While all cryptocurrencies are a little different from one another, Ripple stands apart with its backing by major banks. That’s lead to some interesting partnerships, which in turn helped boost Ripple and by extension its transactional protocol, XRP, to become one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share in early 2018.
If you want to get some XRP for yourself, you need to know where to go and what to do. You need to know how to buy Ripple. As with our other guides on buying cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, we’ll walk you through the steps you need to take, as well as give you a couple of different options with the pros and cons of each.
Although there are definitely better places to store your cryptocurrency than on an exchange, they still represent the easiest and most automated method of buying and selling them. There are tens of options out there, and popular ones like BitStamp and Kraken remain the easiest to recommend. Ripple Lab’s site has a list of exchanges that support the cryptocurrency, though when making your decision, make sure you choose one that is well established and has insurance should theft or hacks occur.
Each exchange will operate slightly differently, but most will involve several important steps. You’ll need to sign up for and verify an account, which in most cases will require some form of identification for fraud prevention, though it’s often a simple process.
The next step is to link your bank account or another form of payment method. That can be handled through the exchange dashboard. In the case of some exchanges — BitStamp and Kraken for example — you will then need to deposit some fiat current, like USD, into your account. Once it’s there, you’re ready to buy.
What you’re then looking to do is make a new “buy order.” That may involve inputting a certain amount of XRP you want to buy, or a certain amount of USD (or equivalent) you’re willing to spend. Regardless, when you have settled on an amount you’re happy with, you hit the buy button and the money will be deducted from your deposit address and the equivalent XRP will be sent to your account.
Some sites employ additional terminology for transactions which is worth knowing. A “market” buy order will purchase XRP at the best market price, while a “limit” buy order will only make a transaction at a fixed, or better price.
Whichever choice you opt for, you should now be the proud owner of some Ripple cryptocurrency. Unless you plan to sell it again soon, we would recommend transferring it out to a more secure wallet just in case the exchange goes down, or becomes hard to use due to heavy traffic or DDOS attack.
Buying through direct trade
For those who don’t like the risk of having any currency stored on an exchange for any period of time, or just want more control over the price, direct trades are a better bet. Although peer to peer trades with XRP are no way near as common or as supported as similar trades with bitcoin, there are still some routes you can go down.
The only established site for trading fiat currency for XRP in a direct manner is Cointal. It supports a variety of payment methods, including Paypal, bank transfers, visa debit and credit cards, and gift cards, among others. To use the service you simply head to its homepage, input the amount of XRP you want, or how much USD you’re willing to spend, and then search for an offer. Relevant trades will be presented to you in list form, and you can filter the results by buy/sell orders, payment method, and local currency.
To select which trade to go for, you can look at prices, payment options, and seller feedback, to make sure you’re trading with someone reputable. Direct trades do have a little more trust involved than exchange trades, but the upside is that you are far less reliant on the website itself functioning. Were it to go down, you can still access your currency and/or XRP.
To complete a transaction, set up an account, login to it, and click the “buy now” button on the respective trade page. You will then be taken into a private chat with the seller, whom you can discuss the specifics of your trade. The short of it is that you make your payment, often into an escrow account for security reasons, and then once that’s been verified, the seller will send you the XRP to your specified wallet.
The only caveat to Cointal is that one Reddit thread recently appeared that suggested there was a security issue with the site’s deposit system. It does appear now to have been resolved with all parties happy, but it’s important to check the latest reviews of sites before using them, just in case.
‘Buying’ with other currencies
The above methods are the only current ways to buy XRP with your real-world money. If you already have cryptocurrencies like Ether or bitcoin, you can use “asset exchange” sites to trade one for another quite swiftly. For a full breakdown of the methods involved in that, check out our guide on how to trade cryptocurrencies, but for a quick recommendation, services like ShapeShift and Changelly have proved popular over the past year, and are even incorporated directly in certain wallets. Cointal and Paxful also have some direct trade asset exchanges with XRP, though that depends very much on the sellers.
