Token
- by Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst
- 35 posts
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In this video I we will breakdown the NFT projects I think will not survive in a Bear Market. These NFTs, in my opinion, are headed to the opposite of "The Moon".
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0:00 - 0:52 Intro
0:53 - 5:03 NFT Projects I think will Not Perform well during a Bear Market
5:04 - 6:59 Public Team & Founders
7:00 - 9:39 OpenSea Volume is Down
9:40 - 11:48 Too Much Euphoria in the Market, Be Careful
11:49 - 12:03 Outro
Financial Disclaimer:
This is not financial advice. I am not a financial advisor. This channel is for entertainment and expressing my opinions. Please do your own research and make your own decisions.-
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst The NFT market is so hot and crazy now, that many will risk their savings and fail. Not all NFTs are the same. The ability to unlock their value as collections or art for instance is not for everyone. However, we see now how social media is full of relaunching of NFTs, and even weirder Discord forums. Interesting opinion from NFTverse about all this. If you love NFTs, watch it.- 10 1 vote
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It started with CryptoKitties. In December 2017, the dopey-looking cartoon cats, created by Canadian company Dapper Labs, debuted as tradable collectibles, like Pokémon cards for the bitcoin era.
Each image was associated with a unique string of digits – a cryptocurrency “non-fungible token” or NFT – that could be traded on the Ethereum blockchain platform as a title deed granting the holder ownership of a particular kitty.
The trading game quickly caught on among the crypto-initiated, so much so that CryptoKitties-related transactions clogged and slowed down Ethereum.
That was eventually solved – and that was, for most people, the last they heard of CryptoKitties.
But the process the goggle-eyed cats set off did not end there. Its end point is an auction starting tomorrow, in which a token associated with a digital collage of 5,000 images by graphic designer Beeple will go under the hammer at auction house Christie’s. Cryptocurrency payments are of course accepted.
NFTs are selling like hotcakes, and this time the Ethereum network, which has been upgraded since 2017, is better equipped to deal with the endless sloshing.
One recent report by NonFungible.com, a company releasing market insights on NFTs, says that, in 2020, NFT trading was worth over $250m, an increase by almost 300 per cent from the previous year.
On online platforms such as Rarible, OpenSea, and Nifty Gateway (backed by twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss) people are shelling out big sums of cryptocurrency and legal tender to buy tokens representing ownership of digital objects, which are then often re-auctioned at higher prices.
Some of these NFTs are stand-ins for collectibles in the tradition of CryptoKitties – like Non-Fungible Pepes, a postmodern bid to reclaim the meme frog from the alt-right; others are objects intended to be used in video games; but more and more they are linked to pieces of digital art designed by honest-to-god creators such as Beeple – who, two months ago, sold a token for $777,777 on Nifty Gateway.
If all of this sounds bizarre, that’s because it is. The idea of paying for the symbolic ownership of a digital image that lives somewhere on the web and can be captured on a screenshot or right-click-download within seconds, is so alien it seems either idiotic or ironic.
Yet NFT proponents purport to be solving exactly that problem: the near-impossibility of monetising digital artworks.
“As a mechanism, NFTs make it possible to assign value to digital art, which opens the door to a sea of possibility for a medium that is unbridled by physical limitations,” says Noah Davis, a specialist in post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s.- By GIAN VOLPICELLI
Currency and cryptocurrency units are also, usually, fractionable into smaller units – dollars can be broken down to cents, bitcoins to particles called satoshis – which can be spent separately. On the contrary, NFTs – cryptocurrency assets developed according to special Ethereum standards ERC-721 and ERC-1155 – are unique and indivisible.
Where a bitcoin is comparable to a dollar bill, an NFT can be likened to a cat, a sculpture, or a painting: you can’t sell part of it without spoiling the whole, and its value is rather subjective.
Those characteristics render NFTs a good metaphor for art. Now, the crypterati and a waxing portion of the art world are asking us to take a leap of faith and believe that by buying an NFT we should feel like the owners of whatever artwork an artist has decided to link with it.
Christie's/Beeple
This cannot credibly apply to physical artworks: if you are after a Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture, you will likely not be happy with a cryptocurrency token. But when it comes to intangible digital art, NFTs might just do the trick. Sure, everyone can download Beeple’s images from his Instagram feed, but that is missing the point, says Vincent Harrison, a New York gallerist who counts the Winklevosses among his clients and is helping Nifty Gateway attract more established artists onto the platform.
“Anyone can see pictures on the internet of the most expensive artworks; posters are sold in museums,” he says. “But it's the ownership that creates value. So with [NFTs], not only do you have ownership, you have ownership on the blockchain, you have ownership that is transparent for everyone to see.
”NFT technology, Harrison says, provides a way to attach a price tag to digital art, tapping into that primal high-quality hoarding instinct – the quest for status-affording Veblen goods, coveted only insofar as they are pricey – that is behind many collectors’ urge.
Mix that with a frothy community eager to trade and meme any new shiny blockchain-adjacent construct to considerable prices and the trick is done.“In this digital world, we have accelerators: suddenly you could get three or four times what you paid for something – tomorrow there is someone ready to buy it,” Harrison says.
Even better, blockchains are also able to keep track in a secure, immutable way, of how a token originated and changed hands over time. “Provenance is obviously an important part of the value of art,” Harrison says.
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By GIAN VOLPICELLI
The crowd buying NFT-linked art is varied. Some of its members are cryptocurrency magnates looking for the newest thing to plunge their savings into.
“People who were early in crypto and have a bunch of ether [Ethereum’s cryptocurrency], they're looking for ways to use it,” says James Beck, director of communications and content at ConsenSys, a blockchain company that has built an app to store and manage NFTs.
They want to show, Beck says, that they are “patron[s] of the art on the internet’.
”It helps that some NFT marketplaces allow people to showcase their purchases like in an online gallery or museum. Jamie Burke, founder and CEO of blockchain investment firm Outlier Ventures, and an NFT enthusiast, is one of those keen about their newfound role as digital arts supporters.
Burke says that he was initially turned off by the early, “self-referential” cryptocurrency-focused artworks – strewn with Bitcoin signs and pixelated memes. But when he got more interested in the space, in summer 2020, he was “blown away” by the new artists.
“This was art in and of its own right that I would buy, and I liked the idea that I could have a unique digital edition of it,” he says. “I just started collecting, personally, and trying to get new artists and professionals who are coming into the space. I'm building a bit of a collection.
” That does not mean he turns down a good deal when it presents itself: on February 13, he sold an NFT he had paid $500 for, for $20,000 in ether.
Announcing the sale in a tweet, Burke said he would use the return to buy more art.
Harrison says that while the market right now is crawling with speculators who would buy and flip any blockchain-based asset in the hope that it increases in value, bona fide collectors are increasingly getting involved.
“It's a combination of people that are just speculative and of people that want to collect and have something cool,” he says.
“My role is to balance an element of speculation with enough people that want to buy something because they like it, and they want a hot collection habit. If everyone is buying to speculate, it doesn't work, then it just becomes another tradable token.
”Some digital artists are welcoming of the trend. Most platforms are simple to use, allowing them to upload their works, automatically “mint” NFTs and wait for the offers to rain in – and these are often higher than the sums they would receive if they tried to sell their digital artworks online or as prints.
Brendan Dawes, a UK graphic designer and artist who creates digital imagery using machine learning and algorithms, says that a print of one of his pieces would typically sell for $2,000, while his latest NFT sold for $37,000.
READ NEXTCrypto tokens will bridge the gap between AR and reality
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The profits don’t stop there. NFTs can be designed to pay their creators a cryptocurrency fee every time they change hands: if a buyer of one of Dawes’s pieces resells it, Dawes automatically receives ten per cent of the price paid. “That's again, one of the differences when compared to the traditional world: you get this ongoing, ongoing royalty.
”Andrea Bonaceto, a venture capitalist and artist who is also creating NFT-backed artwork, thinks that the method might spur new forms of digital art blending digital imagery, music and technology.
“You can create hybrids of art and music, or of art and literature and link both of them to a token. You can use smart contracts [self-executing routines that can be programmed onto a blockchain], so that the artwork changes over time,” he says. “This totally opens up an artist’s creativity.”
Christie's/Beeple
Crypto being crypto, NFTs are bound to produce excesses. Some of the prices paid can be beyond comprehension, the epitome being the purchase of a virtual racing car for $100,000; and the fact that some websites are offering cryptocurrency loans in exchange for NFT collaterals has all the signs of a mini-crash waiting to happen.
At a more basic level, William O'Rorke, a partner at Paris-based law firm ORWL Avocats, says that while the structure of NFTs – modelled after artwork rather than currencies or shares – means they are not subjected to the kind of financial regulation other kinds of cryptoassets have to abide by, they still risk falling foul of intellectual property law (for instance, if selling someone else’s artwork as one’s own) and consumer law protection.READ NEXT
The Winklevosses have launched their bitcoin exchange in the UK
The Winklevosses have launched their bitcoin exchange in the UKBy NATASHA BERNALOnline auctions are also another quagmire, O’Rorke says, as sellers could potentially leverage fake accounts to tamper with the bidding process. “If you have ten accounts, you can artificially increase the price of NFT,” he says. “This kind of practice exists actually also on eBay, on all these kinds of services.
But when people participate in the auction with anonymous cryptocurrency, for instance, it's much much more complicated to find out.
