Posts published in “BTC”

Trading of any product in the market can help one earn a few more amount. Though an ample amount of things are there on various exchanges, one more item is added, which is trading of virtual currency, also known as cryptocurrency. However, selection of a trading exchange for this currency is a big question for the traders.

If you are planning to start trading in the cryptocurrency market, you need to deal with reputed exchanges that provide good service at affordable rates. The region in which the exchange is based is also important as this will provide them with a proper legal framework for conducting operations. Some countries are very lenient, and they may not take adequate precautions while giving permissions to crypto exchanges. In that situation, fraudulent practices may become common as there are not proper regulatory mechanisms to control such exchanges.

Keep these factors in mind while going for any cryptocurrency exchange

Make sure to check the reviews of those exchanges before you begin to trade in them. Remember that you can trade your favorite cryptocurrencies in multiple exchanges, and you should always give preference to those that have a large number of options and proper security.

Security is yet another factor that should be carefully considered as there are a lot of instances of hacking and other problems while trading in cryptocurrencies. Make sure that your exchange provides two-factor authentication and end to end encryption for all your trades.

Payment related issues

You have to understand that there is no standard payment mechanism for crypto exchanges across the world, and each one may have its own payment gateway systems. In this regard, you can give preference to exchanges that allow multiple gateway options, including credit card, Paypal, and bank transfer.

The exchanges charge fees for various services, and you should be careful about this factor. Check all the different transactions for which fees are collected and compare it with other service providers. In this way, you will get some idea about which exchange offers the best rates for trading cryptocurrencies in the market.

Finally, you should always choose exchanges that offer good quality customer support in the long run. This will help you trade without any hassles, and you can seek their support whenever you have an issue with your trades. Make sure that customer support is available in your native language as cryptocurrency exchanges may offer support in multiple languages as they deal with international customers.

In the year 2017, returns on Bitcoin investments were 200% making millionaires of many investors. Investing in Bitcoins became very popular as it was rewarding, and the path-breaking technology behind Bitcoins was blockchain. So before investing in Bitcoins and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, you must have a clear idea about it. 

What is Blockchain?

A blockchain is a chain of electronic blocks that store relevant data of the customers. Unique digital signatures ensure the security of the stored data. You cannot change the original data of a single block without disturbing the other blocks of the blockchain. Anyone who wishes to access the data needs to have the signature.

Understanding the Concept of Blockchain

Transaction Record

Now, to understand how your data gets stored in a blockchain, take the example of Bitcoins. Every Bitcoin block stores 1 MB of data. When a user records a transaction in Bitcoins, it gets stored in the electronic block. Another user can access this transaction record but cannot edit it. The data of different users get stored in separate blocks that join together to form a chain. At this moment, there are 525,000 blocks in the Bitcoin blockchain, storing 525,000 MB of data.

Unique Digital Signature

Every block in a blockchain has a unique digital signature called a hash. It matches the exact string of data stored in that block. If you change any of that data, you have to change the digital signature also. With this block, you need to change the digital signatures corresponding to each block that forms the blockchain, which is close to impossible.

Creation of Hash

In blockchain technology, a hash secures the transaction data. In other words, the digital signature that protects the data in a block is created by a cryptographic hash function. The data you enter passes through this cryptographic formula, and a 64-character output gets generated. This cryptographic hash consists of numbers and alphabets. Changing a single character of the string will change the output. Also, the hashes need to meet some specific conditions. 

How to get a Signature that Qualifies?

A block needs to have a signature that starts with ten consecutive zeros to qualify for a blockchain. As every signature is unique, there will be only one signature corresponding to a block. So you may not get the qualifying hash many times. The cryptographic hash function may generate an output that does not start with ten zeros. In such a case, you have to keep on changing the data until you get an eligible signature. 

The transaction information, date stamp, and block number can’t be changed. So, users add a string of numbers called nonce to their data. The nonce is continuously changed to get a qualifying signature. This process is called mining, and the people doing it are miners. Miners change the nonce very quickly by using computational power that works on electricity. It is a trial and error method.  

You can also become a miner by using mining software. It uses computational power and tries to solve the nonce for a particular block. But finding a nonce is very difficult, it needs a lot of computational power and also luck. 

