How to buy cryptocurrency

The best way to learn about bitcoin, is to jump in and get a few in your “pocket” to get a feel for how they work.

Despite the hype about how difficult and dangerous it can be, getting bitcoins is a lot easier and safer than you might think. In a lot of ways, it is probably easier than opening an account at a traditional bank. And, given what has been happening in the banking system, it is probably safer too.

There are a few things to learn: getting and using a software wallet, learning how to send and receive money, learning how to buy bitcoin from a person or an exchange.

Preparation

Before getting started, you will need to get yourself a wallet. You can do this easily enough by registering with one of the exchanges which will host wallet for you. And, although I think you are going to want to have one or more exchange wallets eventually, you should start with one on your own computer both to get a better feel for bitcoin and because the exchanges are still experimental themselves. When we get to that stage of the discussion, I will be advising that you get in the habit of moving your money and coins off the exchanges or diversifying across exchanges to keep your money safe.

What is a wallet?

It is a way to store your bitcoins. Specifically, it is software that has been designed to store bitcoin. It can be run on your desktop computer, laptop, mobile device (except, as yet, Apple) and can also be made to store bitcoins on things like thumb drives. If you are concerned about being hacked, then that is a good option. Even the Winklevoss* twins, who have millions invested in bitcoin, put their investment on hard drives which they then put into a safety deposit box.

*The Winklevoss twins are the ones who originally had the idea for a social networking site that became Facebook. They hired Mark Zuckerberg who took their idea as his own and became immensely rich.

What do you need to know about having a bitcoin wallet on your computer?

Below you can download the original bitcoin wallet, or client, in Windows or Mac format. These are not just wallets, but are in fact part of the bitcoin network. They will receive, store, and send your bitcoins. You can create one or more addresses with a click (an address is a number that looks like this: 1LyFcQatbg4BvT9gGTz6VdqqHKpPn5QBuk). You will see a field where you can copy and paste a number like this from a person you want to send money to and off it will go directly into that person’s wallet. You can even create a QR code which will let someone take a picture with an app on their phone and send you some bitcoin. It is perfectly safe to give these out – the address and QR code are both for my donations page. Feel free to donate!

NOTE: This type of wallet acts both as a wallet for you and as part of the bitcoin system. The reason bitcoin works is that every transaction is broadcast and recorded as a number across the entire system (meaning that every transaction is confirmed and made irreversible by the network itself). Any computer with the right software can be part of that system, checking and supporting the network. This wallet serves as your personal wallet and also as a support for that system. Therefore, be aware that it will take up 8-9 gigabytes of your computer’s memory. After you install the wallet, it will take as much as a day for the wallet to sync with the network. This is normal, does not harm your computer, and makes the system as a whole more secure, so it’s a good idea.

Bitcoin Qt

• The original wallet.
• This is a full-featured wallet: create multiple addresses to receive bitcoins, send bitcoins easily, track transactions, and back up your wallet.
• Outside of the time it takes to sync, this is a very easy to use option.
• Search for Bitcoin Qt wallet download to find their site.

Armory

• Runs on top of Bitcoi Qt, so it has all of the same syncing requirements.
• Armory allows you to back up, encrypt, and the ability to store your bitcoins off line.
• Search for Bitcoin Armory Wallet to find their site.

If you don’t want to have that much memory used or don’t want to wait for your wallet to sync, there are good wallets that do not make you sync the entire history of bitcocin:

Multibit

• A lightweight wallet that syncs quickly. This is very good for new users.
• Search for Bitcoin Multibit Wallet to find their site.

Electum

• In addition to being quick and light, this wallet allows you to recover lost data using a passcode.
• Search for Bitcoin Electum Wallet to find their site.

After you get the wallet set up, take a few minutes clicking around. Things to look for:

o There will be a page that shows you how many bitcoins are currently in your wallet. Keep in mind that bitcoins can be broken up into smaller pieces, so you may see a decimal with a lot of zeros after it. (Interesting note, 0.00000001 is one Satoshi, named after the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin).

o There will be an area showing what your recent transactions are.

o There will be an area where you can create an address and a QR code (like the one I have above). You don’t need the QR code if you don’t want it, but if you run a business and you want to accept bitcoin, then all you’ll need to do to accept payment is to show someone the QR code, let them take a picture of it, and they will be able to send you some money. You will also be able to create as many addresses as you like, so if you want to track where the money is coming from, you could have a separately labeled address from each one of your payees.

o There will be an area with a box for you to paste a code when you want to send money to someone or to yourself on an exchange or different wallet.

There will be other options and features, but to start out with, these are the items that you should know about.

Getting Your First Bitcoins

Now that you have a wallet, you will, of course, want to test them out.

The very first place to go is http://faucet.bitcoin.st/.

