seen.
Stablecoins are digital tokens that are pegged to a fiat currency that act as hedging mechanisms against the potential decline of underlying cryptocurrency collateral prices — and they may just be the industry’s best hope going into 2019.
Stablecoins may see growth next year for two reasons: one, a result of the long-term instability of non-centralized tokens; and two, the current leader in the stablecoin industry, Tether, is positioned to be dethroned. As one of the earliest stablecoins to reach the mainstream, tether has suffered a number of highly-publicized growing pains while the sub-industry developed. Other stablecoins have already entered the field, aiming to wrench away its dominance.
While it’s difficult to say which, if any, digital currencies will see dramatic price gains in 2019, we can say with confidence that cryptocurrency is not going away anytime soon.
Blockchain, the underlying technology behind many cryptocurrencies, has spread far outside of the digital currency industry and is likely to see new applications this year.
Read more on Blockchain technology used in non-cryptocurrency applications
Governments and regulators will continue to grapple with how to best facilitate and control digital tokens. It’s possible that the heyday of cryptocurrencies has come and gone, but we do know one thing for sure: cryptocurrencies were once positioned to change the entire financial system.
Blockchain is best known for being the technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether (the currency of Ethereum), but blockchain is much more than an instrument of finance.
What is the blockchain technology? Basically, it’s an encrypted database of agreements.
Blockchain serves as a bookkeeping platform or ledger that is incorruptible, enforces transparency, and bypasses censorship. By tackling issues of financial, political and institutional corruption, this has the potential to create massive social change—and greatly protect the human rights of every individual.
Blockchain technology is in its early stages and industry insiders are still mulling over the ways in which it can be merged. The possibilities of blockchain are somewhat similar to that of smartphone applications.
Initially, apps didn’t catch on but developers soon realized that it could be designed to suit all sorts of needs – it was just programming. Thereafter, applications became all but a necessity for a business if it was wished to influence the market on a larger scale. Apps also gave developing power and outreach to the individual developer, allowing to them achieve what was often only accessible to larger development teams and resources.
Blockchain will further establish a sense of democracy and equality through its disruptive power. It can create a more level playing field, where individuals and small businesses will be able to compete with corporate powers that have established their dominance through the advantage of money.
Here are some of the domains in which the blockchain technology is or can be used (in non-cryptocurrency applications).
Without a doubt, the most popular application and the launchpad for cryptocurrency into the global economy is the financial industry. The issues with today’s banking systems, which lack inclusion and fairness, have crazy interest rates and transactions are always in favour of financial companies. THat’s why one new customer might be more interested in not interacting with a bank, but trading directing in cryptocurrency.
Individuals are forced into unfair deals. Additionally, there are billions in the world who have no access to a bank at all, which is an even worse circumstance to be in.
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain can universally rectify the situation. With a smartphone and an internet connection, both of which are widely available, anyone can bank, start a business and receive payments. With incorruptible ledgers and no centralized authority for oversight, financial services on the blockchain would place power back in the individual’s hands, offering solutions without exorbitant interest rates and middleman fees. The banking industry even suggests that up to $20 billion can be saved by eliminating infrastructure and middleman costs.
Along with blockchain and artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things is another technological development that is up and coming, with radically transformative effects.
Essentially an internet connecting all devices, we are soon to live in a world where our smartphones can “talk” to our fridges and cars.
With no central system necessary, blockchain would make this heavy processing much easier to handle while also securing data in an encrypted format. Tokenized mechanisms can monetize transactions between different devices and seamlessly integrate different services. Waltonchain and IOTA (which utilizes Directed Acyclic Graphs, not blockchain) are two of the big names in this niche.
IOTA is shaping up to be a practical, feasible way for machines to communicate with each other. The best way to describe the project is through a potential scenario: imagine driving a car registered on the IOTA network through a toll booth. As you pass through the toll, the car communicates with the toll and automatically makes the transfer. We live in a world that is increasingly dependent on machines, so you can imagine the potential of a system that automatically executes those dependencies.
Hurify is another project in the IoT space that aims to accelerate the growth of the industry. The platform allows developers to find IoT development jobs and improve their skill set more easily. Clients can find the right talent for their IoT projects and lower their overall costs.
Samsung and IBM are also working together to this end, on a blockchain initiative called ADEPT.
Just imagine never having to worry about your digital security ever again.
Which is now estimated to cost the industry about $18.5 billion annually, according to a report released by Distil Networks.
Blockchain technologies makes tracking and managing digital identities both secure and efficient, resulting in seamless sign-ons and reduced fraud.
Be it banking, healthcare, national security, citizenship documentation or online retailing, identity authentication and authorization is a process intricately woven into commerce and culture worldwide.
The data breach at Target was significantly broader than originally reported: The company said that 70 million customers had information such as their name, address, phone number and e-mail address hacked in the breach.