How is the Blockchain Secure?

Your data stored on the blockchain is immutable. A corrupt miner can never get to your data as he has to change the digital signature of all the blocks in the chain. Also, new blocks get added every second, as many users are working at the same time on the network. So, the corrupt miner will need computational power more than that of the whole network, which is not achievable. 

Who Regulates the Blockchain?

Blockchain technology follows a democratic model. No government or centralized agency controls it. Users update the transaction records of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies on the blockchain. Here, a change in data gets rejected by the network as it is not connected to the chain. Although anyone can access the transactions and wallet balance, the names of the owner remain hidden.

Future of Blockchain-based Cryptocurrencies

Different cryptocurrencies have different blockchain protocols. This means Bitcoin has a distinct set of rules and regulations for its blockchain that is not the same as other cryptocurrencies. 

If you take the Bitcoin, it is like a currency that you can use as global money. On the other hand, Monero is a more private cryptocurrency. Its transactions and wallet balances are non-traceable.

In the future, cryptocurrencies can act as a token for making digital payments. It can have a value and be used to buy gaming access or pay utility bills like water and electricity. All the different cryptocurrencies can be traded on global exchanges like Binance. It can become the next internet money. 

Blockchain technology can safely store data for identities, tax records, history records, and medical records. Even property rights and shares of a company may get registered using blockchain.

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust empowers investors to rejoice exposure to the price crusade of bitcoin via a classic investment tool, without the hassle of purchasing, storage, and protecting bitcoins. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust does not presently work on a redemption drive and may stop creations for some time and commence again. 

The Current Scenario

Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust shares (GBTC) are at present trading at $7.49 per share, a 15.81% premium of Bitcoin. GBTC is the first-ever publicly cited security exclusively capitalized in and extracting price from Bitcoin, and since its listing it has been seen to trade at a rocket-high premium, having massive triumph at 2020 high, with 41.42% being the highest value that touched in February. Lately, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Fund (GBTC) premium to net asset value touched its lowermost level since November 2018. This premium depicts that dealers are paying more for GBTC shares than the original Bitcoin amount reserved by the fund.

Presently, GBTC is the principal cryptocurrency registered investment fund with assets worth $3.5 billion, under the management, summing over 386,000 BTC under the safekeeping. Therefore, it is designated as a pertinent gauge of investors’ craving. The trust started trading openly in 2015 under the figure GBTC and is presently known as the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The trust’s primary aim is to trace the fundamental value of bitcoin, similar to how other trust checks on the original value of gold or other assets. 

How is the Bitcoin price influenced by GBTC Premium value?

Over the last couple of years, there have been a few instances where the GBTC premium touched the bottommost point and rebounded back up. The major exception was the tarnished November 2018 bang that happened after Bitcoin lost its long-time $6,000 backup. Given the diminishing premium value, stockholders have the full right to enquire if the indication could be envisaging an identical movement. Volume is indisputably the most pertinent metric stockholders track. Although there can be a countless number of reasons for augmented investor interest, there’s nothing optimistic to be collected from diminishing trading movement. This year mid-July marked the lowest levels in twenty months, and now the premium value has boomeranged back to 9%.

The 3-month straightforward GBTC premium value displays three radically diverse scenarios, designated by extreme hope in January 2020 at 2%, and massive pessimism in April 2020 at -1%. BTC futures trading price is a distinctive indication of distress from professional stockholders.

Conventional hacking has become useless, with a high level of security that comes with crypto-currency. But cons and scams are like insects that survive the harshest of conditions and cryptocurrencies see their fair share of similar swindles. Many conmen have begun to become more creative to dupe crypto-investors through scams perpetrated over social media such as YouTube and Twitter. Schemes have begun to exploit innocent crypto enthusiasts through fake reward-events and giveaways

The YouTube Tactic

Crypto-currency swindlers nowadays have begun to conduct fake giveaways in the name of reputed crypto companies. A move like this had made them 110,000 dollars richer in a recent scandal leading to the company to have to issue a formal notice for its users advising them not to believe such ads. But it was too late since the perpetrators had already amassed millions of cryptocurrencies and the unsuspecting customers had their share severely reduced.

