The Wild West Crypto Show Continues

Here is a question that comes up often: How do I choose which crypto currency to invest in - aren't they all the same?

There is no doubt that Bitcoin has captured the lion's share of the crypto currency (CC) market, and that is largely due to its FAME. This phenomenon is much like what is happening in national politics around the world, where a candidate captures the majority of votes based on FAME, rather than any proven abilities or qualifications to govern a nation. Bitcoin is the pioneer in this market space and continues to garner almost all of the market headlines. This FAME does not mean that it is perfect for the job, and it is fairly well known that Bitcoin has limitations and problems that need to be resolved, however, there is disagreement in the Bitcoin world on how best to resolve the problems. As the problems fester, there is ongoing opportunity for developers to initiate new coins that address particular situations, and thus distinguish themselves from the approximately 1300 other coins in this market space. Let's look at two Bitcoin rivals and explore how they differ from Bitcoin, and from each other:

Ethereum (ETH) - The Ethereum coin is known as ETHER. The main difference from Bitcoin is that Ethereum uses "smart contracts" which are account holding objects on the Ethereum blockchain. Smart Contracts are defined by their creators and they can interact with other contracts, make decisions, store data, and send ETHER to others. The execution and services they offer are provided by the Ethereum network, all of which is beyond what the Bitcoin or any other blockchain network can do. Smart Contracts can act as your autonomous agent, obeying your instructions and rules for spending currency and initiating other transactions on the Ethereum network.

Ripple (XRP) - This coin and the Ripple network also have unique features that make it much more than just a digital currency like Bitcoin. Ripple has developed the Ripple Transaction Protocol (RTXP), a powerful financial tool that allows exchanges on the Ripple network to transfer funds quickly and efficiently. The basic idea is to place money in "gateways" where only those who know the password can unlock the funds. For financial institutions this opens up huge possibilities, as it simplifies cross-border payments, reduces costs, and provides transparency and security. This is all done with creative and intelligent use of blockchain technology.

The mainstream media is covering this market with breaking news stories almost every day, however, there is little depth to their stories... they are mostly just dramatic headlines.

The Wild West show continues...

The 5 stocks crypto/blockchain picks are up an average of 109% since December 11/17. The wild swings continue with daily gyrations. Yesterday we had South Korea and China the latest to try to shoot down the boom in cryptocurrencies.

On Thursday, South Korea's justice minister, Park Sang-ki, sent global bitcoin prices temporarily plummeting and virtual coin markets into turmoil when he reportedly said regulators were preparing legislation to ban cryptocurrency trading. Later that same day, the South Korea Ministry of Strategy and Finance, one of the main member agencies of the South Korean government's cryptocurrency regulation task force, came out and said that their department does not agree with the premature statement of the Ministry of Justice about a potential cryptocurrency trading ban.

While the South Korean government says cryptocurrency trading is nothing more than gambling, and they are worried that the industry will leave many citizens in the poor house, their real concern is a loss of tax revenue. This is the same concern every government has.

China has grown into one of the world's biggest sources of cryptocurrency mining, but now the government is rumoured to be looking into regulating the electric power used by the mining computers. Over 80% of the electrical power to mine Bitcoin today comes from China. By shutting down miners, the government would make it harder for Bitcoin users to verify transactions. Mining operations will move to other places, but China is particularly attractive due to very low electricity and land costs. If China follows through with this threat, there will be a temporary loss of mining capacity, which would result in Bitcoin users seeing longer timers and higher costs for transaction verification.

This wild ride will continue, and much like the internet boom, we will see some big winners, and eventually, some big losers. Also, similar to the internet boom, or the uranium boom, it is those who get in early who will prosper, while the mass investors always show up at the end, buying in at the top.

Stay Tuned!

Martin Straith - http://www.thetrendletter.com

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Reviews of ICO (Initial Coin Offerings)

What is the Definition of ICO?

Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a crowdfunding method used by new cryptocurrency companies to raise capitals. In ICO, some percentages of the newly issued cryptocurrencies are sold to people who are interested in supporting the project. They are sold to exchange for other established cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Fiat and Ether.

Backers purchase the new cryptocurrency with an intention to make a profit when it increases in value. It is similar to the principle of people making a profit when the share they bought at the stock market increases in value. ICO is different than purchasing shares at a stock market because you don't get a share of the ownership right when you invest in the new tokens.

Brief History on ICOs

In the beginning stage, ICO was conducted by companies such as Mastercoin, Ethereum and Karmacoin. Ethereum conducted one of the biggest ICO in 2014 by raising a total of $18 millions in the early stage of 2014. They break the record by raising 3,700 Bitcoins which is equivalent to $2.3 million dollars within the first 12 hours of the campaign. Kik conducted the first mainstream ICO in September 2017 but the project was interrupted by a phishing scam via the circulation of a false URL in the social media. Ripple sold $1 billion worth of XRP tokens to investors in exchange for bitcoins and fiats in 2013.