” Luckily, he says, there are techniques and methods to detect coordination that could stave off the worst.In general, O’Rorke sees NFT art as a “spectacular” trend, but at the end of the day, smaller than other sectors in which NFTs are likely to take hold – from gaming, to football trading cards – as more and more brands, including toy manufacturer Superplastic and Nike get acquainted with the technology.
The big question is, then whether this is just another cryptocurrency fad, or whether NFT art is here for good. Harrison has no doubt that what has been happening is just the beginning of a long-awaited transition, partly triggered by the pandemic-induced closures of museums and galleries.
“There's something real here: this is just an acceleration of a cultural shift,” he says.
Federica Beretta, gallery director at London-based Opera Gallery, says that while the pandemic, and a push for sustainability, made turning to digital artwork and digital auctions a “no brainer”, physical art will probably keep an edge in the long run.
“The digital world offers extraordinary opportunities to artists, collectors, museums and galleries and it could also be seen as a fantastic complement to traditional art,” she says. “I do not believe art will become only digital in the future.
”Gian Volpicelli is a senior editor at WIRED. He tweets from- By Admin
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Interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may be surging, but central banks don’t want to be left behind by financial innovation. In fact, more than 80% are examining how to launch digital versions of their own currencies. CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche takes a look at why these cautious institutions may soon be launching a revolution in how we think about money.
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FC Barcelona has released its own BAR token for supporters to take part in surveys and vote on polls to decide on a number of club related decisions.
Oliver Knight
FC Barcelona, commonly regarded as one of the world’s largest football clubs, has today launched a bespoke fan token that uses blockchain technology.
The Spanish champions’ $BAR token is issued in collaboration with its partner Chiliz, who have arranged a flash sale on the socios.com platform for 48-hours with tokens being sold for €2 each.
When the 48-hours expire, or when 600,000 tokens are purchased, the tokens will be valued on a supply and demand basis.
Tokens will be used for surveys and votes, with the first survey allowing supporters to choose the design for a new mural to decorate the first team changing room.
“Fan engagement has never been more important for the sports industry, and just as football is resuming, albeit without fans in the stadium, we are launching FC Barcelona’s Fan Token and are helping to boost their ability to connect the Club with their fans all over the world”. Said Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO and founder of Socios.com and Chiliz.
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“There is incredible anticipation and excitement for Barça’s Fan Token, so fans who want to buy at a flat rate of €2 will need to move fast when the flash sale begins at 1pm on Monday “Fans can then immediately use their $BAR to vote in the first club poll on Socios.com, to choose an inspirational piece of fan-designed artwork to go inside the sacred dressing room at the Camp Nou “With FC Barcelona’s huge global fanbase, we expect this to be our biggest and best FTO, far surpassing the volume of tokens sold by our other partners.
”Coin Rivet has previously reported on a number of socios’ fan token projects including those from clubs like West Ham, Atletico Madrid and AS Roma, with it becoming a popular scheme among football clubs who want fans’ voices to be heard.
For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Tokenisation is what it makes possible the digital economy of the 4th IR. Unfortunately most people don't understand it yet. Among different kind of tokens, this Barcelona BAR fan token maybe is not very important for investors or industry tokenisation but it surely is a step ahead to spread the knowledge and use of tokens and the concept itself off the new digital economy.
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As many as 99% of all cryptocurrencies will likely go to zero, according to a new prediction by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
There are too many crypto projects, says Garlinghouse
In an interview with Bloomberg released Nov. 5, Garlinghouse claimed that there are too many cryptocurrencies so far, forecasting that only 1% of all crypto is here to stay. That small number of crypto projects will be game-changing and grow significantly in the decades since they will be focused on solving real problems for real customers, Ripple CEO declared.Growth is caused by the hype around the market
According to Garlinghouse, the growing number of digital assets is caused by the hype around the crypto ecosystem.Noting that there are more than 3,000 digital assets that trade on a daily basis to date, Ripple CEO hinted that very few will actually be able to meet customer needs, arguing that the vast majority of them “probably goes to zero.” He stated:“Anytime there is a new market, there are a lot of people that run into that market and try to show that they can solve a problem, they can deliver a customer need.”
Criticizing SWIFT’s “transaction volatility”
In the interview, Garlinghouse has also criticized the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications’ (SWIFT) so-called “transaction volatility,” elaborating that such phenomenon means a “calculation of time and volatility.
” Citing a recent article posted by Ripple on XRP’s enhanced volatility exposure, Garlinghouse argued that the XRP token has “1/10th the volatility exposure of a typical fiat SWIFT payment.
”In July 2019, SWIFT announced a successful trial of instant cross-border transfers in Asia, claiming that the instant payment pilot performed payments taking up to 25 seconds, with the fastest taking 13 seconds.
The tests involved interaction between SWIFT’s Global Payments Innovation instant payment platform and Singapore’s domestic instant payments solution FAST. As previously reported, SWIFT will allow distributed ledger technology firms to use its GPI platform.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Many in the crypto world have been saying the same: most of the Altcoins, with very few exceptions won't survive in the near future. They will be substituted either by new and better ones or will just disappear, as the hype and speculation diminish too. It seems Ripple's CEO is very confident on XRP even daring to criticise SWIFT too, but time will say.
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We explore what tokenization is, how it works, and how it's revolutionizing the way assets can be issued, managed, and traded.
By Ki Chong Tran6 min read
Tokenize all the Things
Traditional asset management is a laborious process. It often requires the involvement of numerous middlemen, including various state bodies and regulators.
Assets such as stocks, bonds, property, or even land can often be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to manage, putting them beyond the reach of the vast majority of the world’s population.
What’s more, traditional asset management typically involves complex legal agreements and lots of paperwork, which makes it all very difficult to track and transfer ownership. It’s a slow and cumbersome system—and one that often lacks sufficient transparency to prevent fraud and other forms of corruption.
Tokenization, while not without its own faults and regulatory hurdles, offers a radical new way of thinking about asset management—a reimagining of what is possible in the financial and technological world. We explore this new idea below.What is a token?
Simply put: “A token is something representing something else, [and] can be rendered in any sort of form,” according to Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of blockchain venture studio ConsenSys. “It can be a piece of paper.
It can be an idea. It’s a symbol representing something,” he said. “Your driver’s license, for instance, is a token that’s indexed into a ledger that the state maintains of who’s legal to drive.” You can think of a blockchain-based token as a type of digital receipt for a slice of an asset. But unlike the receipts of old, these tokens are immutably logged on an auditable blockchain.Did you know?
Blockchain technology and tokens have their origins in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
In 2009, Bitcoin introduced a peer-to-peer system for transferring value across the Internet. The Bitcoin blockchain is what makes it possible for transactions to be made in a decentralized, trustless, and immutable way—all while avoiding the so-called double-spend problem, preventing transactions from being fraudulently copied and duplicated digitally.
The innovation led entrepreneurs to envision new use cases for Bitcoin’s underlying technology. In 2015, Ethereum introduced the FinTech world to a programmable blockchain—a breakthrough made possible by Ethereum’s smart-contract technology.
Ethereum took the same technology that Bitcoin is built on and made it about more than just cryptocurrency and stores of value.Before long, thousands of tokens were developed on the Ethereum network, each with its own distinct attributes and benefits. Unlike cryptocurrencies, tokens have various potential use cases—anything from managing property, shares, and contracts to powering decentralized applications and games.Token use cases
In general, there are two types of tokens: Utility tokens and security tokens.Utility tokens are digital assets that give their owners access to products or services produced by a company.
As the label implies, these tokens are meant to be used for something, rather than held or traded. For example, a utility token can provide access to a future service, such as renting computing power, placing a bet at a sports game or casting a legally binding vote.
Brave Software, the makers of the privacy-focused Brave web browser, created the Basic Attention Token, or BAT—a utility token designed for the advertising industry that monetizes the attention of web users.
Security tokens, on the other hand, are digital assets that represent an investment of some sort, such as a share in a company, a voting right in how the company operates, a unit of value, or some combination of the three.
These tokens can also represent parts of real-world assets, such as gold, classic cars or royalties from your favorite pop-song. As such, security tokens must comply with the existing regulatory frameworks that govern traditional securities, such as stocks.
As a result, an entire industry has developed to help tokenization entrepreneurs comply with applicable regulations.Securitize, a crypto startup backed by leading US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, is one such company that specializes in the issuance and management of digital securities, with the explicit aim of helping token issuers remain compliant.
Apart from utility and security tokens, there are also special non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs. These tokens represent unique digital collectibles, like those infectiously cute CryptoKitties that famously crashed the Ethereum network in late 2017.Join Daily Debrief
Want the best of crypto news straight into your inbox? JoinTo tokenize or not to tokenize…
The promise of tokenization rests in its potential to democratize access to digital assets, as well its ability to provide accountability, security, and provenance for these assets.
“Creating tokens that represent real-world assets that can be traded and provide accountability is enormously useful,” Paul Snow, founder, and CEO of Factom, told Decrypt.
People believe they own stock but they really don’t; they own a receipt for a stock and it’s kind of a ‘trust us’ process.
A blockchain-based system eliminates the need to trust in a middleman. But it also provides a better level of accounting, Snow explained, which can be particularly beneficial for businesses that deal in fraud prevention.On the other hand, Snow cautions that tokenization isn’t necessarily as easy as many once believed.
The rules that govern blockchains can get complicated, and these networks aren’t immune to their own forms of bureaucracy.
On top of that, regulators around the world, and in the United States in particular, are now paying very close attention to the cryptocurrency industry, with a close eye on the way tokens have been bought, sold, and distributed thus far.