The Twitter Way

Another technique used by these crypto thieves is by way of twitter. Scammers have begun to hack well-known, heavily followed and verified twitter accounts. After being hacked, these accounts encourage their thousands of customers to invest a 1000 dollars in bitcoin to get a 2000 dollar giveaway prize. As the trusting followers follow suit, the hackers gather all these submitted altcoins, and the follower keeps waiting for the non-existent prize money to show up.

Developing their methods

These crypto-conmen are steadily making their attack even more developed and head-on. They’re making dozens of fake accounts for a made-up crypto-company to advertise heavily across all major social media platforms about their money-duping giveaways. They’ve formed dedicated groups to disguise their empty promises in an intricately-laid curtain with sophisticated tactics. They are even getting big-name brands to collaborate with their fake brands to trap more and more users that may believe them to be real by seeing a popular name attached to their (fake) company. 

Various governments around the world are endeavouring to tighten their cyber-security laws since a lot of a nation’s economy regulated online. Such attacks will soon be awarded severe penalties to discourage the increasing number of scams. For now, a big part of the onus lies with the major social media companies on whose platforms these scammers operate. They must develop accurate software to find out these no-gooders and stop them before they get away with even more money than before.

The big news comes knocking on the doors of the Crypto-currency world as Paul Grewal joins as Head of legal operations of crypto-exchange Company of Coinbase. A decorated former magistrate judge based in California, US, Grewal has joined the legal team of Coinbase. Along with that, the talented Mr. Grewal has also worked as a counselor in the role of a senior level and has been involved in several high-profile cases. The news comes at a time when crypto-exchange is gathering tremendous momentum across the globe.

Announcement

 The highly-regarded news was announced on July 8, as was showcased in the Coinbase online blog. The company had high praise for Grewal as it announced its collaboration. The company said the recruitment of the former judge would foster growth and awareness of the next level of crypto-adoption across the world. The continued success on Grewal’s part is well-deserved, as is evident throughout his illustrious career.

Role and Responsibilities

Grewal has been welcomed and requisitioned by the legal team of Coinbase as the Head of their team. The post of Chief Legal Officer has made the former judge a valuable part of the Coinbase team and its future projects. Grewal will play an important role as Coinbase plans to collaborate with financial service regulators as well as in the development of new crypto-based applications like bitcoin era for the users. In his five year career as a judge, Grewal has overseen hundreds of cases based on the tech giant industry, which will serve as valuable experience needed for the progress of the crypto-exchange company. Grewal looks forward to being the voice of counsel for a company that is fast approaching to join the bigwigs club.

Coinbase has also outlined how Grewal had been a pivotal player in the high profile cases of Apple vs. Samsung and Google vs. Oracle. Such a commendable past experience has featured heavily in the decision-making process of the Coinbase legal team. The judge’s career has spanned across such important cases considering tech-giants that has only added to the feathers in his hat. The capable hands of Grewal are a welcome sight for the legal steering wheel of the Coinbase Company.

Stepping into big shoes

Paul Grewal has big shoes to fill in his new Chief Legal Officer post. Coinbase’s former legal guru, a much sought-after corporate lawyer himself, left the company after a two-year period, who is now heading the US office related to crypto-currency, which itself is a bureau under the finance sector. The decision to welcome Grewal comes after two months of Brian P. Brooks’ departure. Both have been immensely successful in their respective ventures in their corporate legal career. Brooks has widened the vision of the crypto-exchange company. Grewal now has big shoes to fill and further lead the company onto greener pastures and brighter light.

Underlying Reason

The decision may not seem to be totally unprecedented and seems to have been fueled due to a deeper reason. The decision comes after recent legal trouble that had rocked the humble company. Coinbase’s “data miner” had found itself in turbulent waters as it faced a lawsuit following the departure of Brian P. Brooks. The company had come under scrutiny for violating data security and crypto protections. They had been alleged to be illegally gathering and making money out of the monetary exchanges of their users. The decision to hire Paul Grewal thus comes at trying times for Coinbase. It is now to be seen how this decision affects the future of this crypto-exchange company. If we are going by past precedence, the decision will probably be prosperity for the company.