Original article and pictures take cdn7.digitaltrends.com site
About two months ago I decided to jump into crypto coins after listening to a CBC news segment about Ethereum(ETH). I bought in at approximately $250 and I bought one unit. Ethereum is not considered a coin as it represents itself as the block chain. At the same time I also bought $100 of bitcoin (BTC).
When you buy into cryptocurrency you do not have to buy an entire coin you can buy any denomination although some online sites might have a minimum order that you can buy.
How to buy cryptocurrency
There are two ways you can buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies online. One is on a digital platform like coinbase (if you sign up to bitcoin we both get $10 of free bitcoin) and the other is using an exchange. The two work differently. On coinbase you can use your credit card to purchase crypto. On coinbase you can either buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. Once you have an amount of any of those you can transfer the whole or a partial amount to an exchange. For example I use Binance.com and to buy a different coin for example IOTA then I transfer some of my Ethereum to this exchange. It is held at binance as 100 units of ETH/USD. After that I can buy units of IOT/ETH and it will add to that balance and take away from the ETH/USD.
Buying crypto currency on coinbase is fairly straight forward. You click on the buy/sell tab at the top, select which crypto you wish to buy and then enter the amount of CAD or USD you want to purchase and press buy at the bottom.
It gives you a summary of the details of what you are buying on the right hand side of this page and after it is bought you can click on dashboard to see how much of each crypto you hold.
To transfer crypto from coinbase to an exchange then you have to first go to the exchange and click on deposit, which is under funds tab. In my example I am going to be depositing Ethereum. So I click on the deposit next to the ETH symbol.
After this screen you want to copy that ETH deposit address. Now you go back to coinbase.com and click on the “accounts” tab.
You want to click send on the crypto you wish to send to the exchange for this example I am sending Ethereum.
Click on continue once you are sure that the wallet address matches the wallet address from the exchange. The address contains a string of numbers and letters.
After this it will ask you for a code from your cellphone to verify the transaction and it will also confirm the wallet address, and then after you press confirm you will see that the crypto is on its way to the exchange.
Now when you logon to the exchange the crypto you sent should be there, if not you can click on view details as above to see at what stage its at.
Understanding Cryptocurrency
Many people don’t understand cryptocurrency because it’s intangible asset, you can’t hold it, you can’t touch it. Also a traditional stock exchange has set hours usually business days between 8.30am until 4.30pm. The cryptocurrency exchanges are 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. I don’t think they even stop on Christmas Day.
The currencies we know ie USD or CAD are referred to as ‘fiat’ by the cryptocurrency community. Although having ‘currency’ in its name, crypto currencies share more similarities with stocks than currencies. When you purchase some crypto currency, you are in fact buying some tech stock, a part of the blockchain and a piece of the network.
Bitcoin, altcoins, and forks
By now you would of heard of bitcoin and you might of heard of ‘altcoins.’ How this naming convention started was because back in the days of 2011, forks of Bitcoin appeared in the markets. The forks, or clones, all aspire to serve a niche area, aiming to be ‘better’ than Bitcoin. Since then thousands of new crypto varieties has emerged, eroding away at Bitcoin’s crypto market cap dominance. These altcoins are gaining market share at an alarming speed. Ten times or more growth has been observed in a time span as short as six weeks.
Check out how to buy Altcoins here using IOTA as an example
IOTA is a relatively new crypto on the crypto scene. It started earlier in 2017 and has gained a lot of traction ever since. The reason IOTA is gaining a lot of attention is because bit IOT (Internet of Things) companies are jumping on board to use the token. The companies that have recently joined … Continue reading
Crypto Wallets
Coinbase and the other exchanges hold your crypto coins on the cloud in software wallets on their servers. However there have been hacks of crypto exchanges such as the Mt Gox hack in the past where people had their crypto currency stolen. If you are either holding a lot of crypto or want a more secure solution you can buy a hardware wallet to keep your crypto in.
The ledger nano S wallet is specifically designed for storing crypto currency. You get a lot of features which are hard to find in any other type of crypto currency wallets, especially in terms of security and backup of your private key for the digital currency.