And the rules over the sale, distribution, and management of tokenized assets will vary from country to country, crypto startups that aim to build global, borderless systems must now contend with regulatory and compliance measures in each of the jurisdictions that they expect to do business.
This, too, has now become a laborious and expensive process in its own right, especially in the United States, with many token-based companies opting to instead take their firms overseas where the rules are less stringent.
Nevertheless, U.S. regulators have shown recent signs of warming to tokenized assets, and blockchain entrepreneurs continue to develop innovative uses for tokenization, as well as solutions to improve the scalability of their respective networks.The future
Tokenization promises a world where almost any asset or service can be represented and stored on a blockchain. The possibilities are theoretically endless. But much like the early days of the Internet, we are just starting to understand which ideas are best suited to this technology.
It’s still early days, but the transition toward a tokenized world could change the way we think about everything that holds real value.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Tokens, its uses, its future. A future digital tokenised 4th IR. We who usually read and think about this believe we understand. But even if that s true (and we know we have yet a lot to learn) most people haven't even heard about tokens. Information is key to transmit our belief in a better world.
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U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is evaluating the launch of an initial exchange offering (IEO) platform in the near future.
Kayvon Pirestani, head of institutional sales in Asia at Coinbase, revealed the news at Invest: Asia conference on Wednesday, saying: “We think there’s a really interesting opportunity there for Coinbase.”
“In a nutshell, Coinbase is carefully exploring not only the IEO space but also STOs [security token offerings]. But I can’t make any formal announcements right now,” Pirestani added.
Last month, Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck was also considering launching an IEO platform to help firms raise funds via utility tokens.
IEOs, popularized by Binance, are fast becoming a theme of 2019. Already 12 cryptocurrency exchanges, including OKEx, Huobi and Bittrex, have announced their IEO platforms this year, and 39 projects have already participated in an IEO, according to The Block's research.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst It is just a question of time before more crypto exchanges will offer IEO platforms. This is a new and expected development which will help in the growth and evolution of crypto market, and how it fits in the global regulated financial markets. Companies which want to launch a fundraising for a blockchain based product or a crypto which doesn't fit under tradicional VC or an ICO will benefit from this.
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China‘s upcoming state-controlled digital currency is to be similar to Facebook‘s proposed coin, which makes total sense, because Libra isn’t really a cryptocurrency.
Mu Changchun, deputy director of payments at China‘s central bank, explained the country was issuing its digital currency “to protect our monetary sovereignty and legal currency status,” Reuters reports.
“We need to plan ahead for a rainy day,” Mu added.It’s likely these concerns reflect those of the European Central Bank. Earlier this week, a representative claimed that Facebook‘s Libra could undermine its power if it was readily adopted, as it could reduce overall demand for the Euro.Next week: China discovers its digital token is capable of alchemy
Amazingly, Mu mentioned that his government‘s proposed tokens will be just as safe as China‘s paper-based fiat.Payment platforms like WeChat and Alipay are to supposedly support them, and Mu promised they’ll even be usable without an internet connection.
More incredibly, Reuters reports that Mu said China‘s purported coin would find a balance between allowing anonymous payments and preventing money laundering.
Considering that China is considered by many to be a surveillance-state (with scholars now referring to its politics as “networked totalitarianism“), these claims are outright laughable.
So, while Facebook does its best to brand its Libra offering as a real “cryptocurrency,” China has taken notes on issuing an entirely centralized digital currency that’s susceptible to censorship.If anything, the two deserve each other.- By Admin
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Jakobo Gimeno The Chines government is notorious for spying on its people. The government is going to use the cryptocurrency as another method of surveillance, they will have full control of the coins and know-how and when they are spent. We will see, it is still to soon to tell.
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Any new technology has a double use. It can lead to more freedom or to a dystopia. The China`s state crypto could easily be a tool to continue developing the "networking totalitarianism" which this nation is rapidly building. Unfortunately we not have enough data yet to understand all consequences.
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The US government has a hidden weapon it could deploy against Bitcoin - MIT Tech... (technologyreview.com)
The US could someday try to crack down on cryptocurrency by calling certain users financial institutions. Critics say that would be a terrible idea.
by Mike Orcutt
If you are interested in the future of cryptocurrency, you should probably get to know the Bank Secrecy Act, a nearly 50-year-old law that requires financial institutions in the US to help law enforcement agencies police money laundering.
The government could someday try to use the law to impose strict controls on how—and whether—certain blockchain-based currencies can be used.
Take it from David Murray, a vice president at the Financial Integrity Network, a consulting firm in Washington, DC, that focuses on illicit finance. In testimony this week before a Senate subcommittee, Murray called on the government to expand its powers under the BSA to combat the use of cryptocurrency by human traffickers.
“Virtual assets are vulnerable to illicit finance because they offer rapid and irrevocable settlement and the potential for anonymity,” he said. Traditionally, efforts to weed out illicit finance have focused on banks and other financial intermediaries. But public blockchain networks like Bitcoin pose unique challenges for law enforcement.
The BSA, for instance, mandates that financial institutions collect certain information about their users and file reports to the US Treasury Department when transactions are larger than $5,000 or otherwise qualify as “suspicious.
” But since a global network of computers—not a centralized institution—validates Bitcoin transactions, who are they supposed to regulate?
To tighten its grip on cryptocurrency, Murray said, the Treasury Department should broaden the BSA’s definition of a “financial institution” to include certain cryptocurrency “service providers” as well.
While cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto-asset storage providers are already covered by the BSA, other important participants in blockchain systems remain outside the law’s scope, and that should change, Murray argued.
One group he mentioned specifically was “virtual asset transaction validators.” Different blockchain systems work in different ways, but in all of them, participants who run the software the network uses are required to validate new transactions.
Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies call them “miners” because they receive newly minted digital money in exchange for this activity. Murray said the US should regulate miners as so-called money services businesses.
But regulating miners would “basically make the technology nonviable,” at least in the US, says Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, a blockchain policy advocacy group in Washington, DC. It’s also probably not even feasible.
Given the global, pseudonymous nature of Bitcoin and similar systems, it would be difficult if not impossible to identify and locate all miners, who could just move to other countries with less strict rules.
Besides, says Van Valkenburgh, it doesn’t make sense to force Bitcoin miners to keep track of their customers the way a financial institution would, since they don’t really have customers.
“They have no idea who has requested transactions on the blockchain,” he says, adding that they are “just running the protocol” in hope of a reward.
Van Valkenburgh notes that the Treasury Department has long had the power to broaden the BSA’s definition of a financial institution to include cryptocurrency miners, but thus far it has explicitly chosen not to.
The international body in charge of policing money laundering, the Financial Action Task Force, has also chosen to avoid regulating miners, instead focusing on cryptocurrency exchanges.
It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that this could change, perhaps in the wake of some future crime that involves the use of cryptocurrency.
If US authorities ever do try to expand their powers under BSA to crack down on cryptocurrency, though, they’ll be in for a fight. Van Valkenburgh argues that using the BSA to regulate cryptocurrency software developers and individual users would be unconstitutional.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst BTC can't be regulated. Crypto exchanges and users, however, have to abide by the local and international laws to avoid money laundering and other criminal acts. This is a reality under the incoming 4th IR where all kind of relationships (financial, economic, social, etc) would change (for better) in an increasingly tokenised global society.
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Libra forces a distinction between cryptocurrency and digital securities | Payme... (paymentssource.com)The buzz around digital securities (or security tokens) has never been higher in the financial industry, and neither has the confusion and misinformation been more evident.
With Facebook’s recent announcement to create a cryptocurrency, a blockchain, and also do a security token offering (STO) all at the same time it’s more important than ever to clarify what a digital security is, and what it is not.
The issue for those of us in the digital securities industry is that the lack of knowledge and understanding stifles needed progress and breeds unwarranted confusion and distrust.
To truly capitalize on the promise of digital securities the industry players and the public need a clear understanding of what they are and how they’re poised to dramatically change the securities markets for the betterment of all players involved.
First, let’s establish some clarity around nomenclature for “digital securities." Depending on their underlying technology, they are also referred to as “digitally formatted securities,” or “security tokens.
” One reason for the variations is linked to our industry’s effort to distinguish itself from the unregulated realities of the cryptocurrency and ICO world.
Cryptocurrencies exploded on the scene several years ago as an entirely new asset class leading to a wave of unregulated crypto offerings and ultimately resulting in a crackdown from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Traditional securities have been around for centuries in an analog form. Digital securities are simply traditional securities that have been digitally formatted so they can be issued, traded, and tracked much more efficiently.
Digital securities formatted using blockchain technology are called security tokens or tokenized digital securities.
And yes, blockchain technology facilitates the issuance, management, and trading of both cryptocurrency and tokenized digital securities, but the similarities end there.
Market participants don’t have to be crypto-savvy to issue, buy or sell digital securities, and they also shouldn’t expect the boom (and ensuing bust) the crypto market experienced.
Because these securities are fully regulated by the SEC, the growth of the provider ecosystem and market volume will be more deliberate and ultimately, more stable.
In essence, digital securities are merely a format update to a massive, long-established, but traditionally inefficient segment of the regulated securities market.
Digital securities typically represent an interest in private and non-listed securities like real estate, venture capital and private equity, but they are not a new asset class, and they are most definitely not cryptocurrencies.
The move from legacy private securities to digital securities does not change the outcome of the transaction, but how easily it takes place. Digital securities bring automation and blockchain-based efficiencies to a marketplace that’s been virtually untouched by innovation.