Events such as hacked databases and breached accounts are shining light on the growing problems of a technologically advanced society, without outpaced identity-based security innovations.
Blockchain technology offers a solution to many digital identity issues, where identity can be uniquely authenticated in an irrefutable, immutable, and secure manner.
Current methods use problematic password-based systems of shared secrets exchanged and stored on insecure systems. Blockchain based authentication systems are based on irrefutable identity verification using digital signatures based on public key cryptography. In blockchain identity authentication, the only check performed is whether or not the transaction was signed by the correct private key. It is inferred that whoever has access to the private key is the owner and the exact identity of the owner is deemed irrelevant.
Blockchain Identity Use Cases
Blockchain technology can be applied to identity applications in the following areas:
Long-term rental is the norm for the younger generation. Young working adults are in desperate need of a solution that makes housing arrangements simple and as efficient as possible, preferably without any third-party involvement.
The young minds behind Rentberry, a blockchain-based renting solutions platform, have faced the problems themselves: outdated renting platforms, unrecoverable security deposit, bidding wars with other and endless paperwork.
The Rentberry platform employs smart contracts to make finding and renting out a house seamless. Because it directly connects landlords with tenants, it removes brokers and their exorbitant fees from the rental equation. It is also easier for potential tenants and landlords to screen each other, make decisions, establish financial terms and offer payments, because of the auto-enforcing nature of smart contracts.
Like Rentberry, Atlant uses smart contracts to guarantee rental agreements so that neither parties can back out. Atlant turns its focus slightly more towards property purchasing. Sellers can list their property assets on the blockchain and, once verified, tokenizes the property value. It then takes the form of a Property Token Offering, where buyers can buy the property. The tokens of this particular purchase can be traded on a decentralized exchange.
Beetoken is yet another project in the property space. They aim to establish a P2P network of hosts and guests – like Airbnb but on blockchain. Users are assured security through KYC processes. Services like Airbnb do face the problem of fake reviews and such an issue is remedied by blockchain’s immutability and trust.
Healthcare is a pillar of any national economy. In America, it contributes to a fifth of the national economy, which amounts to roughly $3.8 trillion. Unfortunately, the industry is difficult to modernize on a large scale and is hindered by obsolete processes, legacy data management systems and outdated infrastructure.
Patient data is a crucial part of the medical industry. Secure storage and data access, which could protect and make an efficient diagnosis, is possible with blockchain. There are possibilities for the healthcare industry to partner with tangential services of other industries, such as insurance. ICON (ICX) is working on creating an ecosystem where this kind of inter-industry collaboration can exist.
The existence of legacy systems is especially noticeable in developing nations, which are many steps behind their developed counterparts. Blockchain could quickly bring these nations up to speed, rapidly modernizing their healthcare services, which would better patient healthcare and generate revenue.
Patientory, which raised over $7 million in 3 days in their ICO, aims to improve the healthcare space by offering a secure space for stakeholders to store and manage data. Their target audience is patients, providers and healthcare organizations. Patients can easily access their data and hand it over to providers, who may not have a complete history of the patient’s health but will be able to view notes from previous providers and organizations.
DokChain aims to provide cheaper and more efficient solutions to patient data processing. They are operating on a slightly larger scale, developing a platform for a broader range of industries including insurance.
Gem and Tierion are two other blockchain projects working in the healthcare space.
Insurance policies are approved through the verification of the insured party’s data. The approval of insurance and payout of claims are still severe pain points for the industry.
InsureX (IXT) markets itself as an alternative marketplace for insurance. The insurance market has several layers of intermediaries, making approval a frustrating chore. InsureX’s goal is to encourage new business models, increase transaction speed and insurance approval, reduce risk through better data access, and improve customer experience.
Etherisc is an insurance platform that puts an emphasis on decentralized applications. They already have a few dapps up and running, including crop insurance, social insurance and flight delay. Crop insurance protects the insured party against drought or flood, social insurance is similar to life insurance and the flight delay dapp issues policies and pay out claims against flight delay delays autonomously. They will host a marketplace for the capitalization of risks and insurance related services. In other words, what other marketplace-based projects are doing for computer resources, dapps and digital identity, Etherisc is doing for insurance.
Machine learning can also be integrated with smart contracts, as it is being done with SafeShare. This project has partnered with Vrumi to protect property owners against damage and theft to their homes caused by tenants registered on the Vrumi platform. SafeShare employs MetroGnoma, an open-source timestamping service, to validate claims in real time.
An example of a rather unexpected application of blockchain, the publishing industry too can benefit from decentralization.
Today’s publishing industry is largely in the control of a small group of publishers. It can be difficult for a yet unrecognized writer to break into the industry. Digital publishing and the internet has made it easier for writers but even then, the scale and recognition of traditional publishing is still lacking.