This is a website that gives out small amounts of bitcoin for the purpose of getting people used to using them. The original version of this was run by the lead developer of bitcoin, Gavin Andreson. That site has since closed and this site operates by sending out one or two advertisements a month. You agree to receive those messages by requesting the bitcoins. Copy and paste your new bitcoin address and enter a phone number to which you can receive an SMS. They send out an SMS to be sure that people are not continuously coming back for more since it costs nothing to create a bitcoin address. They will also send out once or twice a month advertisement to support their operation. The amount they send it trivial: 0.0015 BTC (or 1.5 mBTC). However, they process almost immediately and you can check to see that your address and wallet are working. It is also quite a feeling to get that portion of a bitcoin. (Non-disclaimer: I have no connection with this site and receive nothing if you use them. I simply think they are a good way to get your feet wet).

Congratulations! You have just entered the bitcoin economy.

To get your feet a little wetter, you can go panning for gold. There are a number of services and websites out there that will pay you in bitcoin to do things like go to certain websites, fill out online surveys, or watch sponsored videos. These are harmless, and you can earn a few extra bitcoins this way, but it is important to remember that these are businesses that get paid when people click on the links on their sites. They are essentially kicking back a portion of what they get paid to you. There is nothing illegal, or even immoral about this (you might like what you see and make a purchase!), but they are frequently flashy and may not be completely straightforward. All the ones that I have tried (particularly bitvisitor.com) have paid out as advertised. It is interesting to experiment with these, but even with the likely rise in the value of bitcoin, you won’t become a millionaire doing this. So, unless you are an advertisement junkie, I would recommend you move on. If you would like to try, simply Google “free bitcoins” or something along those lines and you will find numerous sites.

Buying Bitcoin Hand-to-Hand

Finally, this is going to be the real test of bitcoin. Can people easily trade them back and forth? If this can’t happen, then there can’t really be a bitcoin economy because retailers won’t be able to use it. If retailers can’t use it, what earthly good is it? Fortunately, this is not really a problem. iPhone is a bit of a hold out, but many smartphones have apps (mobile wallets) that will read QR codes and allow you to send bitcoin to whomever you want. You can also display a QR code of your address, or even carry a card in your wallet with your QR code to let people send bitcoin to you. Depending on what kind of wallet you have, you can then check to see if the bitcoins have been received.

A couple of things to note:

• When you set up your wallet, if you click around a bit, you will see an option to pay a fee to speed transactions. This money becomes available to a bitcoin miner as he/she/they process bitcoin information. The miners doing the work of creating blocks of information keeps the system up to date and secure. The fee is an incentive to the miner to be sure to include your information in the next information block and therefore “verify” it. In the short term, miners are making most of their money by mining new coins (check the section on What Are Bitcoins for more information about this). In the long term, as it gets harder to find new coins, and as the economy increases, the fees will be an incentive for miners to keep creating more blocks and keep the economy going. Your wallet should be set to pay 0 fees as a default, but if you want, you can add a fee to prioritize your transactions. You are under no obligation to pay a fee, and many organizations that process many small transactions (like the ones that pan for gold described above) produce enough fees to keep the miners happy.
• In clicking around your wallet, on the transactions page or linked to specific transactions, you will see a note about confirmations. When you make a transaction, that information is sent out into the network and the network will send back a confirmation that there is no double entry for that bitcoin. It is smart to wait until you get several confirmations before walking away from someone who has paid you. It is actually not very easy to scam someone hand-to-hand like this, and it is not very cost-effective for the criminal, but it can be done.

Where can you buy bitcoin like this?

• You may have a bitcoin Meetup in your area.
• You can check out localbitcoins.com to find people near you who are interested in buying or selling.
• Some are trying to start up local street exchanges across the world. These are called Buttonwoods after the first street exchange established on Wall Street in 1792 under a buttonwood tree. See if there is one, or start one, in your area.
• See if you have any friends who would like to try bitcoins out. Actually, the more people who start using bitcoin, the larger and more successful it will be come. So please tell two friends!

Some people ask if it is possible to buy physical bitcoins. The answer to this is both a yes and a no. Bitcoin, by its very nature, is a digital currency and has no physical form. However, there are a couple of ways that you can practically hold a bitcoin in your hands:

• Cascascius Coins: These are the brainchild of Mike Caldwell. He mints physical coins and then embeds the private keys for the bitcoins inside them. You can get the private key by peeling a hologram from the coin which will then clearly show that the coin has been tampered with. Mike has gone out of his way to ensure that he can be trusted. These are a good investment strategy as in the years to come it may be that these coins are huge collector’s items.
• Paper Wallets: A paper wallet just means that rather than keeping the information for your bitcoin stored in a digital wallet, you print the key information off along with a private key and keep it safe in a safe, in a drawer, or in your mattress (if you like). This is highly recommended and cost effective system for keeping your bitcoin safe. Keep in mind, though, that someone could steal them or if your house burns, they will go with the house and there will be no way to get them back. Really, no different than cash. Also, as with Casascius Coins, they will not really be good for spending until you put them back into the computer.