Ledge Nano S is not a plug and play type device. This means that you do not need to have a computer to use this wallet. The small LCD screen in the front of the wallet will allow you to operate your crypto currency wallet easily. It will allow you to do functions like transaction, exchange your digital currency, use the related apps and transfer money from one account to another account within seconds. The small size of Ledge Nano S will allow you to make it secure from the hackers or the thieves. Even in case of any lost; you can always get the backup and block the thief to get access to your crypto currency account.
For more info about Crypto Wallets check out my new post about understanding crypto wallets
I have been getting many questions from people about what wallets are and if you have to have a wallet to buy cryptocurrency. You do not have to have a wallet to buy and store cryptocurrency but it is highly advisable to have one. When you buy bitcoin or altcoins on an exchange the crypto … Continue reading
Original article and pictures take www.passiveunicorn.com site
Since 2009, bitcoins have been in existence and the build up of popularity over the unregulated virtual currency has been on the increase since 2009. Presently, bitcoins in existence are well over 10 million with the maximum target being 22 million. What are bit coins?
These are currencies created by a computing process called mining. It is a currency that can be used to make purchases anywhere in the world but they are not regulated by banks. It can be likened to a material or stick currency.
Not much is known of the creator of this currency. He is called Satoshi Nakamoto. Very few people have interacted with him and as of April 2011, he had moved unto some other offline projects.
Studies and research conducted on May 2013, revealed that the bit coin is worth approximately $140 or 80.73 pounds. It also revealed that the number of bitcoins in existence is approximately 11 million and the maximum number that would be mined is 22 million. Presently, it is estimated that the total worth of existing bitcoins is 1.06 billion pounds.
Bitcoins Terminology
Here are some terms used with respect to bitcoins.
1. Bitcoin client: This is a software that was developed to send and receive bit coins.
2. Bitcoin Address: This is an identifier in alphanumeric forms that represent the destination of payment. It can be likened to an email address. An example is 13igD31FysQbaBBVJUzffcQoFxxEuEcbe.
3. Wallet: This refers to the file that is used to store bit coins and the keys needed to access them.
4. Miner: Blocks are added to the block chain. The person who creates these block is referred to as the miner. For every valid block created, the miner receives 50 bit coins from the bitcoins protocol. It is through this process that all bitcoins are made.
5. Bitcoin Protocol: This implies that a copy of every bitcoin transaction is to be downloaded by every node in the network.
6. Blockchain: This is a list of transaction every sent bitcoin, which allows people to know how owns each transaction.
7. Private Key: This is a secret number tagged to an address that allows access for the sending and receiving of bit coins. If for any reason the address is lost, the bitcoin can never be retrieved.
8. Bitcoin Network: This is a network of computers that maintain the block chain. It is via this network that bitcoins transactions are made.
Buying Bitcoins
Buying bitcoins is not an easy process since transactions are completely anonymous. There are specific methods which must be used for the payment and it could be a tricky process. It should be noted that for every passing 10 minutes, an additional 50 bitcoins are added to the system. This pace would not be sustained for a very long time to come. It is forecasted that the rate of production will be reduced to 25 bitcoins for every 10 minutes and subsequently to 12.5 every 10 minutes.
Money transfer is the most popular method of paying for bitcoins. This requires you to provide an exchange with your bank and transfer money into a bitcoin account. Cash payment services like Moneygram is used to compensate an intermediary at thee point of deposit. This service can turn the cash to credit and deposit into a bit coin exchange account.
Bitcoins could be referred to as a risky business as a result of the fluctuating exchanging rate. This was observed on the 10th of April when its value fell by 60%. It practically fell from $265 to $100. Many retailers accept bit coins but some others like Amazon, OKcupid, and Western Union have yet to identify with it.
Top Bitcoins Searches by Cities
Based on a release by Google, the following countries have the following score on a scale of 1 to 10 with respect to search for bitcoins online.
1. London – 40
2. Warsaw – 45
3. Toronto – 50
4. Sydney – 56
5. New York – 62
6. Melbourne – 66
7. Berlin – 81
8. Moscow – 100
Top Bitcoin Twitter Accounts
Here is a list of the top Bitcoin Twitter account.