A platform like Authorship is set to overturn the current system, where influence is in the hands of publishers, by using a tokenized system that recognizes the work of any writer. Publishers can choose to digitally publish writers and print their books, should they feel convinced of their quality and should demand exist. The token system ensures that writers get their fair share of pay. Writers can also write and publish without the assistance of publishers. Translators will also receive payment and approval from publishers if they choose to translate a work.
The lesson here is, in whatever industry financial mechanisms favour one party over the other, blockchain can come in to equalize the system and ensure that everyone gets their fair cut.
Like publishing which favours publishing companies, the music industry is also unfairly structured in favour of recording labels.
Musicians have frequently derided streaming services, stating that they have siphoned a lot of earnings away from them. This is sadly true, but we have crossed the point of no return in this matter. Streaming is the way of the future but it behoves us to ensure artists earn their fair share of royalties.
Much of the earnings from music sales go to recording labels. Some musicians have therefore directly released their albums to fans. Thom Yorke and Nine Inch Nails have released their albums on P2P networks, and Bjork has even permitted fans to pay for her album Utopia with cryptocurrency.
Blockchain now allows fans to connect directly with artists in a manner that is efficient and secure.
Two popular blockchain startups operating in this space are Mycelia and Ujo Music.
There are a number of ways in which Mycelia could benefit artists. Imogen Heap, who founded Mycelia, wrote she believes blockchain can help license copyrighted music in an easy manner that suits both the requestor and the artist.
A noteworthy element of Mycelia’s platform is the “creative passport”, which serves as a record of an artist, their works, tour dates – it is very social media-like, all but a necessity for artists today.
Ujo Music has also received the backing of Imogen Heap. With their “Creator’s Portal”, artists can publish, license and be compensated for their work through Ethereum. It will also make it easier for artists to be discovered and supported by the community. Voise, a platform that has a concentrated focus on streaming, operates with similar intentions.
The supply chain industry is one fraught with many challenges, most of which are concerned with curtailing rising costs and efficiently supplying products to retailers and customers. It is valued in the hundreds of billion dollars worldwide and is set to grow as demand increases proportionally with spending power.
However, the industry faces several obstacles. Fuel costs are ever on the rise, overproduction of products wastes precious resources, as well as taking up space and eventually becoming harmful waste. It is an industry whose challenges affect our very planet.
Smart contracts offer a potential solution to this problem. Imagine if an industry as significant as the automobile industry utilized a system in which cars would be manufactured only when a fixed number of requests were received.
With smart contracts, it is possible for funds to be locked into a contract, whereupon manufacturers would begin production only after a certain number has been reached. It would eliminate the worry of overestimating demand and resource consumption, and could also eliminate middlemen by directly connecting consumers with manufacturers.
VeChain and ShipChain are two blockchain projects that want to transform this industry.
VeChain aims to establish a business ecosystem that is autonomous and self-circulating. The use of NFC chips to counter theft and fraud has been popular with markets like liquor and tobacco, and they have partnered with China’s National Research Consulting Center (NRCC) to this end.
ShipChain is also striving for the same goals with its platform, with its solution of “track and trace” being implemented from end to end on shipping and logistics. This will let small carriers operate independently and shift reliance away from larger, better-financed shipping parties. ShipChain is also incentivizing operators by rewarding them for efficient transport routes and timely deliveries.
In many parts of the world and, even in America which has long been held as the gold standard for democracy, voting power is manipulated and contorted to favour parties or even certain individuals. Nowhere is the principle of “one individual, one vote” more desired than in political voting systems.
Democracy Earth has created a peer-to-peer governance protocol for organizations. Budgeting takes place with bitcoins and smart contracts, and only you, the voter, have access to your voter information.
Horizon State is oriented towards actual voting for the purposes of governance. The platform allows for immediate recognition of votes at a fraction of the cost of traditional voting systems. The tokens of the platform are used as the ‘gas’ for voting and other services, which includes funding for campaigns.
Boule is another voting platform that is similar to Democracy Earth and Horizon State in its basic purpose.
Computing power is quickly becoming a fundamental necessity, like electricity and the internet. Many of the tasks that we do today, and certainly those in the scientific and entertainment industries, require heavy computation. The trouble is that it requires resources that are currently only accessible to major corporate powers who have the funds to operate powerful systems.
The distributed nature of blockchain changes that, as it lets any user across the world utilize the computing power of ordinary computers to perform computationally-intensive tasks. Golem Network is working on precisely this, letting people rent out idle computing resources like bandwidth and processing power to others who can use it to render CGI and perform scientific calculations.
SONM (Supercomputer Organized by Network Mining) targets similar goals. Distributed computing will let users offer their idle computing resources for general purpose computing. SONM also envisions the use cases of video rendering and scientific processes like DNA analysis.