* There is software to make printing your paper wallets easier. bitcoinpaperwallet.com is one of the best and includes a good tutorial about how to use them.

* The bitcoins are not actually in the wallet, they are still on the web. In fact, the outside of the wallet will have a QR code that will allow you ship coins to the wallet any time you like.

* The sealed part of the wallet will have the private key without which you cannot access the coins. Therefore, only put as many coins on the wallet as you want to be inaccessible. You will not be able to whip this thing out and take out a few coins to buy a cup of coffee. Rather, think of it as a piggy bank. To get the money, you have to smash it. It is possible to take out smaller amounts, but at this point the security of the wallet is compromised and it would be easier for someone to steal the coins. Better to have them all in or out.

* People who use paper wallets are usually security conscious, and there are a number of ways for the nefarious in the world to hack your computer. Bitcoinpaperwallet.com gives a lot of good advice about how to print your wallets securely.

Some people have also asked about buying bitcoins on eBay. Yes, it is possible, but they will be far overpriced. So, selling on eBay might seem to be a better option given the extreme markup over market value you might see. But, as with anything that is too good to be true, this is too good to be true. As I will explain in the next section, selling bitcoin this way is just way too risky.

How Not to Buy Bitcoin

In the next section, I am going to explain a couple of key points about buying from Bitcoin Exchanges. Before I do, let me give you a warning.

A short history lesson: When people first started setting up actual business based on bitcoin, they used all of the tools available to any merchant. They sold by credit card and PayPal. The problem with this business model was quickly spotted: bitcoin transactions are not reversible by anyone except the recipient of the money. Credit cards and PayPal have strong buyer protection policies that make it relatively easy for people to request a chargeback. So, nefarious individuals realized this and began making purchases of bitcoin and then sooner or later requesting a chargeback. And, since bitcoin is a non-physical product, sent by new and poorly understood technological means, the sellers were not able to contest this. Because of this, sellers stopped accepting credit cards and PayPal.

This was a big problem for the currency: How to move money between buyers and seller? Some business emerged that would credit you with bitcoin if you wired them money. Very often these businesses would give addresses in Albania, Poland, or Russia. The fact is that many of these did work and there are a lot of stories on the forums of people who bought bitcoins this way. But it took a lot of time and in the meantime the buyer just had to bite his or her fingernails wondering if they would get their bitcoins or kiss their investment goodbye.

I expect that as bitcoin becomes more acceptable and valuable, we are going to see a version of the Nigerian Prince scam. So the warning is this: we now have exchanges and other businesses that allow for moving money easily onto and off of exchanges. Never wire money for bitcoin. It was a short-lived, and well-forgotten, moment in the history of bitcoin.

Next, I will be talking about how to buy from a bitcoin exchange and give a review of the some of the best known exchanges.

Introduction to Bitcoin

Bitcoin is an advanced form of currency that is used to buy things through online transactions. Bitcoin is not tangible, it is completely controlled and made electronically. Care must be taken when contributing to Bitcoin, as its cost is constantly changing. Bitcoin is used to make the various exchanges of currencies, services and products. Transactions are done through the computerized wallet, so the transactions are processed quickly. All these transactions have always been irreversible as the identity of the customer is not revealed. This factor makes it somewhat difficult when deciding on transactions through Bitcoin.

Features of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is faster: Bitcoin has the ability to arrange quotas faster than any other mode. Normally, when one transfers cash from one side of the world to the other, it takes a bank a few days to complete the transaction, but in the case of Bitcoin, it only takes a few minutes to complete. This is one of the reasons why people use Bitcoin for various online transactions.

Bitcoin is easy to set up: Bitcoin transactions are made through an address that each customer owns. This address can be easily set up without going through any of the procedures a bank goes through when creating a record. Creating an address can be done without any changes, credit checks or inquiries. However, all customers who wish to consider contributing should always check the current cost of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is anonymous: Unlike banks that keep a complete record of their customers’ transactions, Bitcoin does not. It does not track customer financial records, contact details or any other relevant information. The Bitcoin wallet usually does not require any significant data to function. This feature raises two points of view: firstly, people think it’s a good way to keep their data away from a third party, and secondly, people think it can lead to dangerous activities.

Bitcoin cannot be repudiated: When one sends Bitcoin to someone, there is usually no way to get the Bitcoin back unless the recipient feels the need to return them. This feature ensures that the transaction is completed, meaning the payee cannot claim that they never received the cash.

Bitcoin is decentralized: One of the main characteristics of Bitcoin is that it is not under the control of a particular administration expert. It is administered in such a way that all companies, individuals and machines involved in exchange control and mining are part of the system. Even if part of the system goes down, cash transfers continue.

Bitcoin is transparent: Although only one address is used to make transactions, every Bitcoin exchange is recorded on the Blockchain. So if someone’s address has ever been used, they can know how much money is in the wallet using Blockchain records. There are ways in which one can increase the security of their wallets.