While current cryptocurrency discourse has created confusion about the role of digital securities, it’s time to shift the conversation.
Instead of being seen as a novelty or the next iteration of crypto offerings, digital securities should be seen as the natural next step in the evolution of private and non-listed securities —finally guiding alternative assets into the digital age.- By Admin
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Cryptocurrency exchanges represent a fundamental component in the wider community, allowing anyone access to cryptocurrencies round-the-clock.
The 24/7 nature of the cryptocurrency market could perhaps be a unique proposition, given that even the likes of the stock market and the foreign exchange (forex) market are only open during standard working hours.
There are three traditional ways for the public to access the vast amount of coins and tokens available:
1. MiningA process where individuals participate in validating transactions in the blockchain, requiring the necessary bandwidth to store the entire blockchain and computing hardware which requires initial costs. In return for miners’ work in validating transactions and securing the blockchain, they are rewarded with new, minted coins.
2. Initial Coin Offerings (ICO)Similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for stocks, ICOs represent the first issuance of coins by the project. Investors need to possess the upfront capital – usually in the form of Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) – to participate in an ICO and thereafter receive ICO coins.
3. Buying Through an ExchangeUsers can simply register to a cryptocurrency exchange and begin buying and selling a wide variety of coins using their fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies.
The easiest way that an individual can own cryptocurrencies initially is buying through an exchange, since mining is a complex and technical process while investing through an ICO requires investors to own the initial coins in the form of BTC or ETH.
In the pursuit of selecting a cryptocurrency exchange, there are various ways to assess whether a particular cryptocurrency exchange is credible or otherwise.Criteria for Choosing a Reliable Cryptocurrency Exchange
As with the variety of coins and tokens available in the market, there are also numerous exchanges in the market on which you can acquire cryptocurrencies. Although it can be tough deciding which exchange is appropriate for you, here is a list of important factors that need to be looked at before you decide where to trade on.
1. ReputationThe reputation of an exchange is the first thing to look at, since a bad reputation will prevent any potential user from exploring any other factors. Good benchmarks for the reputation of an exchange are either the absence of adverse news relating to that exchange in terms of the exchange being hacked or compromised, or the cumulative reviews given by its users.
Regarding the former, it has become commonplace to hear of exchanges being hacked or losing users funds. Exchanges affected by such a thing automatically lose credibility in the eyes of the public.
Regarding the latter, it is important to read reviews by experienced users of the exchange to assess whether the exchange is generally considered a good or bad platform.
2. Security
Security is the core of a cryptocurrency exchange due to the common occurrence of hacks and attacks. It is therefore imperative for exchanges to implement effective security mechanisms to safeguard user funds and prevent internal systems from being breached. Common security practices include storing client funds in cold storage, leveraging on multi-signature (multisig) technology and a secure KYC process.
3. LiquidityLiquidity refers to the ease of buying and selling in the market. A cryptocurrency exchange needs to have sufficient trading volume and a large number of market participants for users to trade coins at better price point, and have the ability to close out trades instantly. Exchanges with high liquidity facilitate more efficient price discovery, and allow traders to exit and enter with relative ease.
The best method to ascertain liquidity is to look at the average daily volume for a cryptocurrency exchange as well as at their order books, which track all buy and sell orders currently placed by participants in the marketplace.
4. Trading FeesFees are a major element that is often overlooked by users. Particularly for short-term traders, fees can eat into their profits if they are not managed well. There are different layers of fees associated with a cryptocurrency exchange:- Trading Fees: The fees charged for every trade executed on the exchange. These fees are usually automatically deducted from the overall balance, which makes it hard to quantify the actual dollar amount since most trading occurs on crypto to crypto pairs.
- Withdrawal Fees: These are fees deducted from users’ overall balance during the withdrawal process, either to an external cryptocurrency wallet (in the case of withdrawing coins) or to the user’s bank account (withdrawing fiat currency). Both carries a different set of fees.
It is always wise to look at the fee structure of an exchange before deciding to trade on it.
5. Ease of UseThe user interface for a cryptocurrency exchange should be intuitive and easy-to-use, so that the user experience process is enhanced, especially for those new to the market.
A good exchange ensures that their platform is easy to navigate, with all the necessary tools and functionalities simple, usable and easily accessible.Top Seven Cryptocurrency Exchanges
In no particular order, here are some cryptocurrency exchanges that did well based on the above criteria.
1. Binance
Consistently ranked as the top cryptocurrency exchange based on trade volume, Binance was the fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange when it was first introduced. Aside from its smooth user interface, Binance offers one of the lowest trading fees in the market. Users even get a discount on trading fees if they own Binance’s native token, BNB.
Binance has a wide language support covering all major languages. Binance also has a wide variety of coins and token pairs available for trading. Customer support is also top notch, with user issues solved quickly.
2. eToroX
Probably the youngest exchange on the list, eToroX is the brainchild of eToro, the world’s largest social trading platform. Regulated by the Gibraltar FSC, eToroX offers a wide range of cryptocurrency trading pairs as well as a suite of tokenized fiat currencies for users to attain greater diversification.
A unique proposition of eToroX is that the user interface is customizable, plus you can lock any profits you make in a wide variety of available currency and commodity based stablecoins, including GBPX, EURX, AUSDX, RUBX, or even gold and silver.
Regarding security, eToroX has a team of top security experts, as well as leveraging such industry best practices as multisig and cold wallets. Liquidity on eToroX is very good, and constantly growing.
3. Coinbase
One of the few regulated cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase is one of the most popular trading platforms globally. With operations across 30 countries, Coinbase is perhaps the most prominent cryptocurrency exchange that accepts fiat currency, which is extremely impressive given the difficulty in securing licenses and authorization from countries.
The user interface of its platform is optimized for user-friendliness, allowing beginners to easily navigate through the exchange. A unique feature of Coinbase is that it offers insurance coverage for user funds in the event of loss or theft, which is a feature that almost no other exchange offers.
4. Kraken
One of the largest fiat-accepting cryptocurrency exchange globally, Kraken is prominent exchange that accepts a wide variety of fiat currencies such as USD, CAD, GBP and Yen. Kraken is know for its robust security measures such as utilizing on cold wallets and proprietary authorization. Another facet that Kraken excels is the comparative low fees that it offers for users on the platform.
5. Poloniex
Poloniex is one of the most renowned and oldest cryptocurrency exchange, offering a secure environment for cryptocurrency trading. One of the unique points of Poloniex is that it offers a rich set of advanced tools and functionalities for trading, which is a natural attraction for advanced and sophisticated traders.
There is also a lending facility in Poloniex for users to achieve a low-risk portfolio.
6. GeminiCreated by the Winklevoss twins, Gemini is a regulated cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States where fiat deposits are stored in an FDIC-insured financial institution. Although Gemini does not offer as much diversity of cryptocurrencies as Binance or Coinbase, it differentiates itself with a robust trading system that attracts institutional traders. This is reflected by their discounts aimed towards institutional trading. Additionally, all deposits and withdrawals are free-of-charge.
7. OKEx
OKEx has constantly been in the top three exchanges in terms of cryptocurrency trading values, with over 100 coins and tokens available for trading.
A unique element of OkEx is that it offers leverage trading and futures trading for users. In fact, it is one of the first cryptocurrency exchange that offers a futures trading facility for the cryptocurrency market.
ConclusionChoosing a cryptocurrency exchange can be an uphill task, especially given the wide variety of platforms to choose from. That being said, it is imperative to carefully assess the five factors mentioned above to accurately assess the credibility and strength of a cryptocurrency exchange.
About CoinGecko — Did you know the gecko also does some writing here? Hope you enjoy his writing. Follow the author on Twitter @coingecko-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Crypto exchanges are in their first iteration yet, and for many seem complicated to use. Many are cautious due to security issues, while the exchange interface with the customer sometimes is not easy. We liked this article, which is a clear explanation of what to see before choosing a crypto exchange to use and which ones are now dominating the market.
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BTC/USD has broken above $13,000 – already up some 11% on the day – and at the highest in over a year. At the time of writing, Bitcoin has reached a high of $13,296 and momentum looks robust.
The next levels to watch are $13,440, $15,530, and $17,160 before the all-time high just below $20,000.
All these lines of resistance either served as support or resistance lines back in the autumn of 2017 when Bitcoin prices were surging and in early 2018 when cryptocurrencies suffered a downfall.
The Relative Strength Index on the weekly chart is above 70 – reflecting overbought conditions – and implying a correction before the next move higher. Here is how the move and the next levels look on the Bitcoin weekly chart:
Here are additional targets as presented by Tomas Salles's latest analysis:Above the current price, the first resistance level is at $14,000 (price congestion resistance), then the second at $17,090 (price congestion resistance) and the third one at $19,800 (historic high close). Above this price level, the BTC/USD pair will go up freely.
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst After reading this article BTC went down a lot and up again, today 29th June at 11798. So it reached a ceiling and now is crawling again up. It is again not very easy to analyse crypto prices with the normal tools, as the market is fairly small, and the volatility very high. Take care, it is hot outside now!
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Bitcoin has set a new price high for 2019, reaching as high as $11,304 today before conceding a short-term period of profit taking.At 21:00 UTC on June 23, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization shot upwards on the daily chart, cementing a new high beyond June 22’s peak of $11,215.