Elastic is an open-source P2P platform that works on a proprietary language called ElasticPL. The key difference here is that users are able to model their problems with the programming language.
Blockchain data storage will become a massive disruptor in the near future. (3-5 years)
Current cloud storage services are centralized — thus you the users must place trust in a single storage provider. “They” control all of your online assets.
On the other hand with the Blockchain, this can become decentralized. For instance, Storj is beta-testing cloud storage using a Blockchain-powered network to improve security and decrease dependency. Additionally, users can rent out their excess storage capacity, Airbnb-style, creating new marketplaces.
Anyone on the internet can store your data at a pre-agreed price. Hashing and having the data in multiple locations are the keys to securing it.
There are at least 2 start-ups exploring this idea. After encrypting your data, it is sent out to a network with easy to track basic metadata.
One interesting feature of the blockchain is its timestamp feature. The whole network essentially validates the state of a wrapped piece of data (called a hash) at a certain specific time.
As a trustless decentralized network, it essentially confirms the existence of [something] at a stated time that is further provable in a court of law. Until now, only centralized notary services could serve this purpose.
Manuel Aráoz, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based developer, who built Proof of Existence as a decentralized method of verification, a kind of cryptographic notary service explained:
“As the blockchain is a public database, it is a distributed sort of consensus, your document becomes certified in a distributed sort of way.”
Proof of Existence allows users to upload a file and pay a transaction fee to have a cryptographic proof of it included on the bitcoin blockchain. The actual file is not stored online and therefore does not risk unwanted publication of the user’s material.
After anonymously uploading the document and paying the network fee, a hash of the document (or any other type of digital file) is generated as part of the transaction.
The Proof of Existence website shows recently uploaded files that have hashes on the blockchain.
This, in effect, uses the public and ledger-like nature of the blockchain to store the proof of your file, which can later be verified should an issue of authorship or dating arise.
“Basically, by inserting the cryptographic hash of the document in a transaction, when that transaction is mined into a block, the block timestamp becomes the document’s timestamp,” said Aráoz.
What if you could cut your mortgage rate, make it easier to update your will?
The world of smart contracts is fast approaching.
These are legally binding programmable digitized contracts entered on the blockchain. They are smart because they are automated and can self-execute. What developers do is to implement legal contracts as variables and statements that can release of funds using the bitcoin network as a ‘3rd party executor’, rather than trusting a single central authority.
For example, if two people want to exchange $100 at a specific time in future when a set of preconditions are met, the conditions, payout and parties’ details would be programmed into a smart contract. Once the defined conditions are met, funds would be released and sent to the appropriate party as per terms.
By giving computers control over contracts, we can make business more efficient and make the legal system more equitable.
“Smart contracts solve the problem of intermediary trust between parties to an agreement, whether that is between people transferring assets like gold, or executing decisions between two parties in a betting contract,” explained Vitalik Buterin, a founder of Ethereum.
Platforms like Ethereum are bringing smart contracts closer to reality. Additionally, because data stored in the Blockchain cannot be tampered with, basic contracts like marriages have already been recorded in code.
The greatest barrier to getting electoral processes online, according to its detractors, is security. Using blockchain, a voter could check that her or his vote was successfully transmitted while remaining anonymous to the rest of the world.
In 2014, Liberal Alliance, a political party in Denmark, became the first organization to use blockchain to vote. With American voter turnout still shockingly low, distributed digital voting may represent a way to enfranchise non-participants.
“Many states use voting machines that are over 10 years old that are not only antiquated and failing, they are also becoming increasingly expensive to maintain as parts are no longer manufactured. Election fraud undermines the very fabric of democracy.” -BTC
Last year a team accredited to observe the 2013 municipal elections in Estonia – the only country to run Internet voting on a wide scale – revealed that they observed election officials downloading key software over insecure Internet connections, typing PINs and passwords in view of cameras, and preparing election software on insecure PCs.
Norway also cancelled trials of e-voting systems in local and national elections, concluding that voters’ fears about their votes becoming public could undermine democratic processes. (Source: A security analysis of Estonia’s Internet voting system by international e-voting experts.)
Just imagine a society where your vote is guaranteed from the comfort of your phone.
Can you imagine how the landscape of the political system would change?
Blockchain technologies will become the gold standard for all nations of the world in the near future. It is time for our system and governments to become more transparent.
Charitable organizations purportedly use the funds they receive to benefit the cause they are supporting. However, in more than a few cases, the money is misspent or outright corruption occurs.
Blockchain’s ability to transparently showcase transactions on its public ledger makes it ideal for use in charities. The public, donating their hard-earned money for a good cause, can see how and where their donations are being spent.