Choose an exchange service.

The least difficult method of getting bitcoins is by using an online exchange. The approach taken by an online bitcoin exchanger is very equivalent to the method taken by currency exchangers. All you have to do is register online and perform the conversion of your fiat currency to bitcoins. You can locate numerous bitcoin exchangers online, the ideal option for you is to choose the one exactly where you are. Here I will give you a list of the most stable and reputable online bitcoin exchanges:

CoinBase:

Probably the best known. This exchange will provide you exchange, wallet creation and bitcoin trading services. In fact, they have mobile apps so you can buy or exchange your bitcoins more easily.

Circle:

By creating an account there, you will be able to store, receive, send and exchange your bitcoins.

Xapo:

This organization will mail you a debit card, so you can use your bitcoin in your preferred fiat currency.

Some exchange services allow you to trade Bitcoins as well.

Some of these exchange services will allow you to trade your bitcoins. You will find Bitcoin exchange services that limit the amount of bitcoins you can buy and sell each day. Many of these exchanges and wallet systems save digital and also fiat currencies, extremely identical to what regular bank accounts do. These exchanges and wallets are incredibly great if you’re hoping to get into business and you don’t need 100% anonymity.

Provide proof of your identity and contact information to the Service.

As soon as you register with the online bitcoin exchange service, you will need to provide your personal information to generate your online account properly. Many countries require members to meet anti-money laundering criteria, so you will need to provide proof of your identity. You should keep in mind that online bitcoin exchanges will not give you the exact degree of security that banks can. In other worlds, you may not be protected from hackers or get a refund, should the online bitcoin exchange go out of business. This completely depends on the exchange, obviously many have stronger security systems than others and a few are even more financially stable than others.

Buy Bitcoins with your exchange account.

Now that you’ve completed setting up your online bitcoin exchange service account, you’ll need to link it to your bank account, so you can easily send and receive money between the two platforms. Transferring cash from your bank to the online platform and vice versa may incur a charge. You should read all the details about this topic in the online exchange systems and in the help/FAQ parts of your banking platform. There are exchangers that allow you to make a deposit in person to their bank account. Either way, it is extremely wise that you choose an online exchange platform, based in your country, some exchanges may also limit their members to register only if they live in the exact country they are . However, there are exchangers that allow you to transfer cash to overseas accounts, remember that the charges may be higher if you choose to continue with this approach, and it may possibly include a hold on getting your money.

If you are wondering what Bitcoin is and whether you should invest in it, this article is for you. In 2010, the value of a Bitcoin was only 5 cents. Fast forward to 2017 and its value hit $20,000. Again, the price dropped to $8,000 in the next 24 hours, thus causing a huge loss for the coin holders.

If you’ve been trying to learn more about Bitcoin, this read may help. According to statistics, about 24% of Americans know what this is. However, the coin is still worth over $152 billion. This is one of the most common reasons behind the popularity of this thing. Let’s find out what it is and whether you should invest in it.

What is Bitcoin?

In simple terms, Bitcoin is one of the digital currencies. A digital currency is known as a cryptocurrency. The term was coined by an anonymous person during the financial crisis in 2008.

A digital currency account is like your checking account that you can view online. In other words, it is a digital currency that can be seen but not touched. In the case of Bitcoin, you also have no physical representation. All money exists only in digital form. There is no one to regulate this type of currency. Similarly, the network is not managed by any entity and tokens are exchanged between individuals through a complex software system. Instead, everything is decentralized and managed by a network of computers.

It’s important to note that you can’t use these tokens to pay for everything you want to buy. In fact, you can use it to buy only from certain sellers or online stores. But it can be sold for currency or traditional money. However, more and more companies are starting to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. For example, Expedia and Over-stock accept it from users. One of the main features of this type of money is that the transaction is completely private and cannot be traced. This is one of the many reasons why most people prefer this digital form of money.

Should You Put Money Into Bitcoin?

Remember: Before you choose to invest in Bitcoin or any other digital currency, make sure you understand the risks associated with this system. Volatility is one of the main risks. It means that the value of your money can fluctuate significantly in 24 hours. In fact, the increase or decrease in value can be as much as 30%. Another problem is that most of the digital currencies that can be seen today will lose their value in 5 years, according to most experts.

To be safe, we suggest you invest only what you can afford to lose. For example, if you have $1,000, you can invest $10. And if you lose this amount, it will not create any financial problems for you.

Hopefully, now you know what Bitcoin is and whether you should invest your hard-earned money. Remember: you should not invest a large amount of money or you may have serious financial problems in the future.

As we expected, since the publication of Crypto TREND we have received many questions from readers. In this edition we will answer the most common.

What kind of changes will occur that could change the game in the cryptocurrency industry?

One of the biggest changes to hit the cryptocurrency world is an alternative block validation method called Proof of Stake (PoS). We’ll try to keep this explanation at a fairly high level, but it’s important to have a conceptual understanding of what the difference is and why it’s an important factor.