In a surprising development, Tech Entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan come up with an offer of a bounty of $1000 in Bitcoins to anyone who can get Vox’s Recode website to retract a story on COVID 19. As per the details, the story was published in February, and it dealt with the overreaction of Silicon Valley to the COVID 19 situation. The Tech entrepreneur mainly targeted Kara Swisher, who is the Editor and Co-Founder of Recode. He believes that with such an announcement, he will surely get the result as expected.

$1000 bounty in Bitcoins

Srinivasan said in his tweets that he will offer $ 1000, which is equivalent to 0.11 BTC to any person who is able to get a reply that is time-stamped from Recode agreeing to make corrections to the article. He also mentioned that the correction needs to be published in order to get the bounty. This tweet has drawn the attention of many tech experts and induced them to have the bounty in their wallet. Some people also reacted as a surprise in response to the tweets made by Srinivasan. However, the experts in this field look it from a different viewpoint.

Balaji Srinivasan tweets on Bitcoin bounty offer

He mentioned that Kara Swisher has not yet run a formal retraction of the article that contained false reports about the reaction of silicon valley to the COVID 19 situation. He alleged that the business model of Recode does not incentivize truth, and it has now become the responsibility of the public to do it. He clearly said that any person who can get Recode to correct the record will get a $ 1000 bounty. He even gave the link of the article in his tweets. His announcement is loud and clear and hence also got a good response on social media. However, yet it is not confirmed if any tech expert has contacted him and if there is any further development in this direction.

The Recode article about COVID 19

The story about COVID 19 was first published in February, and Srinivasan soon posted his disagreement on Twitter. He alleged that the article omitted many contexts and contained false statements. The article had said that the risk of virus transmission in public places was low, which later turned out to be false. In the same way, the article also mentioned that the CDC did not recommend avoiding handshakes, and this was later condemned by many people as CDC was always in favor of social distancing norms.

The writer also went on to make fun of other people who take too many precautions about avoiding meeting people during this situation. However, at that point, there were less than 100 cases in the United States, and the understanding about this disease was very less. Not much information about the transmission and other things was available from China, and the errors in the article may be due to those reasons.

Reactions over Bitcoin bounty

The reactions to this bounty in Bitcoins were mixed. Many people felt that Srinivasan went overboard in offering a bounty on journalists, and he should not have done so on a public platform. A tech entrepreneur doing this will set the wrong precedents for other people in the future, and many people may resort to using this method for harassing people. However, Srinivasan also got many supporters who mentioned that the media needs to be more responsible in reporting issues about COVID 19 pandemic. However, the crypto world got into big-time news with such a bounty offer coming in Bitcoins mode. This may set a trend for many such offers from various people across the globe.

From the past few years, a huge eye is upon Bitcoin. Due to the method of transaction used in Bitcoin, it is among a lot of words criticizing it. One of the most criticized things about Bitcoin is that it can’t be used by the users to make the reverse of any transaction. Once the processing begins, it is not possible to undo or reverse it. The transaction processing mechanism is one of the points which is making Bitcoin stand in the criticism.

Another key caution which the entire beginners in the Bitcoin trading must remember is keeping an eye upon the Bitcoin wallet address.

Invention to reduce the chances of human mistakes:

Kirobo, a startup from 2 years that came into emergence from the Middle Eastern country, announced the new thing founded by it. It revealed that a means had been found, which can help reduce the chances of human errors in the transactions involving cryptocurrency. As a solution, it reveals that inverting a feature known as “retrievable crypto transfers” can enable a sender of Bitcoin to vanish the ongoing transaction status by canceling it, which is by mistake sent to another address.  

The company also came up with a cite reference to the Fio Foundation’s study, wherein it is revealed that about 55% of investors engaged in cryptocurrency dealings face human errors while using the digital currency. In the survey report, it was found that about 18% of the users lost their funds because of human errors.  

Using the new crypto feature, Kirobo is planning to help the crypto users enjoy the convenient use of transactions without facing any loss due to human errors. Asaf Naim (Chief executive officer of Kirobo) came up with an explanation that the company aims at ensuring cryptocurrency transactions to be conducted ad safely securely in comparison to the conventional crypto transactions. With the emergence of the logic layer by the company, it will release a unique code that will be sent with the transaction, and the recipient requires to use the code for availing the funds. 