@BitcoinByte: This is a twitter account for veteran Michael Parsons of the banking industry who runs the blog Bitcoins Byte.
@BitcoinEconomy: On his account, statistics on the bitcoin economy are posted from BitcoinWatch.com
@BitcoinMagazine: This account is for bitcoin magazine. This magazine is known as the world first magazine dedicated to cryptocurrency.
Can Can Be Done with Bitcoins
Here are some uses of bitcoins.
1. They can be sold.
2. They can be left on the exchange thereby saving them.
3. They can be liquidated on the exchange.
4. They can be spent and also transferred to a wallet service on your computer.
Original article and pictures take brandongaille.com site
How Blockchain Technology Will Dominate The Travel Sector
I am among those enthusiasts who believe that blockchain technology can be a valuable corporate finance tool outside of the banking sector. Airline industry CFOs and finance executives throughout the travel sector belong on the growing list of beneficiaries as well.
As the backbone of digital currency, blockchain is already revealing its value in areas such as transparency, data security, logistics and process simplification, and even regulatory compliance. Recently, Walmart and IBM announced a pilot project to apply blockchain technology to Walmart's global supply chain management system.
Of course, not every company is a candidate for blockchain applications: A recent Wharton analysis concluded that a company must determine whether blockchain is suitable based on multiple factors. The rationale for embracing blockchain technology will make the most sense -- and take on a degree of urgency -- if the business structure involves any number of parties that need trust and inter-party data access and management.
As a provider of mobile commerce and payment solutions for travel companies, this makes the travel sector an ideal candidate in my book.
More Business Equals More Revenue
The travel business is complex and fragmented – ask any travel sector CFO or technology vendor. In addition to operational and financial challenges connected with protecting and growing their business, travel executives face distinctive challenges in their efforts to protect their customer base. Among the most pressing is identity management as security concerns persist and passenger numbers grow exponentially.
As the Walmart pilot suggests, there is growing evidence of blockchain's value on an operational level. But its potential benefits, including security features, extend to "soft" yet vital airline success factors, such as customer satisfaction and retention.
For example, with blockchain processes serving as the underlying authentication layer for biometric-equipped mobile and wearable devices, a passenger's experience becomes easier, faster and more satisfying. They can verify their identities, purchase travel products and ancillary services before, during and after their trips. They can communicate with airlines in a variety of new and engaging mobile formats without pulling out IDs and exposing personal financial information every single time.
Original article and pictures take www.forbes.com site
Hong Kong Hacker Arrested in Blackmail for Bitcoin Case
A suspect in a case involving hacking, blackmailing and Bitcoin has been arrested in Hong Kong. A 30-year-old computer technician has been taken in custody in connection with cyberattacks against two travel agencies. The man risks years of imprisonment. Personal data of customers was held for ransom. Tour operators were asked to pay 1 Bitcoin for its release.
Names, identity card numbers, passport details and phone numbers of 20,000 clients were part of the sensitive information. The companies, Big Line Holiday and Goldjoy Holidays, reported the hacking of their computers on January 1 and 2. They told police they had received emails from the unknown culprit who demanded 1 Bitcoin (about $15,000) to be paid as ransom.
Officers from Hong Kong’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) raided an apartment on Cheung Chau Island and arrested the man, South China Morning Post reported. During the operation, police seized two desktop computers, two laptops, a tablet, three hard disks and five mobile phones. They also escorted the suspect to his workplace in Kowloon on Monday to gather more evidence. He has been described by local media as an “IT worker”, a “computer technician”. The man was handcuffed on Saturday night, January 6, at his home in Cheung Chau, The Standard reported.
The agencies were hacked on New Year’s Day when the attacker supposedly took advantage of weakened security of their websites. The companies received an email shortly after and were told to send the Bitcoin to a newly opened address. The author of the blackmail letter threatened that if they failed to pay the ransom the personal data of their customers would be posted on the internet Saturday, a police source told SCMP. After checking thousands of logs on the servers, the Cyber Security Bureau agents managed to identify the attacker’s IP address and trace it back to the suspect.