Today, ICO sales have become increasingly popular with around 50 token sales being conducted every month. Starting from 2017, ICO has been growing at a fast pace with at least $2 billion worth of token sales successfully conducted. This proves that it is not going to be a temporary method used by new cryptocurrency company to raise funds but it is here to stay for long term.

Nowadays, ICO token sale is so popular that at least a few ICO begins every day. It has been predicted that over $4 billion worth of token sales will be conducted this year. Genesis Vision, a Russian based company, conducted an ICO campaign that runs from the 15th October 2017 to the 15th November 2017. They manage to raise a total of $2.3 million in the token presale.

How Does ICOs Fundraising Work?

A cryptocurrency company that wants to raise capitals through ICO must provide a few details including project description, project purpose, amount need to be raised, percentage of tokens the company will keep, types of virtual currencies accepted, and the timeframe of the ICO campaign. Backers who are interested can email the seller and ask for more details of the project before performing a transaction. If they successfully raise the amount for the campaign, they will carry out the scheme to complete the project. If not, they will return the money back to the backers.

How Scammers Use ICO to Carry Out Fraud?

ICO can be conducted to help raise funds for various types of businesses and charity organization. It has also been used as a tool by scammers to conduct frauds. Scammers would use means to increase the ICO value temporarily and abandon the project afterwards to make a quick profit. Scams happen because of the lack of regulation by the government. Just like any investment, there is a risk when coming to invest in the initial coin offering.

No statistic on the company that runs the ICO is given so it is hard to make a prediction. Backers usually would only check out data such as who will receive the collected money, and the social media profile. To make a successful investment in ICO, one needs to be patient and willing to spend time to conduct research on the company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ICO has helped many startups to raise the funds they need for their projects. With ICO, startups can easily raise a large amount of money within a short timeframe of just a few seconds or minutes. Entrepreneurs will continue to take advantage of ICO to raise capitals until it comes under government regulation.

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What Is Bitcoin and the Blockchain and Why It Is Important to Invest Now

There is increasingly growing interest and buzz around bitcoin these days. You may have heard of it before or not. Either way, it is a multi-trillion-dollar financial industry that is practically flying under the radar of most people (only about 2% of the population is even aware of its existence), which makes it a prime time to get positioned before it hits the mainstream. And the time is now because cryptocurrency awareness is going viral. Even some universities are teaching classes on bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology!

What is Bitcoin Exactly?

Bitcoin is a digital currency (or digital money), that is electronically held, which means it is not tangible like fiat currency (dollars, euros, yen, etc.). It was created cryptographically, and thus it is a cryptocurrency. It runs on open-source software and it is not controlled by entities. It is decentralized and not governed by banks or government.

What is the Blockchain?

Blockchain technology is where bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies exist. The blockchain is also used for other applications other than cryptocurrencies, such as running smart contracts, for example. In a nutshell, the blockchain is a digital ledger that is decentralized. It stores records of all transactions that occur within it and is run by a peer-to-peer network. This means that individuals and businesses use it to transfer digital assets to each other via the Internet with no third party (i.e., banks, governments) needed.

The Importance Blockchain Technology and Investing in It

From a business perspective, blockchain technology can improve business processes and significantly lower costs. It will also allow businesses to offer more benefits of service to customers. For instance, financial institutions could use blockchain technology to improve processes for things such as settlements and insurance.

From an individual perspective, blockchain technology offers opportunities for significantly high returns on cryptocurrency investment as compared to traditional investments.

Blochchain technology and cryptocurrencies are quickly proving to be an inevitable part of the future of money and finances in the global economy. It is something that will soon become mainstream in the world financial market, and those who invest early as early adopters of this amazing innovative technology will be among the newest millionaires in the coming years and beyond.

We are in the third big wave of the Internet. The first being websites and domain names (dotcom boom), the second being social media (dating sites, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.), and the third blockchain technology, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It's a great time to get positioned.

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6 Incredible Benefits Of the Cryptocurrency

Over the past few years, people have been talking a lot about cryptocurrency. At first, this business sounded scary but people started developing trust in it. You may have heard of Ether and Bitcoin. They both are crypto currencies and use the Blockchain Technology for highest security possible. Nowadays, these currencies are available in several types. Let's know more about it.

How Can cryptocurrency help you?

As far as fraud is concerned, this type of currency can't be faked as it's in digital form and can't be reversed or counterfeited unlike the credit cards.