The move to another 2019 high comes after bitcoin’s price dropped to as low as $10,416 on June 23 before another surge of buying pressure pushed prices back above $10,750 within the same day.
From then BTC bolstered 6 percent, rising above $11,000 at around 19:00 UTC on Sunday evening and then reaching over $11,300 two hours later. It’s currently changing hands at $10,768 as per CoinDesk’s price data.BTC’s 2019 bull run has already started off with a bang in recent weeks, a likely a combination of traders buying into their own fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) as well as institutions chasing the tail end announcement of Facebook’s
project Libra.
However, large levels of volume failed to accompany the rally, beginning at 97.6 billion traded over a 24-hour period and continued to decrease to as low as 67.5 billion by days end, meaning that the move was unsupported and a small sell-off from that point out, was definite.
Its “Real 10” volume – a metric that takes into account trading volume from exchanges reporting honest volume figures as identified in a report by Bitwise Asset Management – currently stands at $46.17 billion, a large difference, according to Messari.io.
Meanwhile, the rest of the market remains relatively flat today, with but a few in the top 20 posting gains. Cadano (ADA) and UNUS SED LEO (LEO) are the only two in the green within the top 20 at CoinMarketCap and are both posting 0.4-2.4 percent growth, respectively, over a 24-hour period.
In addition, the total market capitalization rose to a high of $331.8 billion, its highest point since July 31, 2018, while the market capitalization for altcoins is down $3.8 billion over a 24-hour period pointing to a preference in holding BTC above all else amongst the trading elite.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst FOMO is high on small investors while BTC price arises again. Forecasts: as in former times, the best answer is... who knows? We had already pointed some months ago that prices would recover on the second or better the third quarter of the year. More important, the global interest for blockchain and crypto is increasing. The virus is spreading.
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By CCN Markets: The bitcoin price rally refuses to let up, and the dominant cryptocurrency just soared above $11,000 for the first time since March 2018.Bitcoin Price Rushes to 15-Month High
Around 12:00 UTC, investors bid the bitcoin price up to $11,215.89 on US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The move pushed the asset up by 13 percent for the day, launching its month-to-date gains above 30 percent. The past 24 hours also saw bitcoin’s “real 10” volume, which eliminates suspicious trades, swell to $2.58 billion.
Bitcoin Surges Past the $11,000 Level For the First Time in nearly 15 Months | Source: TradingView
Following the upside move, the bitcoin price is now trading just 45 percent lower than its all-time high near $20,000, established in December 2017. Furthermore, the cryptocurrency has recovered by 260 percent from its 2018 low of $3,126, including a year-to-date return of more than 200 percent.Libra, Fed Rate Cut, & US-China Trade War Pump BTC
The bitcoin price started climbing higher on Wednesday soon after the Federal Reserve announced its plans to cut interest rates in July. As CCN reported, the Fed’s move left the US dollar in a weaker spot, sending the benchmark S&P 500 Index and especially the haven asset higher in the coming sessions.
Cryptocurrency analysts speculate that investors are looking at bitcoin as an alternative hedge, owing to the uncertainty over a trade dispute between the US and China.
Grayscale Investments stated in its new report that the ongoing tensions between the two economic superpowers left investors in China stranded with a weaker Chinese Yuan. In response, investors allegedly started hedging their capital into bitcoin. The report read:“While it is still very early in Bitcoin’s life cycle as an investable asset, we have identified evidence supporting the notion that it can serve as a hedge in a global liquidity crisis, particularly those that result in subsequent currency devaluations.”
A part of bitcoin’s bullish sentiment also came in the form of Libra, better known as the Facebook cryptocurrency. Jasper Lawler of London Capital Group told CNN that the Facebook token would act as a gateway to the crypto market for its 2 billion users. The head of research added:“Libra will expose 2 billion Facebook users to crypto. Because of its huge network of over 2 billion users, Facebook products cast a wide net. Libra will breed familiarity of cryptos to a much wider audience. Two billion people will now be much more open to Bitcoin and other altcoins.”
BTC at Risk of Reversal
BTC’s latest push to the upside has brought it closer to the wedge breakout area, as CCN discussed in previous analysis.
Bitcoin Close to Testing Falling Wedge Breakout Area | Source: TradingViewThere is a significant possibility of a reversal once bitcoin tests the $11,238-$11,779 area, the top of the falling wedge depicted in red, according to the daily RSI indicator, which is overbought.
A pullback, therefore, could push bitcoin towards the support area above $9,948. On the other hand, a break above the $11,238-$11,779 area could have bitcoin test $12,972 as interim upside target.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst FOMO is high. Any dump from now is a normal consequence of trading. Small investors should be careful. Those in crypto for long term know they just have to hodl and ride the waves. Our advice: always do your homework, don't act on feelings, don't invest what you can't afford to loose.
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June 22 — bitcoin (BTC) has crossed the $11,000 line for the first time since March last year today, according to Coin360. The leading cryptocurrency had surged past the $10,000 mark less than 24 hours ago.
Market visualization courtesy of Coin360Bitcoin is currently already approaching $11,100, up a notable almost 13 percent in the past 24 hours to press time. Meanwhile, major alts have also surged, with ETH seeing a multi-month high over $300.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360Yesterday, on June 21, professional trader Peter Brandt tweeted that bitcoin’s price is currently taking aim at $100,000 target.In his tweet, Brandt noted that bitcoin is on its fourth parabolic growth phase and is a market like no other:“Bitcoin takes aim at $100,000 target. $btcusd is experiencing its fourth parabolic phase dating back to 2010. No other market in my 45 years of trading has gone parabolic on a log chart in this manner. Bitcoin is a market like no other.”
Attached to the tweet, Brandt also published a table containing data about the price growth of bitcoin. According to the data contained in the image, from October 2011 to December 2017, bitcoin increased its value 9,765-fold.
Among the responses to the post there are numerous scam attempts, publicizing fake BTC and ETH giveaways from Brandt. At least one of the scams is promoted through verified Twitter profiles.
In late May, the co-founder of blockchain investment firm Kenetic predicted that the price of bitcoin will rally as high as $30,000 by the end of this year.
Earlier this month, the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group argued that it “looks like, perhaps, we are coming out of a crypto winter and we’ve entered a crypto spring,” in an interview with Bloomberg.
However, in an interview with Cointelegraph the same week, another industry commentator — ex-Wall Street executive and current blockchain researcher Tone Vays expressed skepticism about the fact that crypto winter is over.
Earlier this week, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab released the results of a survey showing that 19% of people globally have purchased cryptocurrency.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst The crypto market is starting to react after a long period of low prices. We expected this to happen around this time or in the 3Q19. Is this the start of a bullish market? Very early to say. We will even witness Pump and Dump days too. But the financial market and institutions are already starting to get into the blockchain and cryptos, with enormous consequences for its future.
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Perspective: Why Explaining Bitcoin And Blockchain To Users Is A Waste Of Time (bitcoinexchangeguide.com)Bitcoin was the dream of cypherpunks everywhere. A completely anonymous platform that allowed the transfer of value between participants without the need for any intermediaries. There are more people who fall in this category than ever before, even though they are not all attracted to Bitcoin.
Look at the way banks are increasingly seen as the enemy of the people by more and more of the general population to see that almost everyone is fed up with the status quo.
So why is it taking so long for truly decentralized blockchains to take over the world? Where is the revolution that was promised by tech luminaries who peddled tales of cryptocurrency changing the world overnight?Crypto Needs To Disappear From Marketing Blockchain
It's right here, in our daily lives and it is not going to move much quicker until quite a few things change. The first thing that needs to change is for cryptocurrency to stop being the face of blockchain. While many who are in the know will understand the nuances of cryptocurrency in its current state, many people simply follow what is being told on the news.- Bitcoin is nothing according to the best investor ever Warren Buffet.
- Warren Buffet was wrong; this “nothing” is now worth $17000.
- Aha! Buffet was right, Bitcoin crashed and everyone who bought it is poor now!
They could learn – everyone can learn if they are interested enough, but they won't. The vast majority of people want something that just works and cryptocurrency is too volatile for them to use it to its full potential. Tokens on the other hand… that people will be able to grasp much more easily.
Give people tokens to pay for in-game items and let them trade those items for more tokens. Allow them to use those tokens to buy things off of eBay and they will love it. No one needs to know it's cryptocurrency.Blockchain Needs To Stop Being The Focal Point Of Products
No one learns how to engineer a car to drive, but everyone still drives one. Few people know their way around a network or know how to code, yet everyone uses the internet daily without a problem. No one learns about how mobile technology works just to be able to understand their phones better.
Blockchain technology is mainly a back-end thing. It is important for banks to know how it works so they can use it for faster transactions. It is important for manufacturers to understand blockchain so they can improve their supply chain. It is important for investors to understand so they know what they are investing in.
Look at blockchain in terms of modern-day debit cards. They are an instant means of payment for everyone around the world. You swipe your card (or tap it as it were) and both you and the merchant know that your money has been transferred.
No one cares about the complex machinery that goes into making that one transaction work and how much companies have had to invest to make paying for small amounts with a debit card a viable option.It is the same for online services such as venmo and Paypal.
There isn't a single person who used their service who thought that they needed an in-depth explanation of how the service worked. All they cared is that it did and it was easy tog et up and running. The problem with many blockchain based services is that there will be too much hand-holding and explaining concepts.Technology Booms Have Been About Evolution, Not Revolution
Many people today seem to think that technology revolutions happen with a single product or idea when there is nothing further from the truth. While one person may be credited with an idea, there is a large list of people who improve on it to make it cheaper, more viable and eventually get to the point where the original investor becomes famous.