Remember that the underlying technology with digital currencies is called blockchain and most digital currencies today use a validation protocol called Proof of Work (PoW).

With traditional payment methods, you must rely on a third party such as Visa, Interact or a bank or check clearing house to settle your transaction. These trusted entities are “centralized”, meaning they maintain their own private ledger that stores the transaction history and balance of each account. They will show you the transactions and you have to accept that it is correct or start a dispute. Only the parties to the transaction ever see it.

With Bitcoin and most other digital currencies, the ledgers are “decentralized”, meaning everyone on the network gets a copy, so no one has to trust a third party, like a bank, because anyone can verify information directly. This verification process is called “distributed consensus”.

PoW requires “work” to be done to validate a new transaction for entry into the blockchain. With cryptocurrencies, this validation is done by “miners,” who must solve complex algorithmic problems. As algorithmic problems become more complex, these “miners” need more expensive and more powerful computers to solve the problems ahead of everyone else. “Mining” computers tend to be specialized, typically using ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) chips, which are more skilled and faster at solving these difficult puzzles.

Here’s the process:

• Transactions are grouped into a “block”.
• Miners verify that the transactions within each block are legitimate by solving the hashing algorithm puzzle, known as the “proof-of-work problem.”
• The first miner to solve the block’s “proof of work problem” is rewarded with a small amount of cryptocurrency.
• Once verified, transactions are stored on the network-wide public blockchain.
• As the number of transactions and miners increases, so does the difficulty of solving hashing problems.

While PoW helped bring blockchain and digital currencies decentralized and trustless, it has some real shortcomings, especially with the amount of electricity these miners consume trying to solve “proof-of-work problems” as quickly as possible possible According to Digiconomist’s Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, Bitcoin miners are using more energy than 159 countries, including Ireland. As the price of each Bitcoin increases, more and more miners try to solve the problems, consuming even more energy.

All this energy consumption just to validate transactions has motivated many in the digital currency space to look for an alternative method to validate blocks, and the leading candidate is a method called “Proof of Stake” (PoS).

PoS is still an algorithm, and the purpose is the same as proof of work, but the process to achieve the goal is quite different. With PoS, there are no miners, instead we have “validators”. PoS is based on trust and the knowledge that everyone who is validating transactions has skin in the game.

This way, instead of using energy to answer PoW puzzles, a PoS validator is limited to validating a percentage of transactions that reflects their ownership stake. For example, a validator who owns 3% of the available Ether can theoretically only validate 3% of the blocks.

In PoW, the chances of solving the proof of work problem depends on how much computing power you have. With PoS, it depends on how much cryptocurrency you have in “play”. The bigger the bet you have, the more likely you are to solve the block. Instead of earning crypto coins, the winning validator receives transaction fees.

Validators enter their stake by “closing” a portion of their fund tokens. If they try to do something malicious against the network, such as creating an “invalid lock”, they will lose their stake or security deposit. If they do their job and don’t break the network, but don’t earn the right to validate the blog, they’ll get their stake or deposit back.

If you understand the basic difference between PoW and PoS, that’s all you need to know. Only those who plan to be miners or validators need to understand all the pros and cons of these two validation methods. Most of the general public who want to own cryptocurrencies will simply buy them through an exchange and not participate in the actual mining or validation of block transactions.

Most of the crypto sector believes that for digital currencies to survive in the long term, digital tokens must switch to a PoS model. At the time of writing, Ethereum is the second largest digital currency behind Bitcoin and its development team has been working on its PoS algorithm called “Casper” for the past few years. We expect to see Casper implemented in 2018, putting Ethereum ahead of all other major cryptocurrencies.

As we’ve seen before in this industry, major events like a successful Casper implementation could send Ethereum prices much higher. We will keep you informed in future issues of Crypto TREND.

Stay tuned!

Banking as we know it, has been around since the first coins were minted, perhaps even earlier, in one form or another. Currency, particularly coins, arose out of taxation. In the early days of ancient empires, annual taxes on a pig may have been reasonable, but as empires expanded, this type of payment became less desirable.

However, since the Covid situation, not only do we seem to have moved to a ‘cashless’ society (like who wants to handle ‘dirty money’ potentially in a shop), and with the levels of credit card transactions ‘contactless’ now increased to £45, and now even accepted small transactions such as a newspaper or bottle of milk are paid for by card.

Did you know that there are already more than 5,000 cryptocurrencies in use and of them Bitcoin stands out on this list? Bitcoin in particular has had a very volatile trading history since it was first created in 2009. This digital cryptocurrency has seen a lot of action in its rather short life. Bitcoins were initially traded for next to nothing. The first real price increase came in July 2010, when the valuation of a Bitcoin went from around $0.0008 to the region of $10,000 or more, for a single coin. Since then, this currency has experienced major ups and downs. However, with the introduction of so-called “stable” coins, those backed by the US dollar, or even gold, this cryptocurrency volatility can now be controlled.