There are several blockchain projects operating in this niche. Alice is a project that aims to help cash-strapped social endeavours through its blockchain-based crowdfunding platform. Giveth is an open-source, Ethereum-based platform that is similar to Alice, but also features a mechanism called LiquidPledging. This is when a donation is made via a delegate. Likewise, AidCoin is another platform that is aiming to make charity donations more transparent and immediate.
The energy industry is also hampered by middlemen. Blockchain technology could change that by letting individuals buy and sell energy through smart contracts. The energy used by individuals in homes could form a microgrid where communities become resilient to power outages, as well as reduce the drain on the environment.
This is exactly what LO3 Energy has done by establishing the Brooklyn Microgrid. The company itself states it best – they want to reimagine how power can be generated, conserved, traded and shared.
Power Ledger claims to be the world’s first commercially-available energy trading platform of its kind. Users can trade electricity with each other and receive payment in real time. What’s interesting is that users can sell power that they’ve stored on their solar panels. Any excess power that isn’t essential could be sold for money.
Grid+ works with Artificial Intelligence to study your energy consumption pattern and purchase energy accordingly. This platform involves a hardware unit. The AI-based smart energy agent has access to multiple energy markets and can also extra energy generated from solar panels.
For a while now, the systems of employment have been changing. Studies have shown that employees, along with demands for good pay, wish for flexibility with work and the freedom to work from home. Employers have begun to take note that the mindset of employees and their criteria for happiness have changed while other studies have noted that the happiest employees are the ones who perform best.
Freelancing has grown immensely in popularity. While professionalism has grown on both sides, trust always remains an issue because there is currently no way to enforce it.
Blocklancer wants to change that. The platform is essentially a freelance job portal where clients and freelancers can interact. Through the power of smart contracts, both parties are assured of their requested services. It is the freelancing portal freelancers love, but with the assurance of pay and delivery of work.
Are there other use cases of blockchain technology? YES.
Messaging, Blockchain-as-a-Service, Digital Advertising, Credit, Trading, Fishing, Hedge funds, Ridesharing, Crypto exchanges, Human resources, Gaming. There are all fields in which we can use blockchain applications.
As mentioned above, most of these applications are still underdeveloped. The future potential of the blockchain applications is still unravelling. The next couples of years will be all about experimenting and applying to all aspects of society. Regardless of which application comes first on a global scale. The bottom line is, Blockchain is here to stay and will and is transforming how our society functions. Caught your interest? Then find out right now how you can earn free cryptocurrency.
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.
In January, attackers stole roughly $400,000 in Stellar Lumen (XLM) coins.
In the same month, a software developer revealed the CoffeeMiner attack, a means to use public Wi-Fi networks to perform cryptojacking – the covert mining of cryptocurrency without user consent.
Facebook decided to ban the advertising of ICOs, cryptocurrencies, and binary options on the social network due to the prevalent risk of scams and fraudulent schemes.
One of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coincheck, was hacked, while both BitConnect and Benebit pulled an exit scam.
In February, employees at the Russian Federation Nuclear Center were arrested for using the centre’s supercomputing power to mine virtual coins.
Over in the United Kingdom, US, and Australia, government and corporate websites were infected with cryptocurrency mining software via a vulnerable third-party plugin.
In March, Google took steps to tackle the issue of fraudulent ICOs, and chose to ban ICO, wallet, and cryptocurrency consultancy services from purchasing adverts for display on the tech giant’s search engine.
Binance was forced to deal with the aftermath of a credential-stealing scheme that was used en masse to sell user funds and convert them into altcoins.
In April, a suspected case of fraud emerged with the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of cryptocurrency exchange Coinsecure being blamed for the loss or embezzlement of 438 Bitcoins, worth roughly $3.3 million at the time.
In May, the Bitcoin Gold (BTG) hard fork, originating from the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain, suffered what is known as a 51% attack. In total, $17.5 million was stolen.
Taylor was entirely cleaned out of cryptocurrency and token reserves.
A tea-based blockchain project, the Shenzhen Puyin Blockchain Group, ran a fraudulent ICO and raised approximately $48 million from investors before vanishing.
In June, a research paper appeared which claimed the market for cryptocurrency-stealing malware was now worth millions of dollars, and at the same time, Coinrail was relieved of roughly 30% of its coin reserves.
Only a week later, another South Korean exchange, Bithumb lost $31.5 million to hackers.
Another ICO exit scam was also performed halfway through the year, this time by Block Broker, an organization which claimed to develop anti-fraud blockchain technologies.
During July, blockchain startup Bancor said a company wallet was compromised. While the alleged attackers apparently attempted to steal $23.5 million, but once the wallet was identified and frozen, only $12.5 million in Ethereum (ETH), alongside $1 million in Pundi X (NPXS) and $10 million in Bancor Network Tokens (BNT) was stolen.
BitConnect, which performed an exit scam in January, resurfaced in the news over August as the Indian head of the firm was reportedly arrested in Dubai. Two months later, former BitConnect investors banded together to launch a lawsuit accusing the company of fraud.