No sensitive information has been lost, as it was actually locked, not stolen. Police moved to apprehend the hacker hours before the ransom deadline. No charges have been levied against the suspect yet, as investigators are still questioning him and gathering information from forensic examination of hardware and software. Law enforcement officials have not ruled out further arrests as part of the ongoing investigation. The CSTCB superintendent Swalikh Mohammed described blackmail as a serious offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. He also warned:
The cyber world is not a lawless place. Laws applicable to the real world can also be applied to the internet
Both travel agencies have since apologized to their customers for the hacking incidents and pledged measures to improve cybersecurity. A Goldjoy representative said the company was pleased that a suspect had been apprehended so quickly. He insisted that it was highly unlikely its data storage would be hacked again after the new security upgrades. Big Line announced that it had taken immediate countermeasures after the breach. Almost $1.3 million of funding for cybersecurity improvements is available for small to medium sized businesses in the travel industry, government officials reminded.
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog expressed concerns about the incident involving the possible theft of sensitive information. “Travel agents, as data users, should take all reasonable security measures to protect customers’ personal data,” Privacy Commissioner Stephen Wong Kai-yi said, noting a “rising trend”.
The latest incidents are really a second episode in the “Blackmail for Bitcoin” series. Back in November, one of the largest tour operators in the city – Worldwide Package Travel Service, announced its customer database had been hacked. Personal information, including credit card numbers, of some 200,000 people had been locked by the hackers. WWPKG was asked by the unknown blackmailers to pay a seven-figure ransom, again in Bitcoin. The company called the police and their experts managed to decrypt the data but no arrests were made.
No loss of financial information has been reported in either of these cases. According to data quoted by the local press, Hong Kong’s Cyber Security Bureau has recorded close to 6,000 cases of cybercrimes in 2016 alone. Financial losses, since the agency was established in 2005, have been estimated at almost $295 million.
Do you think the rise of cryptocurrencies is related to the reported increase of cybercrimes? Tell us in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.
Original article and pictures take news.bitcoin.com site
Hey Ladies, Meet CoinDaddy the Cryptocurrency Rapper
Cryptocurrencies like Etherium, Ripple, Litecoin, and Bitcoin promise to unshackle human potential from the grip of central banks worldwide. Like that mysterious eye in the pyramid on the back of the U.S. $1 bill, they harness the animal spirits of capitalism and fuse them to SHA256 double round hash verification processes in a blockchain network of emancipation from toil. This way, we may all enjoy the utopia created when monetary value divorces itself from anything real.
Just kidding! It’s all about people acting all weird and vulgar as they get phenomenally wealthy chasing something almost nobody can explain — the classic bubble mentality. As cryptocurrency traders suck more electricity than Denmark in the pursuit of mining yet more of that vaporous neo-gold, some weird characters have emerged, some of them clad in cryptocurrency-themed ugly sweaters.
Enter CoinDaddy, a 28-year-old former real estate guy named Arya Bahmanyar who’s a bearded hip-hop figure in fake white fur with leopard-print trim who’s performed at the San Francisco Bitcoin Meetup Party at the Runway Incubator (which shares an address with Twitter). There’s a sort of appealingly D.I.Y. quality to CoinDaddy’s whole shtick — he’s even got a video of himself “learning” that The New York Times had written about him — but it’s also kind of … extremely ridiculous. His is a PG-13 sort of swagger, more Weird Al than anything. One cut, “Bubble God,” has a lot of bragging about his investment savvy plus some call-and-response lyrics with an artificially low bass voice that seems to represent the gross domestic product about how “me and Putin are colludin’.”
Anyway, from the Times’ Style section over the weekend:
Formerly a commercial real estate agent, Mr. Bahmanyar works full time at CoinDaddy after becoming a self-described crypto-millionaire (“you think I would dress up like this if I wasn’t?”). “Right now all our entertainers come from outside crypto culture — not inside crypto, and we’ve got to change that,” he said.
He pointed to his outfit — a long white fake mink coat, gold-heeled shoes — and said, “It’s gold, right? It’s gold. It’s a niche, and I’m going to fill it.”