But before we explore this new form of crypto-based e-commerce as a method to control and use our assets, including our “FIAT” currencies, let’s first look at how banks themselves have changed over the last 50 years or so.

Who remembers the good old checkbook? Before the emergence of bank debit cards in 1987, checks were the main way of transferring assets with others, in business transactions. Then, with debit bank cards, along with ATMs, getting FIAT assets became much faster and for online business transactions.

The problem that has always been present with banks is that most of us need at least 2 personal bank accounts (a checking account and a savings account), and one for each business we have. Also, trying to move money from your bank account “quickly” to say an overseas destination was akin to SWIFT!

The other issue was cost. Not only did we have to pay a recurring service charge on each bank account, but we also had a hefty fee to pay on each transaction, and of course, on very few occasions we would not get any worthwhile interest on the money from our Current account

In addition to all this, during the night By trading, nightly, using expert financial traders (or, more recently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) trading systems), all OUR assets will trade and with economies of scale, the banks he became a great beneficiary of our assets, but not us! Take a look at the possible business that can be done with “OVERNIGHT Trading”.

So, to summarize, banks not only charge a high fee to store and move our assets by using smart trading techniques, but also make huge profits by trading our money in the Overnight circuit, for which we see no benefit. .

The other point is: do you trust your bank with all your assets?

How about what Bank of Scotland, which was THE National Bank of Scotland, now owned by Lloyds Banking Group, recently labeled itself, in a September press release that said “Lloyds Bank asset fraud: the worst financial scandal of modern times”.

Why not Google this website and then make up your mind?

So now let’s take a look at how an e-commerce system based on cryptocurrencies should work and how the advantages that banks enjoyed with OUR money can become a major profit center for asset holders – USA!

the 10^th In October 2020, a new crypto-based e-commerce company is launching: FREEBAY.

In short, Switzerland-based FreeBay is a company that incorporates its own Blockchain technology, with its own SAFE Crypto Coin (based on V999 technology), and allows its members to transfer their FIAT assets to Gold Bullion, eliminating the need to involve any BANK. .

V999: Digital gold powered by blockchain; a digital token, backed by physical gold V999 Gold (V999) is a digital asset. Each token is supported by a tenth of a gram fine gold bar, stored in the vaults. If you own V999, you own the underlying physical gold, held. Additionally, FreeBay members can purchase packages that include powerful AI-based trading robots.

So now, not only can you achieve full independence from a standard BANK, but you can also trade, like banks, your digital gold assets, in the form of Crypto V999 tokens, on the OVERNIGHT systems, only now you, the asset holder, get the rewards, not the banks.

But there is even another great advantage in trading V999 tokens. How would the generic owner of the token, so like banks, every time it is traded (i.e. a V999 token is sold), for example to buy Bitcoin or any other Crypto currency, a Transaction Fee is charged. Each time a transaction is made, the generic owner of the V999 token receives a small percentage of this fee.

Please note that once a trade is made and a V999 token is sold, in exchange for eg Bitcoin, or any other cryptocurrency, a small percentage of this Transaction Fee is paid to the GENERIC OWNER of that witness (ie YOU). As Freebay’s goal is to make V999 Token one of the most sought after secure Crypto Coins, even after your Token has been sold to another merchant, as you are still the Generic owner of token V999provided that such Token is traded by any other merchant, it is you, the generic owner of this token that receives the trading commission.

This could not only create a large passive income for you, for life, but it is Voluntary for your descendants, and not a conventional bank involved anywhere.

So, the more V999 tokens you buy and put into circulation, the bigger and better your residual income is, not only for your life, but probably for your dependents.

Interested enough to learn more? Then click here.

Bitcoin (BTC) is a new type of digital currency, with cryptographic keys, that is decentralized to a network of computers used by users and miners around the world and is not controlled by a single organization or government. It is the first digital cryptocurrency to gain public attention and is accepted by a growing number of merchants. Like other currencies, users can use the digital currency to buy goods and services online, as well as in some physical stores that accept it as a form of payment. Forex traders can also trade Bitcoins on Bitcoin exchanges.

There are several important differences between Bitcoin and traditional currencies (eg the US dollar):