In the same month, three Chinese nationals were arrested over the alleged theft of theft of $87 million in cryptocurrencies by targeting both individual and corporate wallets.
In September, cryptocurrency exchange Zaif lost $60 million following a cyber attack in which hackers siphoned away Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and MonaCoin from hot wallets.
A vulnerability was also discovered in the Monero system that could have permitted attackers to steal vast amounts of the cryptocurrency. After a theoretical question was posted online, developers realized a serious bug in the framework existed and set to patch the problem.
In October, Pincoin operators ran off with $660 million in trader funds after pulling an ICO exit scam, which was unsurprising considering the 48% return that the organization promised investors.
In November, a 21-year-old was arrested for performing a SIM-swap attack that took a victim’s entire life savings. The attack was conducted by convincing customer service reps to redirect numbers to a handset, where it can be used to recover passwords and bypass 2FA.
A brash crypto jacking scheme was also uncovered in a Canadian university was forced to close down its network to stop the use of the institution’s power for cryptocurrency mining.
Source zdnet.com
Nascent markets have certain qualities which make them volatile. Let’s take a look at a few of them:
This type of behaviour and manipulation is only multiplied when you add in the hundreds of thousands of new members in the industry. These nascent users are easily taken advantage of. Additionally, it’s difficult to prove that price manipulation has occurred in an unregulated market.
You’ll also discover that central exchanges have a single failure point. These cryptocurrency exchanges handle a lot of digital currency. If they get hacked, it can have a significant impact on the price of other cryptocurrencies.
The number one determinant in the price of cryptocurrency is supply and demand. This is Economics 101. If a specific digital currency has a high amount of supply but no demand from users and traders, then its value is going to drop. It works the other way as well. If the supply of a cryptocurrency is limited and it is highly sought after, then the coin’s value will increase.
The thinking behind this is connected to the scarcity element. This helps to drive up value and is a key contributor to the reason we saw Bitcoin reach nearly $20,000 USD this past January. Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million BTC. This number is fairly low when compared with other cryptocurrencies. As a result, demand for the coin soared.
Public sentiment along with the media can also be key drivers over the prices of digital currencies. For example, if a specific platform or token gets negative press, you might see the value of that coin take a hit.
On the other hand, some high profile coverage and support from the media would almost assuredly cause a price to rise. Therefore, the price of digital currencies is influenced a great deal by hype and human emotion.
Of course, there are other factors that determine the price of cryptocurrencies. For example, the usefulness of a token can have an impact on its price. Is it truly solving a problem or is it just another coin taking up space on the market?
Lastly, the difficulty of mining a coin might impact its value. If a coin is difficult to mine, then it’s more difficult to increase the overall supply of the token. Therefore, the market might see added upward pressure placed on the price if the demand for the coin is high.
Just like there are no guarantees with traditional markets, the same can be said predictions made within the cryptocurrency market. There have been those from both extremes which have attempted to make predictions for 2018 and beyond.
Check out these cryptocurrency trading strategies if you are serious about getting into crypto.
Some popular CEO’s and pundits have predicted that Bitcoin would rise above the $1 million mark, while others have tried to remain more modest. Still, suggesting that Bitcoin could reach $125,000 by the end of 2022 should be taken with a grain of salt.
But we can’t have all rainbows and unicorns all the time. On the other side of the market, there are those that predict nothing but doom and gloom. The market will collapse and the price of Bitcoin will come down to less than $100. Some even suggest that it will be worthless before the end of the decade.
No matter which end of the spectrum you fall under, there are a few things you can keep an eye on that will give you a better understanding of which way the market may move. For instance, if new rules and regulations are imposed on cryptocurrencies that dominate the market, you might see a downward trend.
Remember, cryptocurrencies are still less than a decade old, so the market for them will be highly volatile for the time being. There is no way to predict or determine which way the market may move, but there are always indicators that can help you get an idea of what you can expect.
No matter what, exercise caution when investing in cryptocurrencies. Just because a coin you hold is worth hundreds or thousands today, doesn’t mean that will be the case tomorrow.
Source toshitimes.com
It is obvious that the cryptocurrency industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 10 years since Bitcoin was born. Fintech is transforming the financial industry and more and more people are getting onboard. Shopping in-store and online is going fully digital but raising cybersecurity fears, which can be drastically reduced with a broader acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment.
Nowadays, almost anything can be paid directly with cryptocurrencies: homes, condos, boats, cars, clothing, electronics, health and pet products, food, wine, accessories, plane tickets, vacations, tools, musical instruments, as well as dating services, professional services, internet services, and, of course crypto gear.
Without pointing out the obvious, let’s look at the most interesting things digital currencies can buy you:
Mobile payment is the new trend. Being able to use a smartphone to pay for something instead of a credit card is so much more convenient.