He says he is going to shoot a music video soon for a song called “Lambo Party” and another called “Cryptomom,” about “all these moms are pumping in their children’s savings accounts.”
Confusingly, there’s already a company called CoinDaddy that “makes blockchain technologies easier to understand and use.” But there’s plenty more confusion to go around, including the fact that “crypto” is such a paranoid subculture that having entertainers from outside it perform at its functions is something to worry about.
In reality, the worries should probably be about the worth of bitcoin itself. The Guardian has a great story today by noted finance blogger Mr. Money Mustache explaining why cryptocurrencies are a bubble and you shouldn’t invest in them, using cancer meds as an analogy. In short, cryptocurrencies have zero real-world utility as investments, and the herd mentality driving the price of a single bitcoin to $17,000 has already spurred enough competition that, like generic drugs undercutting the expensive pharmaceuticals, it will all come back to earth soon.
The libertarian, we’re-gonna-get-take-it-all-down ethos driving cryptocurrency dovetails so neatly with male ego that it’s almost too perfect. I expect CoinDaddy is working very hard to flesh out his backstory with noirish details about how much money he had as a kid, capitalizing on his newfound fame and scaring Janet Yellen half to death just as her term ends. But in the meantime, CoinDaddy has 29 Facebook followers and all his pics are Photoshopped. Get rich or die minin’.
Original article and pictures take www.24cryptoroom.com site
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Original article and pictures take myhobbymypassion.org site
Hackers have stolen $400,000 (£290,000) of the virtual currency Stellar Lumen in an online attack on Saturday.
The group hijacked the server that hosts BlackWallet, a web-based wallet application that stores lumens and stole 669,920 from users' accounts
Stellar Lumen is thought to be the eighth most popular virtual currency in the world.
According to tech news site Bleeping Computer, BlackWallet tried to warn users about the attack via forums.
However, many continued to log in and lose money.
The hackers have moved the money to Bittrex, a virtual currency exchange, where they are likely to convert it into another digital currency to hide their tracks, Bleeping computer reported.
The developer, who goes by the alias of Orbit84, said: "I am sincerely sorry about this and hope that we will get the funds back.
"I am in talks with my hosting provider to get as much information about the hacker and will see what can be done with it.
"If you ever entered your key on BlackWallet, you may want to move your funds to a new wallet."
What are crypto-currencies?
A crypto or virtual currency is a type of money that is completely digital. You can use currencies such as Bitcoin to buy products and services, but not many shops accept them yet. In many countries they are heavily regulated.
Owners typically keep their currency in digital wallets and can transfer payments to other wallets fairly anonymously, without a bank or broker being involved.
Transactions are recorded in a public list called a blockchain - a type of ledger which both records and verifies who spent or transferred which coins. The blockchain exists on computers that solve cryptographic problems as they log transactions to help combat fraud.
Stellar is an open-source payments network focused on reducing poverty in the developing world. It says its lumens - which work using blockchain technology - make monetary transactions cheaper, quicker and more reliable.
According to CoinMarketCap, a site that ranks the value of different crypto-currencies, there is $11.6bn worth of Stellar Lumen in circulation.
That is far less than the top virtual currencies Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are thought to be worth $240.3bn and $127.4bn respectively.
In 2016, the price of bitcoin fell more than 10% after the Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange Bitfinex said it had suffered a major hack.
The security breach led to the possible theft of bitcoin worth $65m (£49m).
And in 2017 hackers targeted the Bithumb exchange in South Korea, taking millions of dollars' worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The personal information of 30,000 people was also stolen in the attack, which was credited to North Korea.
Original article and pictures take static.bbci.co.uk site
GrowthCoin (GRW) – a fork of Diamond, with several algorithms fixed and improved. It is decendent of Novacoin/PPCoin with Pow/PoS. It combines the great features from Luckycoin (random blocks) and Florincoin (transaction message).
Proof of stake coin is more resilient to 51% attack. Since 51% hashpower is not enough to execute a 51% attack. The attackers must also have at least 51% stake.