Not necessarily rich, but famous nonetheless.The weaving machine that kick-started the Industrial Revolution was the creation of one man. However, it was not half so fast or effective as the weaving machine just a decade later that had improvements by at least a dozen other inventors.
The Industrial Revolution only kicked into gear once all the component parts had been made to work as smoothly and as efficiently as possible.Bitcoin could be the next generation payment system. It might not.
It certainly ushered in a new age of computing and we have been seeing more and more differing blockchain projects that are improving on the basic tenets of what Bitcoin offered. Newer blockchains are faster, cheaper and have a multitude of uses… and most of all – the consumer never needs to know what they are.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst We all use Google search. Very few know HOW it works. The same should happen when Dapps and other digital products and solutions based on the blockchain start to be ubiquitous. Users want just solutions and don't worry much about what it makes it work. However, at this stage, we also believe the blockchain together with other emergent techs should be discussed and debated on multiple spheres, as they are fundamental for the 4th IR. Most of the 7 billion people in the world won't even notice, until tokenisation and other changes happen. Then we won't talk about the blockchain but on solutions, new economy and finance, new social constructs, a new paradigm.
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Binance In-House Cryptocurrency Launches Have Averaged 270% Gains - Bitcoinist.c... (bitcoinist.com)The Binance Launchpad platform has recorded gains of over 270% for its three Initial Exchange Offerings (IEO) this year. With such returns, it’s no surprise that demand is now rising and other exchanges are now copying the new model.
271% AVERAGE GAINS ON BINANCE LAUNCHPAD
Tokens of projects launched through Binance Launchpad have gained 271% of their IEO dollar price at the time of this writing.
So far, the platform has launched three projects, namely BitTorrent, Fetch.AI, and Celer Network.As seen on the table above, the tokens of every single one of them has seen its price skyrocket at the time it got listed on Binance.
During its IEO, BitTorrent Token (BTT) was sold at a price of $0.00012. As soon as it got listed, its price catapulted with about 330 percent. It has increased even more since, currently trading at 483 percent higher compared to its IEO dollar value. The cryptocurrency has also increased against Binance Coin (BNB). Presently, it marks gains of around 154 percent
.Fetch.AI (FET) token was sold at a price of $0.0867. Following its listing, its dollar price increased by 367 percent. Currently, FET is trading 119 percent higher compared to its IEO dollar price and 36 percent higher against BNB.
Celer Network (CELR) token was sold at a price of $0.0067 during its IEO. Its listing price was around $0.030 or about 350 percent higher.
At the time of this writing, CELR is trading at a price 213 percent higher compared to its IEO dollar value and 197 percent higher when trading against BNB.On average, the tokens were listed at a price 350 percent higher than their IEO dollar value.
Their ongoing performance is also somewhat impressive, as they’ve managed to retain a notably higher value, marking increases of 271 percent against the USD.DEMAND LIKELY TO RISE
Despite being undoubtedly successful for the projects themselves, Binance Launchpad has experienced continuous technical issues handling the high buying demand.In fact, it seems that people are getting more and more interested in participating, likely because of the returns outlined above.
Immediately after the last sale – that of Celer Network, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, CEO at Binance, said that it was “actually the highest buy demand sale we seen so far.
”Yet, out of 39,003 people, only 3,129 managed to buy CELR tokens, suggesting that less than 10 percent of everyone who attempted to buy actually managed to do so. The sentiment was similar throughout the previous sales as well.VIP ACCESS FOR BNB HODLERS COMING
Since then, Binance has come up with somewhat of a solution. Instead of handling the orders on “first-in-first-served” basis and coping with their technical issues, Binance has decided to conduct the sales using a lottery format.
As Bitcoinist reported, the platform will be implementing a BNB daily holding average criteria for users who want to get tickets to participate in the sales. These tickets will then be selected randomly, allowing their owners to purchase a pre-determined amount of tokens.OTHER EXCHANGES REPLICATING IEO MODEL
Other exchanges were quick to see the potential in having their in-house IEO factories.
KuCoin announced its so-called Spotlight platform and will host its first IEO on April 3rd. The model they are going for is more or less the same as it was on Binance Launchpad prior to their decision to implement a lottery-like format.
Huobi Global is another well-known exchange which has also boarded the new hypetrain.
Their platform is called Huobi Prime. Unlike KuCoin and Binance, however, they’ve taken a fairly different approach.Instead of conducting a “sale”, per se, Huobi Prime will directly list the new tokens for trading against USDT, Huobi Token (HT), BTC, and ETH.
Each sale will go through three preliminary trading rounds of 30 minutes where users will only be able to place regular market orders at a tradable price which is capped for each round. Once they are through, regular trading of the new token will be allowed.
Huobi Prime will have its first selective token listing on March 26th.It’s also worth noting that this new craze has had a splendid effect on the exchanges’ native tokens.
Binance Coin (BNB) has managed to more than tripple its price in the last three months. Huobi Token (HT) has surged by more than 130 percent in the same period, while KuCoin Shares (KCS) sees gains of about 120 percent.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst IEOs (Internal Exchange Offerings) are the new hot item in crypto offers..... Binance being at the tip of the spear. We believe is a different way of marketing an ICO, but in crypto trading new "names" seem to be the opportunity to earn profits in a market yet in bearish mood. What do you think?
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With billions of users worldwide, Facebook has the power to bring cryptocurrency well and truly into the mainstream ( iStock/The Independent )Facebook is reportedly preparing to launch its own version of bitcoin for use in its messaging applications, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram.
Could this “Facecoin” be the long-awaited breakthrough by a global technology giant into the lucrative market for retail financial services?
Or will it be yet another exaggerated “crypto” project, buying into the continuing excitement about decentralised peer-to-peer exchange but, in the end, not delivering very much?
Time will tell, but my two decades of research into the economics of payments makes me sceptical.We know little about Facebook’s plans. So far there is just one company statement about a new group set up to look into cryptocurrencies, reported by Bloomberg: “Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology.
This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share.”
Watch more
Facebook is working on its own cryptocurrency to rival bitcoinSome investigative journalism from Bloombergand The New York Times reveals a little more. Facecoin (and the similar “Gram” cryptocurrencybeing developed by the privacy focused messaging app Telegram) will apparently be a “stablecoin”.
Rather than having a fixed amount of currency that fluctuates in price, depending on demand, Facecoin will have a fixed price and the amount of it in circulation will vary. So unlike bitcoin it will not be a vehicle for speculation.
What will the fixed price be? Bloomberg reports it will be fixed against the dollar. The New York Times says that it will be against a combination of dollar, euro and yen.
Who will use it? Facebook is apparently focusing on providing a technology solution for the large and lucrative remittance market for payments into India. Will transactions in Facecoin be anonymous like those in bitcoin?
No, they will be associated with Facebook accounts, so they won’t be an easy means to avoid laws and regulations.
Reasons to be scepticalWhile this is a fascinating development, some scepticism is in order. If there is one common feature to the many hundreds of crypto and blockchain finance projects announced over the past four years, it is exaggerated early claims.
In one ongoing research project, I have found that of 103 projects announced since 2015 applying blockchain technologies to financial services, all but a handful have quietly disappeared.
None have yet been taken through to commercial-scale launch (although around half a dozen may achieve that by 2021).Is there anything about Facebook’s plans to suggest a different outcome?
The obvious parallel is with the Chinese payment solution WeChat Pay, globally the largest mobile and internet payment solution used by “900 million active users”.
In Beijing and Shanghai “even beggars have QR codes” that allow passers by to scan and give them money using their smartphones. The integration into the WeChat messaging system is what gave WeChat Pay the critical mass to achieve widespread acceptance.
Facecoin’s integration with WhatsApp and other Facebook services could support a similarly rapid take-off.
But WeChat Pay doesn’t involve cryptocurrency. It uses established server technologies to enable people to transfer money in and out of conventional bank accounts as well as to other users.
The New York Times reports, rather surprisingly, that Facecoin (unlike WeChat Pay) will be based on integration with cryptoexchanges, which trade conventional money for digital currencies, rather than with the conventional banking system.
But given that cryptoexchanges are coming under increasing regulatory pressure because of their lack of transparency and irregularities in how they operate, linking with them is hardly likely to encourage people to adopt Facecoin.
It is also difficult to make sense of the intended use of Facecoin for remittances. Major banks already send dollars virtually instantaneously and costlessly from one country to another. Costs and inefficiencies arise in the final mile when converting funds to local currency and allocating them to a local bank account or for cash collection.
The Facecoin technology will do nothing to address these problems.Who pays out?Another question mark is about the backing for Facecoin. Unlike bitcoin, which is not pegged to any other currency, Facecoin will need the backing of real money to maintain its fixed price.
The safest approach will be full reserving: for every $1 of Facecoin issued, Facebook could hold $1 of reserves in a segregated account.Fractional or partial reserving is also possible but who then guarantees the safety of those reserves?
If reserves do not cover withdrawals, who is then responsible and what compensation is there for holders of Facecoin? Facebook would need a banking licence and subject itself to the full burden of banking regulation. Ideally, reserves would be held with a central bank. But central banks will be reluctant to support a private currency.
Perhaps the biggest reason for scepticism comes from the challenges Facebook already faces over user data, privacy and authenticity. If Facebook takes as big a role in daily payments as it already has in personal communications and social media, then it will become an even bigger target for the growing antitrust movement that seeks to break up the tech giants.