From Paypal and Apple Pay to Mastercard’s Paypass and Visa’s Paywave with near-field communication (NFC) technology and modern POS terminals, payments have never been easier. The same privacy and security issues arise as with the rest of traditional and fiat-based financial transactions. Too much data in one place.
All currently available mobile fiat payment processors store credit card information which include all of our financial information and more. Not to mention that all that data is online and on our mobile devices everywhere we go.
Cryptocurrencies are a safer digital cash option and are ideal for mobile payments by default due to their virtual, decentralized nature.
Bitpay, one of the most successful crypto payment gateways, is processing $1 billion worth of transactions annually at a rate of a quarter million transactions per month. Coinpayments already serves millions of vendors in 200 countries and has just integrated with Bittorrent to give its 100 million users the option to pay with BTC and altcoins. Coingate serves 50,000 merchants and has processed hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency payments, and Utrust just partnered with Payrexx and its 10,000 European merchants.
More integrations and partnerships between cryptocurrency payment processors and fiat payment processors are in the works and the market is expected to grow by 50% in the next two years.
In particular, Foton announced plans to attract 100 million users by 2020 and offer competitive features including its own stablecoin, fiat pairs, atomic swaps, a loan and escrow service, and a payment card with loyalty rewards and cash back.
So there is no doubt: millions of merchants all over the world accept cryptocurrencies, as do tens of thousands of websites.
It has been estimated that some 20 million people worldwide own cryptocurrency. Most others have heard of bitcoin and many plan on adding it to their portfolio.
Square, a credit card payment processor serving merchants, employers and mobile payment users, is gradually out-competing Paypal while also increasing its profits through BTC sales. The majority of Square’s merchant customers have expressed interest in accepting bitcoin core and a 2017 Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance study confirmed that 40% of consumers would, indeed, like to be able to make purchases with BTC.
Countries with weaker than average fiat currencies tend to favour the use of cryptos.
Turkey, Venezuela, Brazil, Australia and South Africa appear to have large numbers of cryptocurrency users. In fact, a whopping 80 percent of Australians would like to use cryptocurrencies for daily purchases.
Merchants in Eastern Europe and small western European towns seem more open toward adding bitcoin as a method of payment. Even before the 2017 cryptocurrency bull market, more than 10% of Eastern Europeans reported using cryptocurrency in place of fiat for everyday purchases.
There was a time when cash was king and financial institutions gave generous incentives to people who chose to put their hard-earned cash into institutional coffers.
Today, bank accounts, debit and credit cards, have fees associated with them — money that goes down the drain and provides no benefit.
There are debit and credit card fees, ATM fees, merchant fees, checking account fees, overdraft fees, paper fees, check fees, transfer fees, change fees, charge-back fees, foreign transaction fees, minimum balance fees, inactivity fees, false decline fees, et cetera, et cetera.
In comparison, popular cryptocurrency payment gateways like Bitpay and Coinpayments charge between 0.5% and 1% per transaction.
In most cases, a cryptocurrency account in the form of a digital wallet is entirely free and unless one chooses to invest in cryptocurrency hardware wallets or prepaid cards, other than the transaction fee, using cryptocurrency as money costs absolutely nothing.
Cryptocurrencies are a borderless means of exchange allowing for instant and cost-effective transactions across the world.
There is no waiting, no international fees and no limitations as to who can or cannot send funds to whom or when and where those funds can be accessed.
All that is needed is an internet-enabled device like a smartphone and someone without access to a banking institution is given an alternative solution with which they can pay bills, earn income, safe-keep their funds, make purchases and conduct business.
Using cryptocurrencies while travelling adds an extra layer of security and can be used as a remote source of emergency funds that can be accessed without an ID, a bank account, credit cards, a wire transfer or even a personal computer device.
Unfortunately, there are customers who make a purchase, receive the items they ordered and even use them only to cancel their payment. They can do this because fiat payments are not instant.
With cryptocurrencies, things are quite different.
Once a transaction has occurred, there is no turning back.
Funds ‘travel’ from one wallet to another, the transaction is recorded and it cannot be reversed. This is not to say that a customer cannot return an item and request a refund by communicating directly with the vendor. Of course, they can.
What they cannot do is place an order, pay for it, receive it and then get the sum they paid back on their account because of money back policies overseen by online payment processors and credit card companies.
Charge backs are meant to prevent fraud and yet they often accomplish the very opposite. In this instance, cryptocurrency works the same way as cash. After you’ve taken the item you paid for with cash, you can’t go back to the store with a damaged or used item, never mind empty-handed, and demand your money back.
Accepting cryptocurrency online has never been easier. Shopify and Etsy merchants can select to accept BTC, BCH, and altcoins. Woocommerce and Easy Digital Downloads vendors can use WordPress plugins like Mycryptocheckout for the purpose.