Such a platform is already interesting, which has made it get support from the Authorities of Israeli Innovation. It is the arm of government that fosters all the arriving development linked with industrial purposes. Also, it is claimed by the platform that it has gone through the auditing process conducted by the “Scorpiones Group.” This group comes in the list of most-famed Israel’s cybersecurity groups.

Crypto transactions becoming convenient and easily accessible:

The feature of “WKirobo’s Retrievable Transfer” is applicable over all the wallets, including crypto ledger. Using this feature, one can easily get a smooth and safe Bitcoin transaction experience. And this feature can only be used over Bitcoin transactions, and it doesn’t cost any charges for transactions amounting to $1,000. It is an interesting initiative that can make it a better experience for crypto users.

All the crypto users will develop a feeling of trust to use cryptocurrencies and become frequent in using such transactions. The products list is the latest feature that came into arrival and aims at improving the crypto experience of users to make it convenient and safe for them. Also, another announcement was made regarding the Freewallet application that it will enter into a partnership with the Changelly for coming up with a new feature that speeds-up the process of crypto transactions. 

Not only will the feature ensure saving a lot of time, but Freewallet also revealed that such a technology could turn down the expense over crypto transactions. All the transfers with the feature will be conducted in an “off-chain” medium. This means that the crypto users can freely use the “optimal anonymity” related features while making crypto transactions.

The use of digital currencies is an entirely new thing, but it is getting popular, especially cryptocurrencies. It is a digital currency developed to function as an exchange agency.

It utilizes cryptography to protect and verify transactions and to run the development of new units of a particular cryptocurrency. Sometimes it does not matter how advantageous things are. Everything has it’s good and bad. That’s what you’ll know here about cryptocurrencies.

Major Pros of Cryptocurrencies

Motility

This is one of the biggest benefits you get using cryptocurrencies. You are able to transport a huge amount of cryptocurrencies at one go very much, unlike real money. You can carry billions of bitcoins with you in a memory drive.

Clarity

You get an open ledger with bitcoin known as a blockchain. On a blockchain, each and every transaction is recorded and tracked. As a result, once a transaction is accomplished and recorded on the ledger, it cannot be altered. Thus, this is the most secure transaction.

Under your Control

Every user is under the control of his or her transactions. This is helpful enough to keep the amount safe. The transaction done does not depend on the identities of the parties making it. Thus, it is an excellent approach in favor of the users that guard them against identity theft.

No Inflation

The Government keeps on printing more money, and the economy keeps on shifting prices. This is why all traditional currencies experience inflation. But, it is not the case for bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies. Why? Because there is a limited count of minable bitcoins.

Population growth would come to rest when there would be 10 billion people by 2050, based on research. The last bitcoins will be extracted around this period, and the market would get no more.

Cons of Cryptocurrencies

Uplifted Explosiveness

Cryptocurrency ICOs are way more explosive or volatile when compared to investing in the stock market or real estate. A small hack can cause a considerable loss of the investors. Such drastic incidents are rare in the case of cryptocurrency, but things should be carried forward very carefully.

Possible Network Stall

Building up a sturdy product that a particular network of users would desire to use is what the actual worth of any cryptocurrency relies on.

But, by any chance, the network crashes to attract users or not get enough users to use the platform, the currency would be facing a snooze in price. A lot of the current ICOs that failed to perform after launching did so for a deficiency of management of the network.

Scarcity of Resources

If cryptocurrency ICOs do not elevate enough money, just as startups can lose resources and cannot carry out operations. Many cryptocurrencies are doing pre-ICO elevation to get strong commitments of resources and illustrated demand for the currency.

Plausible mismanagement

New investment pathways come up every day, and this is why it isn’t easy to keep up with what options you have for wealth management. Good portfolios are prone to include some riskier assets like venture capital, while portfolios should be balanced.

Conclusion

So, that was all you needed to know about the goods and bads if you are making any transaction or exchange with cryptocurrencies. Now, knowing the cons you might question would the pros manage to cover the negatives. Well, it depends on how you intend to move.

Buying bitcoins for trading at a later time has been proven to be the right decision. One thing is for sure; cryptocurrencies are looking up unlike saving real money that would be wiped out in time due to inflation, at least in the foreseen upcoming times.