Fundamental change is possible. Cryptocurrency technologies could be used to eliminate the instability of fractionally reserved banking. But this will have to be through a state currency replacing fractionally reserved bank transaction accounts and not through a private currency.
It would probably be wiser for Facebook to outsource Facecoin to an established international bank. But then, of course, this wouldn’t be such a major disruption of established financial services.
Alistair Milne is a professor of financial economics at Loughborough University. This article originally appeared on The Conversation-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Good article from a sceptic on FB future stable coin. There are many questions (and more doubts than certainties) on Facebook future crypto project. We will have to wait and see. however, what is important is to focus on the fact that the big ones are glimpsing the future, and that future is bringing a 4th IR where blockchain and crypto will play a definite role.
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Square CEO Jack Dorsey said he wants to hire a few cryptocurrency engineers and a designer, to conduct work that will contribute to advancing an accessible, Internet-based financial system that benefits the greater community.
The new employees be able to work from wherever they want, report directly to Dorsey, and can even be paid in Bitcoin, if they so choose.“I love this technology and community.
I’ve found it to be deeply principled, purpose-driven, edgy, and…really weird. Just like the early internet! I’m excited to get to learn more directly,” Dorsey tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.jack✔@jack#BitcoinTwitter and #CryptoTwitter! Square is hiring 3-4 crypto engineers and 1 designer to work full-time on open source contributions to the bitcoin/crypto ecosystem. Work from anywhere, report directly to me, and we can even pay you in bitcoin! Introducing @SqCrypto. Why?11.6K9:58 PM - Mar 20, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy
4,739 people are talking about this
Square already allows people to buy and sell Bitcoin on its Cash App, which is also a mobile payments platform that competes with Venmo.Dorsey said Square “has taken a lot from the open source community to get us here,” so this would be his way of giving back to the community—while also helping to further Square’s “broader interest” of having an accessible financial system for the Internet.
“This will be Square’s first open source initiative independent of our business objectives.
These folks will focus entirely on what’s best for the crypto community and individual economic empowerment, not on Square’s commercial interests,” Dorsey wrote. “All resulting work will be open and free.”-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Jack Dorsey (Twitter and Square CEO) announces this last experiment (growth hacking too?) with the laudable initiative of giving back to the open source community what they learnt from them. By sure, doing this, not only the open source community but Square will benefit too from it. Great thinking!
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Consider it confirmed: the Howey test is definitely the US Securities and Exchange Commission‘s (SECs) gold standard benchmark for deciding whether a cryptocurrency is in fact, a security.
“Security” is a term used for describing certain financial assets that can be traded. It can refer to any form of financial instrument, even cryptocurrencies and associated tokens.Volume 0% Chairman Jay Clayton finally responded to calls to clarify how the SEC approaches classifying cryptocurrencies as securities. A set of political representatives formally submitted concerns a few months back, which were supported by digital asset think-tank Coin Center.
His reply outlines the SECs stance clearly: the Howey test is its “litmus test” for detecting securities within the blockchain industry, and it’s entirely possible for digital assets once classified as securities to shed that definition altogether.This was enough for Coin Center to declare this a reinforcement of previous SEC statements, which deemed Ethereum (currently) too decentralized to be a security.
“This letter is another reference point for lawyers and developers to look to when determining how their project fits into current regulation,” Coin Center’s comms director Neeraj Agrawal told Hard Fork. “As far as reactions go: people welcome any clarity they can get.”What constitutes a security in the context of cryptocurrency
The Howey test comes as a result of a legal battle from 1946. It’s really a framework for determining whether a particular asset is considered to be an investment contract (security). It is commonly used to enforce federal securities law.
Clayton’s letter expressed that SEC regulators consider the “touchstone” of securities as “the presence of an investment in a common venture, premised on a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others.
”“Your letter also asks whether I agree with certain statements concerning digital tokens in Director Hinman’s June 2018 speech,” wrote Clayton. “I agree that the analysis of whether a digital asset is offered or sold as a security is not static […].
”Whether a digital asset is considered a security depends on the circumstances and facts surrounding the original investment. Clayton gave an example: when investors (who have “pooled” assets to contribute to funding a project) no longer expect a dev (or group of devs) to carry out managerial or entrepreneurial efforts, their investment may no longer be considered a security.
“A digital asset may be offered and sold initially as a security because it meets the definition of an investment contract, but that designation may change over time if the digital asset later is offered and sold in such a way that it will no longer meet that definition,” he added.The SEC is ‘policing these markets vigorously’
Clayton also took time to really hammer it home to entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency space. He noted many stakeholders have engaged with SEC regulators “constructively” and in “good faith,” but others have been preying on the excitement of retail investors to commit fraud.
“The Division of Enforcement has brought a number of important cases in this area, and I have asked the Division’s leadership to continue to police these markets vigorously and recommend enforcement actions against those who conduct ICOs or engage in other actions relating to digital assets in violation of the federal securities laws,” he warned.
Likely, Clayton is referring to a sudden string of settlements with fraudulent projects.
In particular, Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled were forced to pay a combined $750,000 for failing to disclose endorsement deals with the CentraTech cryptocurrency.
Around the same time, SEC authorities charged the founder of “decentralized” digital asset exchange EtherDelta with running an unregistered national securities exchange. He agreed to pay $300,000 in fines and penalties.
“The Commission acted swiftly to crack down on allegedly fraudulent activity in this space, particularly where the misconduct has targeted Main Street investors,” boasted Clayton.
“Regardless of the promise of distributed ledger technology, those who invest their hard-earned money in opportunities that fall within the scope of the federal securities laws deserve the full protections afforded under those laws.
”For the full letter, click here. For a breakdown of how cryptocurrency’s asset classification can change over time, click here.
Did you know? Hard Fork has its own stage at TNW2019, our tech conference in Amsterdam. Check it out.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst SEC stands on its Howey test to regulate tokens and cryptos hard way. That is why many ICOs are not open to American investors. SEC does well trying to curve fraud and scams, but should be also more open to adopt new strategies which embrace novelty.
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Facebook is reportedly planning to launch its own cryptocurrency within Whatsapp, which would allow users to frictionlessly transact with one another through the service without incurring fees.
According to Bloomberg, the new cryptocurrency will initially focus on the remittance market in India, where there are hundreds of millions of Whatsapp users and most financial transfers today are made via mobile payments. It's worth noting however that this coin won't be a typical cryptocurrency, it will be a 'stablecoin'.
Some kind of move into payments for the social media giant has been predicted ever since it appointed former PayPal president David Marcus to run its Messenger app in 2014. In May 2018, Marcus was then appointed to head up Facebook's blockchain initiatives.
He also sat on the board of crypto exchange Coinbase up until August 2018.
Another report from the New York Times suggests that this coin launch is expected to take place in the first half of 2019. Reportedly, the company has also spoken to exchanges about supporting the launch of the coin.
But Facebook is not alone in this space. Telegram, the secure messaging service favoured by crypto enthusiasts, Isis, and drug dealers alike, is also planning the launch of a within-app cryptocurrency soon, and so is its rival Signal.Why?
Initially focusing in India makes perfect sense for Whatsapp because there are less established payment structures in place than markets such as the US or the UK. In fact, although cash is still king in India, uptake of mobile technologies is spreading rapidly meaning that Whatsapp-enabled payments could enjoy fast and extensive market penetration.
At of last year, the country boasted a $400bn (£290bn) mobile wallet market, dominated by Paytm, India's biggest mobile payment company (part owned by Alibaba and Japan's Softbank) which has over 300 million registered users.
By launching in India first, Facebook is following in the footsteps of Google, who launched Tez (now named Google Pay), the company's first mobile payment service in India in 2017 before expanding into other countries.
Right now, there are reportedly 40 million monthly active users of Google Pay in India. What does Facebook's move signal? That the company aims to start competing with mobile payment services in India? Is this simply a trial ahead of a global launch?
It's hard to say exactly what Facebook is planning, but this fits neatly into the company's aim to infiltrate every aspect of our daily lives and become increasingly indispensable.What is a stablecoin?
Stablecoins are crypto coins with values pegged to that of an already existing currency or security. As the name would suggest, this ensures that the values of these coins are not subject to the wild fluctuations that affect currencies like bitcoin and ether.
Instead, the value of these coins only fluctuates at the same rate as the currency they are tied to, which is in most cases the US dollar. However, according to the New York Times, the Whatsapp coin would be pegged to a range of different foreign currencies.
Due to these features, stablecoins have proved popular recently, with a large number of new coins being launched in the past year. However, there have also been some high-profile flops, such as Tether and Basis, and the most used coins continue to be the older, more traditional forms of cryptocurrencies.
However, the financial clout and impressive technological know-how of Facebook may signal a new lease of life for the stablecoin market. The impact that this coin were to have if successful could be vast, given Facebook's huge potential reach into a receptive market of 2.4 billion monthly users.
But would these coins, linked to vast conglomerates such as Facebook, be truly decentralised as other cryptocurrencies are? It's likely that these coins would incorporate the best bits of crypto but probably be set up in a way as to be less decentralised than other coins.
This could involve privileging the Facebook management teams in decisions about the coin. Therefore, this would represent a departure from a truly decentralised world of cryptocurrency.
It's also unlikely these coins would be based on the same intensive 'proof-of-work' model that Bitcoin mining is based on, and instead may be closer to the premissioned blockchain networks popular in the enterprise.Will Facebook make money from this?