1. Bitcoin has no centralized authority or clearinghouse (eg government, central bank, MasterCard or Visa network). The peer-to-peer payment network is managed by users and miners around the world. Currency is transferred anonymously directly between users over the Internet without going through a clearinghouse. This means transaction fees are much lower.
2. Bitcoin is created through a process called “Bitcoin mining”. Miners around the world use mining software and computers to solve complex bitcoin algorithms and to approve Bitcoin transactions. They receive transaction fees and new Bitcoins generated from solving Bitcoin algorithms.
3. There is a limited amount of Bitcoins in circulation. According to Blockchain, there were about 12.1 million in circulation on December 20, 2013. The difficulty to mine Bitcoins (solving algorithms) becomes more difficult as more Bitcoins are generated and the maximum amount in circulation is limited to 21 million The cap won’t be reached until about 2140. This makes Bitcoins more valuable as more people use them.
4. A public ledger called “Blockchain” records all Bitcoin transactions and shows the respective holdings of each Bitcoin owner. Anyone can access the public ledger to verify transactions. This makes the digital currency more transparent and predictable. More importantly, transparency prevents fraud and double spending of Bitcoins themselves.
5. The digital currency can be acquired through Bitcoin mining or Bitcoin exchanges.
6. The digital currency is accepted by a limited number of merchants on the web and at some brick-and-mortar retailers.
7. Bitcoin wallets (similar to PayPal accounts) are used to store Bitcoins, private keys and public addresses, as well as to transfer Bitcoins anonymously between users.
8. Bitcoins are not secured and are not protected by government agencies. Therefore, they cannot be recovered if the secret keys are stolen by a hacker or lost in a failed hard drive, or due to the shutdown of a Bitcoin exchange. If the secret keys are lost, the associated Bitcoins cannot be recovered and would be out of circulation. Visit this link for a Bitcoin FAQ.

I believe Bitcoin will gain more public acceptance because users can remain anonymous while purchasing goods and services online, transaction fees are much lower than credit card payment networks; the public ledger is accessible to anyone, which can be used to prevent fraud; the currency supply is limited to 21 million and the payment network is operated by users and miners rather than a central authority.

However, I don’t think it’s a great investment vehicle because it’s extremely volatile and not very stable. For example, the price of bitcoin grew from about $14 to a high of $1,200 this year before falling to $632 per BTC at the time of writing.

Bitcoin rallied this year as investors speculated that the currency would gain wider acceptance and increase in price. The coin fell 50% in December because BTC China (the largest Bitcoin operator in China) announced that it could no longer accept new deposits due to government regulations. And according to Bloomberg, the Chinese central bank banned financial institutions and payment companies from handling bitcoin transactions.

Bitcoin will likely gain more public acceptance over time, but its price is extremely volatile and highly sensitive to news, such as government regulations and restrictions, that could negatively affect the currency.

Therefore, I do not suggest investors to invest in Bitcoins unless they were purchased at less than $10 USD per BTC because this would allow a much larger margin of safety.

Otherwise, I think it’s much better to invest in stocks that have strong fundamentals as well as great business prospects and management teams because the underlying companies have intrinsic values ​​and are more predictable.

Disclosure: Victor Liang has no positions in Bitcoins and has no plans to change his position in the next 72 hours.

With a 35,000% increase in value in 2017 and a market capitalization of over $118 billion, Ripple has become a hotly debated topic among analysts and investors alike. But what is Ripple? Is it like other cryptocurrencies? Why has it caught fire lately? Read on for answers to these questions.

1. What is Ripple?

Ripple is a payment solutions company, founded by Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb. Its Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP) contains the cryptocurrency XRP. Ripple claims to provide faster, more reliable and affordable transaction solutions for financial institutions. The company has created one hundred billion XRP and currently owns 61% of the coins. The current plan is to launch a billion coins per month.

2. Differences between Ripple and Bitcoin

Both Bitcoin and Ripple are cryptocurrencies that use blockchain technology. But, there is a fundamental difference between the two: unlike Bitcoin, Ripple cannot be mined. The coin is not configured as a minable currency and its use is fixed on the Ripple network.

Both Bitcoin and Ripple use validation nodes to validate ledgers. Bitcoin has about 10,000 trusted nodes, while Ripple has only five. However, the company plans to add 11 more over the next 18 months. All five validation nodes are controlled by Ripple. XRP has received criticism for the absence of independent trust validators. The XRP Ledger is available to everyone, so anyone can download it and become a validator. Many companies have their own nodes on the Ripple network.

3. Reasons for Ripple’s recent price rise

XRP’s recent price surge has a lot to do with the expected use of the coin by financial institutions and investment from investors who believe the hype. Ripple has been successful in winning banks as customers for its other products. Financial institutions prefer Ripple’s xCurrent because it offers real-time communication and fast corrections, thereby reducing delays in bank transactions. The company plans to introduce a new product, xRapid, that incorporates XRP. They see the new product as an opportunity to get banks to use XRP. Investors see the currency’s potential as a financial vehicle used by banks around the world.

Ripple, or more precisely, XRP, is a cryptocurrency on the rise. It is different from the leading digital currency Bitcoin because its supply is controlled by the founding company. Ripple is betting on banks adopting it in the future. It can be speculated that Ripple’s recent rise in value will fuel further debate about its viability as a cryptocurrency asset.