Shapeshift gives customers the choice to pay with dozens of cryptocurrencies. Shapeshift is integrated with cryptocurrency payment processors like Bitpay and Coingate, and cryptocurrency wallets like Coinomi and Keepkey.
Moreover, there is Purse.io, an online platform where users can buy items from Amazon with cryptocurrency and it is also integrated with Shapeshift, as are Magento and Openbazaar. Setting up cryptocurrency payments is super simple and quick and merchant transaction fees are 60-70%lower compared to fiat transaction fees.
Banks and credit institutions, as well as retailers and service providers, obtain and retain too much of their customers’ personal and financial information.
Details including our name, address, employers, social security number, net worth, assets, investments, account balances, credit score, credit line, and transaction history, along with everything we do and buy, who we associate with, when, where, etc. comprise our personal, professional and financial data sets. With traditional financial institutions and traditional fiat currency, we can no longer preserve our privacy.
Cryptocurrency transactions provide an alternative by limiting the amount of transaction data to mere numbers also known as cryptocurrency wallet addresses and transaction IDs confirming that a wallet-to-wallet transaction took place.
A cryptocurrency payment processor acting as a third party will typically require your name (and shipping address for the delivery of physical goods), but the rest of your information will remain private as long as you don’t connect your bank or credit card account and transact solely in BTC and altcoins.
Source news.bitcoin.com
According to the paper — entitled “Cryptocurrencies: Overcoming Barriers to Trust and Adoption” — bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will hit the mainstream as a way of paying for goods and services within the next decade.
As Imperial College London professor William Knottenbelt put it:
“There’s a lot of scepticism over cryptocurrencies and how they could ever become a day-today payment system used by the man on the street. In this research we show that cryptocurrencies have already made significant headway towards fulfilling the criteria for becoming a widely accepted method of payment.”
The three criteria for mass adoption the researchers laid out are:
While this may sound callous, adoption should be easy…or at least easier.
Adopting a baby should be easier and if it were, more people would go through the process of adoption. The same rationale can be applied to cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency payments. Right now, regardless of what the expert developers and pro-crypto people believe, adoption cryptocurrency is too difficult.
That is just a fact. If it were so easy, then more businesses, institutions and individuals would have done it already.
Bitcoin is not obscure. Bitcoin is not unknown. Certainly, Bitcoin does not suffer from a lack of popularity. Even Jeff Sprecher, the CEO of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) believes that Bitcoin has a bright future ahead as the according to Sprecher:
“Somehow Bitcoin has lived in a swamp and survived.”
That says a lot, and Sprecher is not the only CEO from the institutional finance world that recognizes the growing value of Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
In a nutshell, the value exists, the theoretical and applicable use cases exist too. But merging existing technologies into a universal product that can be easily integrated into or to replaces traditional payments infrastructure is not yet feasible.
In order to achieve mass adoption, and perhaps another bull run in 2019, greater efforts and attention must be paid to new protocols focused on facilitating super-fast, universal transactions.
It makes sense to assume that as more individuals use cryptocurrency for payments, the crypto community will transition from the casino-like speculation that thrives on hype and illusions of market cap grandeur to the development of products that can be easily applied in everyday life.
Real positive change will not come as a result of the name calling and criticism by one blockchain startup of another but from the collaboration, promotion, and support of projects that push for a real-world use case that is easily adopted.
A handful of fantastic projects are already on the path to delivering very useful solutions. The cryptocurrency space would benefit immensely from each developer supporting such projects.
While early adopters might jump at the opportunity to become one of the first in a new economy, the average user has one question: What will I spend this on?
Crypto projects need to build products with real use cases, and this can be done by listening to what we, their consumers, actually want — especially in digital environments.
Businesses — tech companies, specifically — have access to a wealth of insight from their users. However, the big monopolies only care about and extract consumer data that they can sell to advertisers to make money, instead of learning how the users would like them to improve their experience.
Someone might be interested in spending crypto if an app, platform or service that I regularly use created new features that could only be unlocked with cryptocurrency.
In order to understand how these currencies benefit us, average consumers need something basic to spend these tokens on, and the virtual world is where these introductory opportunities await.
Once there’s a digital good that people want to have (and they must pay for it with crypto), the next question is: “How do I get enough tokens to purchase it?”
Users can go to an exchange to trade fiat for crypto, but having a way to earn it without dipping into their pockets would be beneficial.
Digital environments easily lend themselves to creating simple ways for people to earn crypto that they can then use on the virtual goods they want.
Maybe some would consider completing an online task such as a survey for traditional fiat but would do that for instant cryptocurrency which they can later use to pay for a special future in their favourite app.
By simplifying access to crypto, more mainstream consumers will be able to begin thinking about using it.