According to Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm owner, there is continuous growth and demand for cryptocurrency. There are social media, developers, and startups that are using the crypto cycle. It is giving favorable results for the investors. A report released by the US-based company analyzed the crypto of the last few years, i.e., 2012, 2013, and 2017 and saw a steep rise since 2010. Many projects are using cryptocurrencies such as payments, infrastructure, games, and finance, and web applications.

Though the cycle of cryptocurrency is found to be messy, there is a massive growth of cryptocurrency in startups. Many innovations are happening based on the cryptocurrency. Many entrepreneurs and technologists are evincing interest in using the cryptocurrencies. Everyone is enthusiastic about using this type of digital currency.

Coinmarketcap disclosed that cryptocurrency users increase in different countries such as India, Canada, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Columbia. There is an increase in female users who are using this type of currency in Greece and Romania.

Entrepreneurs are not ignoring cryptocurrency and blockchain. There is no sign of the cryptocurrency slowing down.

The blockchain-based information and tokens are giving many opportunities for entrepreneurs. It is helping to come up with innovative solutions that are highly secure, transparent, and fast.

Here is how crypto is bringing a change in the entrepreneur world:

Give access to entrepreneurship education.

People of all ages and from different walks of life would show interest in becoming an entrepreneur. Not many would have enough money to pursue their management degree from the top colleges, which would have a whopping fee. Moreover, the regular job would not let people pursue their entrepreneurial dreams as they could not enroll in the management degree.

Despite going for formal education, many entrepreneurs are not showing interest in the new way of getting educated and looking out for affordable educational options that allow them to hone their business skills. Blockchain tokens are being used to access the video content, digital courses, and provide coaching to the budding entrepreneurs. It covers various topics. The immutable ledger and smart contracts offer ample educational opportunities for people to have cost-effective education. All the entrepreneurs would need is to have access to the educational content.

Unlock the potential of crowd opportunities

The impact of crypto and blockchain is that it is allowing entrepreneurs to carry out crowdfunding campaigns. The blockchain startups would use USD 5.6 billion of funds for community campaigns. The fundraising model using the blockchain has found to be grabbing a lot of investment.

Give new opportunities

There are many ways that an entrepreneur would look to diversify their investment. The coin-based transactions are giving new hopes for them. Many industries widely use blockchain. The token-based opportunities would help the entrepreneurs to buy assets by abiding by the laws and regulations.

Develop a loyalty platform

Businesses need to gain customer loyalty. It strengthens the relationship between customers and businesses. Many customer loyalty issues would arise, which causes headache and increase bookkeeping issues. The blockchain would reduce the entrepreneurs’ stress by helping them come up with the stress-free customer loyalty programs, reward customers, and strengthen their relationships.

Rise of the cryptocurrency market

A decade ago, cryptocurrency was just studied in books, but now the majority of the population is aware of it. It changed with the creation of bitcoin. Though, many are not aware of how the cryptocurrency market functions, but they are aware of the cryptocurrencies.

The cryptocurrency is gaining huge popularity in the government sector and businesses.

• Governments and big corporations keep a close watch on the cryptocurrency market to find out how they can embrace the cryptocurrency mechanism and use blockchain technology.
• Many companies are using blockchain to check the feasibility of integrating technology into business.
• Internet would connect people and let them exchange data, and today blockchain is considered the second internet.

Future of cryptocurrencies

There is nothing that can help you anticipate the future of cryptocurrencies; however, if bitcoin is going to be successful, cryptocurrencies would have a bright future.

The price of a bitcoin was just USD 280 in 2015, and it rose to USD 1000 in 2017. There is a steep rise in the demand for cryptocurrency. The bitcoin price has increased to USD 17,000. There is another cryptocurrency known as Ether that has grown at a rapid pace.

Initial coin offerings (ICO) would be playing a critical role in the cryptocurrency market. It makes use of the coins or the tokens to buy a share in the company. These are given to the investors who are involved in the initial public offering (IPO) transaction. You can link ICO to the crowdfunding and use this as a way to earn funds by the startup companies. Many assumed that this type of currency would go into oblivion. However, the market is consistent though it seems to be inconsistent.

Conclusion

The crypto world is not as inconsistent as it seems. There is a steep growth in the industry since its inception. Many innovations are happening around the cryptocurrency.