For some time now, I have been watching the performance of cryptocurrencies closely to get a sense of where the market is headed. The routine that my primary school teacher taught me where you wake up, pray, brush your teeth and eat breakfast has changed a bit to wake up, pray and then go to the web (starting with coinmarketcap) just to know what crypto assets are in it. the red

The start of 2018 was not pleasant for altcoins and related assets. Its performance was hampered by bankers’ frequent views that the crypto bubble was about to burst. However, ardent followers of the cryptocurrency are still “HODLing” and the truth is, they are reaping a lot.

Recently, Bitcoin reached almost $5000; Bitcoin Cash reached $500, while Ethereum found peace at $300. Virtually all coins were struck apart from the newcomers who were still in the excitement phase. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is back on track and is trading at $8900. Many other cryptos have doubled since the uptrend began, and the market cap stands at $400 billion from a recent peak of $250 billion.

If you are slowly warming up to cryptocurrencies and want to become a successful trader, the following tips will help you.

Practical tips on how to trade cryptocurrencies

• Start modestly

You’ve heard that cryptocurrency prices are skyrocketing. You’ve probably also gotten the news that this uptrend may not last long. Some detractors, mostly esteemed bankers and economists, tend to call them get-rich-quick schemes without a stable foundation.

This news can make you invest hastily and not apply moderation. A little analysis of market trends and worthy coins to invest in can guarantee you a good return. Whatever you do, don’t invest all your hard-earned money into these assets.

• Understand how exchanges work

Recently, I saw a friend of mine post a Facebook feed about one of his friends who happened to trade on an exchange, he had no idea how it works. This is a dangerous move. Always check the site you want to use before you register, or at least before you start trading. If they provide a mock account to play with, take this opportunity to get a feel for what the board looks like.

• Don’t insist on negotiating everything

There are over 1400 cryptocurrencies to trade, but it is impossible to deal with them all. Spreading your portfolio over a larger number of cryptos than you can effectively manage will minimize your profits. Just select a few, read more about them and how to get their trading signals.

• Stay sober

Cryptocurrencies are volatile. This is his bane and his profit. As a trader, you must understand that wild price swings are inevitable. Uncertainty about when to make a move makes one an ineffective trader. Leverage hard data and other research methods to ensure when to execute a trade.

Successful traders belong to various online forums where cryptocurrency discussions are discussed about market trends and signals. Of course, your knowledge may be enough, but you need to rely on other traders for more relevant data.

• Diversify significantly

Almost everyone will tell you to expand your wallet, but no one will remind you that you have to deal with coins with real uses. There are a few crappy coins you can deal with for a quick buck, but the best cryptocurrencies to deal with are the ones that solve existing problems. Coins with real uses tend to be less volatile.

Don’t diversify too early or too late. And before you make a move to buy any crypto asset, make sure you know its market capitalization, price changes, and daily trading volumes. Maintaining a healthy portfolio is the way to leverage these digital assets.

The modern concept of cryptocurrency is becoming very popular among traders. A revolutionary concept introduced to the world by Satoshi Nakamoto as a by-product became a success. By decoding cryptocurrency we understand that cryptocurrency is a hidden thing and currency is a medium of exchange. It is a form of currency used in the blockchain created and stored. This is done using encryption techniques in order to control the creation and verification of the transacted currency. Bit coin was the first cryptocurrency that was born.

Cryptocurrency is just one part of the process of a virtual database running in the virtual world. The identity of the real person here cannot be determined. Also, there is no centralized authority that governs cryptocurrency trading. This currency is equivalent to the hard gold held by people and the value of which is supposed to increase by leaps and bounds. The electronic system established by Satoshi is a decentralized system where only miners have the right to make changes by confirming initiated transactions. They are the only providers of human contact in the system.

Counterfeiting the cryptocurrency is not possible as the entire system is based on mathematical and cryptographic puzzles. Only those people who are able to solve these puzzles can make changes to the database, which is almost impossible. The transaction once confirmed becomes part of the database or blockchain which cannot then be reversed.

Cryptocurrency is nothing but digital money that is created with the help of coding technique. It is based on a peer-to-peer control system. We now understand how you can profit from trading in this market.

It cannot be reversed or falsified: Although many people may refute this that the transactions made are irreversible, but the best thing about cryptocurrencies is that once the transaction is confirmed. A new block is added to the blockchain and the transaction cannot be forged. You become the owner of this blog.

Online transactions: This not only makes it suitable for anyone sitting anywhere in the world to transact, but also facilitates the speed at which the transaction is processed. Compared to real time where you need third parties to enter the scene to buy a house or gold or take out a loan, you only need a computer and a potential buyer or seller in case of cryptocurrency. This concept is easy, fast and full of ROI prospects.

The fee is low per transaction: Miners charge a low or no fee during transactions as the network takes care of it.

accessibility: The concept is so practical that all those people who have access to smartphones and laptops can access and trade in the cryptocurrency market anytime, anywhere. This accessibility makes it even more lucrative. As the return on investment is commendable, many countries like Kenya have introduced the M-Pesa system which allows a bit coin device which now allows 1 in three Kenyans to have a bit coin wallet with them.