Immediate settlement

Buying real property involves third parties, such as lawyers and notary. So, delays can occur and extra costs may incur. On the other hand, Bitcoin contracts are designed and enforced in order to include or exclude third parties. The transactions are quick and settlements can be made instantly.

Lower fees

Typically, there is no transaction fee if you want to exchange Bitcoin or any other currency. For verifying a transaction, there are minors who get paid by the network. Although there is zero transaction fee, most buyers or sellers hire the services of a third-party, such as Coinbase for the creation and maintenance of their wallets. If you don't know, these services function just like Paypal that offers a web-based exchange system.

Identification of theft

Your merchant gets your full credit line when you provide them with your credit card. This is true even if the transaction amount is very small. Actually, what happens is that credit cards work based on a "pull" system where the online store pulls the required amount from the account associated with the card. On the other hand, the digital currencies feature a "push" mechanism where the account holder sends only the amount required without any additional information. So, there is no chance of theft.

Open access

According to statistics, there are around 2.2 billion people who use the Internet but not all of them have access to the conventional exchange. So, they can use the new form of payment method.

Decentralization

As far as decentralization is concerned, an international computer network called Blockchain technology manages the database of Bitcoin. In other words, Bitcoin is under the administration of the network, and there is no central authority. In other words, the network works on a peer-to-peer based approach.

Recognition

Since cryptocurrency is not based on the exchange rates, transaction charges or interest rates, you can use it internationally without suffering from any problems. So, you can save a lot of time and money. In other words, Bitcoin and other currencies like this are recognized all over the world. You can count on them.

So, if you have been looking for a way to invest your extra money, you can consider investing in Bitcoin. You can either become a miner or investor. However, make sure you know what you are doing. Safety is not an issue but other things are important to be kept in mind. Hopefully, you will find this article helpful.

Bitmora is the new game changing development of today. If you are into digital currencies, we suggest that you check out Bitmora cryptocurrency exchange.

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What Are Top 5 Cryptocurrencies Other Than Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has lead the crypto world for so long, and so dominantly that the terms crypto and Bitcoin are often used interchangeably. However, the truth is, the digital currency does not only comprise of Bitcoin. There are numerous other crypto currencies that are part of the crypto world. The purpose of this post is to educate our readers on cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin to provide them with a wide range of options to choose from - if they intend on making crypto-investments.

So let's get started with the first name on our list, that is:

Litecoin:

Launched in 2011, Litecoin is often referred to as 'silver to Bitcoin's gold.' Charlie Lee - MIT graduate and former engineer at Google - is the founder of Litecoin.

Similar to Bitcoin, Litecoin is a decentralized, open source payment network which functions without a central authority.

Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many ways and often leads people to think: "Why not go with Bitcoin? Both are similar!". Here's a catch: the block generation of Litecoin is much faster than that of Bitcoin! and this is the main reason why merchants around the world are becoming more open to accepting Litecoin.

Ethereum:

Another open source, decentralized software platform. The currency was launched in 2015 and enables Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications to be built and run without any downtime.

The applications on Ethereum platform require a specific cryptographic token - Ether. According to the core developers of Ethereum, the token can be used to trade, secure, and decentralize just about anything.

Ethereum experienced an attack in 2016 which saw the currency split into two parts: Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

In the race of leading cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is second most popular and is right behind Bitcoin.

Zcash:

Zcash came out in the later part of 2016. The currency defines itself as: "if Bitcoin is like http for money, Zcash is https".

Zcash promises to provide transparency, security, and privacy of transactions. The currency also offers the option of 'shielded' transaction so the users can transfer data in the form of encrypted code.

Dash:

Dash is originally a secretive version of Bitcoin. It is also known as 'Darkcoin' due to its secretive nature.

Dash is popular for offering an expanded anonymity which allows its users to make transactions impossible to trace.

The currency first appeared on the canvas of digital market in the year 2014. Since then, it has experienced a large fan following over a very short span of time.

Ripple:

With a market capitalization of over $1bn, Ripple is the last name on our list. The currency was launched in 2012 and offers instant, secure, and low-cost payments.

The consensus ledger of Ripple doesn't require mining, a feature which makes it different from Bitcoin and other mainstream crypto currencies.

The lack of mining reduces the computing power which ultimately minimizes the latency and makes transactions faster.

Wrap Up:

Although Bitcoin continues to lead the pack of crypto, the rivals are picking up the pace. Currencies like Ethereum and Ripple have surpassed Bitcoin in enterprise solutions and are growing in popularity each day. Going by the trend, the other cryptos are here to stay and will soon be giving Bitcoin a real tough time to maintain its stature.

Talha Farooq is a Bitcoin enthusiast and an author for http://www.btcwonder.com. Do not hesitate to land in his inbox via talhafarooq717@gmail.com

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