GrowthCoin provides monthly interest rate of 5.95%, for stakes that are held during that period of time. This equivalent to an annual interest of 100%. PoS blocks will be generated if the stake are held for more than 5 days. There is a hard limit of 2 billion coins.
Richard Ells CEO of Electroneum yesterday dropped a cheering post on it's official social media page (facebook). In his cheering post he said:
Electroneum coin which had one of the highest hard cap of $40M was sheculed for launch first week of November 2017 but due some security threats it was postponed. So after weeks of VULNERABILITY AND PENETRATION TESTING by Hackerone a top security company, it is now set for a proper launch. Details of this will be announced mid next week.
It's Initial Coin Offer (ICO) was $0.01 Electroneum already have a community of 300,000 users, It is currently listed on CRYPTOPIA and more exchanges coming soon.
Among it's uniqueness is that it is programmed for 2.2 billion smartphone users, and so smart phone users can actually Mine ETN coins with their smart phones even at the background without interrupting any of your activities on your mobile phone.
Original article and pictures take cryptocurrencygossip.blogspot.com site
Great BITCOIN - btc crypto currency T-Shirt Independent artist’s content may not match model depicted; RealView™ technology illustrates fit and usage only. Original article and pictures take www.zazzle.com site
Goldman Sachs Report Explores use of Bitcoin as Currency
On January 10, 2018, analysts from Goldman Sachs Group, the Fortune 500 investment company, published a nine-page lengthy report titled “Bitcoin as Money.”
Taking Crypto Seriously
The report was the firm’s first exploration of bitcoin’s possible use as a currency and was written primarily by analysts Zach Pandl and Charles Himmelberg for the clients of the company.
In the report, the analysts detailed how bitcoin could prove to be useful in countries like Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where foreign currency is used almost exclusively for deposits and loans following public mistrust in the country’s economy. A lot of countries in the African region face a similar plight and suffer high inflation rates and demonetizations as a result. Zach Pandl noted that that,
“In recent decades the U.S. dollar has served its purpose relatively well. In those countries and corners of the financial system where the traditional services of money are inadequately supplied, Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies more generally) may offer viable alternatives.”
Backing up this statement is perhaps the fact that Zimbabwe already turned to bitcoin in 2017 as an alternative to its currency.
Bitcoin and its price have been a very polarizing topic even outside the conventional finance sphere. While on the one hand, some believe that the sudden surge in the cryptocurrency’s popularity is nothing but a bubble, others claim that it may very well be an indicator of mass adoption. In September 2017, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, publicly criticized bitcoin and called it a “fraud.” It was only a few days before the Goldman Sachs report, however, that he softened his stance on the subject during an interview with FOX Business.
The report released by Goldman Sachs is in almost stark contrast to the overwhelming number of negative press surrounding bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem. Even before bitcoin’s role in purchasing drugs and other illicit items on the dark web became public in 2013, people claimed that an anonymous digital currency would only be used to facilitate crime and misconduct.
Since bitcoin’s release in 2009, the cryptocurrency market has always been rife with criticism and pessimism from the mainstream financial industry as well. In recent times though, especially after the announcement of bitcoin futures by CME Group in November 2017, it has been gaining more momentum and legitimacy as compared to traditional investment instruments.
Given that bitcoin’s popularity among the masses does not seem to be slowing down in any appreciable way, it is likely that many long-standing skeptics of digital currencies will begin studying their implications. While the Goldman Sachs report specifically discussed bitcoin, similar points can be made about other major cryptocurrencies as well. As of right now though, an increase in the legitimacy of bitcoin stands to benefit other digital currencies as well.
However, the Goldman Sachs report made one thing entirely certain.
If bitcoin is to be used and traded as a currency and not a commodity, its price needs to find stability. Historically, however, this has not been the case, especially if you consider that in the past year alone, the price of bitcoin appreciated by a whole order of magnitude. The report calls for a different reality, stating that,
“digital currencies should be thought of as low/zero return or hedge-like assets, akin to gold.”
Original article and pictures take btcmanager.com site