This to some extent depends how they orchestrate the model of the currency and its infrastructure. For coins that have been launched before, ICOs have been held where interested investors or people who would like to transact buy into a set amount of coins in exchange for whatever the value of the coin was at that time (something which has typically been set by demand).
The stable coin approach means that demand is less of a decisive factor, because value should remain steady regardless. However, if Facebook is creating a currency out of nowhere, then offering it to people in exchange for fiat currencies, the company will undoubtedly be making profit from the initial stages of the endeavour at least.-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst This is going to be a very interesting experiment on stable coins and remittance use cases. We are eager to see how other more established platforms like Google Pay and in Africa Mpesa et alia react to this. However, this is just a speck of what will happen when the 4th IR disrupt traditional banking. Governments and Central Banks are just realising this.
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Interview: Tokenization on the Blockchain with Former MD at Morgan Stanley - Coi... (coinnewslive.com)In an interview with CoinNewsLive, Patrick Springer, Former MD at Morgan Stanley discussed the future of asset tokenization on the blockchain and how will it change the financial markets.
Late last month we spoke to Patrick L. Springer, Advisor, Polybird Global Exchange on the future of cryptocurrencies and adoption of blockchain technology by big enterprises. In a follow-up conversation with CoinNewsLive, Springer discusses asset tokenization which has been identified as one of the next steps for large scale blockchain adoption.
CoinNewsLive (CNL): Asset tokenization: What is it and how will it change the financial markets – will it expand and open up the capital markets?
Springer: Asset tokenization is the process by which a financial asset is digitized and made available for exchange through blockchain technology.
The key words in the last sentence are digitized and Blockchain,and these two terms are enabling a trend that will be paradigm-shifting. Prior to the blockchain, there has been a finite way in which to exchange assets.
At the top end, an asset owner could list an instrument on a physical exchange, this would be limited mostly to equity and some types of debt securities; an elaborate trading and settlement system, and a somewhat costly one, has been created for this purpose.
Or it could be exchanged via a bank, who could form a loan or project financing syndicate with a party of entities the banks know. Finally, one could sell it to someone who is an acquaintance or through a lawyer, which is how most people buy or sell their #1 financial asset, their homes.
In each of these cases, a financial intermediary is needed to secure the transaction – the exchange, the bank, or the lawyer, respectively. Each of these methods has toll costs that need to be paid, and friction that may or may not lead to getting the best market-clearing price, for both the buyer and seller.
Digitizing an asset and securing it cryptographically via a blockchain can open new ways for assets to be exchanged and for investors to more specifically target their investments. With digitization, investments can be fractionalized into smaller denominations, making an investment available to larger numbers of investors, thereby making it potentially more liquid.
An example of this is a real estate project – from a large multi-billion-dollar mixed-use project to a new fifteen-unit condo project being constructed – it becomes possible via tokenization for more types of investors to participate in more types of real estate transactions.
Asset tokenization enables better micro-targeting of investments – for example, equity ownership vs. a coupon of cash flows, ability to buy an investment unit in Brooklyn and/or a unit in Miami, or a retail mall project in Arizona vs. a single-family unit in Colorado).
Asset tokenization has significant economies of scale that also reduce costs. Smart contracts on the blockchain will take on many of the legal and administrative functions of a transaction and will automate processes that until now require many steps, many hands, and a lot more time.
Automated rules via smart contracts will ensure that only appropriate investors – investors who meet regulatory requirements and financial suitability requirements – participate in an offering. All of this can reduce the toll costs I referenced above, and it reduces frictions.
For financial markets, historically this cost reduction has caused massive growth in financial markets driven by increased participation and higher turnover.
To be clear, however, asset tokenization is just getting started, and it will move and proceed in a stair-step pattern. Right now, the technology is being built to tokenize assets. But asset owners need help getting through the tokenization process, and there needs to be a marketplace where investors, especially institutional investors, can see, compare, and value different types of tokens.
In other words, a parallel system of digital capital markets advisors and a digital marketplace or marketplaces needs to be formed.
I am an advisor for Polybird Exchange, and this is where our business model resides. Remember that blockchain by design is decentralized by its nature, so the eco-system that will be created for digital assets may look quite different than the one we know for current asset markets today.
Patrick L Springer
CNL: Why Is it worth tokenizing company/rare assets?
Springer: In a world that is very concerned about inequality and asymmetrical access to financial opportunities, continued financial innovation is extremely important. There is no doubt that access to the global financial markets through stocks, bonds, ETFs, investment funds, and 401-Ks has made achieving risk and inflation-adjusted investment returns more possible for more people than ever before.
And for all those that think innovation has not gone far enough to democratize financial markets and improve investment access, then they should be very interested in tokenization and blockchain. Today’s institutional investors continuing to gravitate towards the markets for private securities, such as private equity and private credit, because they are having continued trouble making money in public markets dominated by ETFs and computer-based trading.
The markets for private securities are opaque, hard to access, and have limited price transparency and liquidity. Over time, more of these private securities will be digitized and made available on the Blockchain. More types of investors will be able to access these investments over time. This is very democratizing.
CNL: Why put stocks and bonds on the Blockchain?
Springer: There are two ways to look at this. One is that the current equity and debt markets are very efficient and will not need to change. It is infinitely easier for you to buy and sell a share of Apple than it is to buy or sell a car, a home, or a family antique. The needs case for digitizing the largest, currently traded equity securities is not here.
But there are many small companies that go public in off-exchange offerings, and there are many companies that avoid the costs of being a public company. These may find asset tokenization a financial opportunity. Separately, there are many parts of the publicly traded bond market where price transparency and liquidity are controlled by a very small number of dealers.
Have you ever tried to buy a municipal bond? Investors can only buy them in denominations of $5,000. Given the public finances of so many of our states, I can see the case that those securities should be fractionalized!
CNL: What else can be tokenized?
What are the benefits for these entities to do so? (i.e. movie financing, football teams, artwork?)
Springer: There are a lot of use cases for different types of assets, and there are use cases that have not even been thought of yet.Take the case of the biotech company, Agenus. This is a NASDAQ-listed biotech company with a market cap of about $450 million. Recall what I said about the efficiency of the capital markets for currently listed equities.
Well in January 2019, Agenus raised capital via a security token offering that offers investors a way to invest in a specific biotechnology product of theirs in return for a portion of potential future US sales of that product.
This has been offered to qualified investors via Atomic Capital, and so my understanding is that this has been done in conjunction with current US securities laws.
Want to get the latest crypto updates, analysis and breaking news? Follow us on Twitter (@CoinnewsLive).-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Very interesting. Who would tell us three or four years ago that we would be talking about asset Tokens, Security Token Offerings, crypto economy and market, as not only a game field but the potential future of financial and economic world in very few years time? Read this interview.
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Recommended: On Future Technologies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) i... (kashmirreader.com)The non Western world was not able to cope up with First and Second Industrial Revolution(IR) of 18th and 19th centuries. This had a searing resonance for South Asia:
We were not the gainers but victims. But , we are able to move along with the 3rd Industrial Revolution in the second half of 20th century (Thanks to the progress of Information and Communication Technology(ICT)).
Now the First and Second World countries are undergoing rapid slides in 4IR technologies. The first IR was triggered by the invention of steam engine, which led to mechanical production. The 2nd IR, catalyzed by electricity, and the assembly line made mass production feasible through the discovery and usage of electricity. The 3rd IR, from 1960’s had been driven by the computer, internet and digital technology.
The 4IR is being driven today by the following ten technologies:
1. Autonomous Robots
2. Simulation
3. Big data analytics
4. Augmented Reality
5. The Cloud
6. Cyber Security
7. Additive Manufacturing
8. Horizontal and Vertical Integration
9. The Internet of things, and
10. Artificial Intelligence.
Deep Blue, Sophia. Erica, and Alpha Go
We had earlier given only news value to the event when we heard about Deep Blue, a super computer developed by IBM in 1997 which defeated Garry Kasprov, the world chess champion. Now, the world is looking at Sophia, a Hong Kong made, now a Saudi Arabian citizen ‘robot’ named Sophia.
Erica is a TV anchor in Tokyo based channel services. It happened last year in China, Alpha Go, a Go programme designed by Google defeated the champion of Chinese ‘Go’ games. ‘Go’ is an ancient Chinese game like chess which has a large number of moves.
Everyone believed in the past even after Deep Blue that no computer can defeat Go player Lee Sedol. But Alpha Go defeated him in a straight set of 5 matches. This is the contemporary history of Artificial Intelligences and Robots which is unprecedented.
Another breakthrough that happened at the Annual international Conference on Intelligent Robots-2018 held in Madrid last week where Robot Erica conducted a job interview as an employer for job seekers which stunned the participants and visitors.
Elias, the Robotic teacher in Finland schools:
Now let us see how these modern 4IR technologies are effecting school and college classrooms. Take the case of Elias, the robotic teacher in Finland classrooms.
London based international news agency, Reuters recently reported that Finland schools deployed robots as teachers. Elias, the new language teacher at a Finish primary school, has endless patience for repetition, never makes a student embarrassed for asking a question, giving personal attention and individual care to each learner and delivery or imparting information is a better quality one.
Elias, this language teaching machine comprises a humanoid robot and mobile application. This robot was introduced as a pilot programme in the southern city of Tampere schools in Finland. Elias is not an ordinary teacher like us, it can understand and speak 23 languages and is equipped with software that allows it to understand students requirements and helps it to encourage learning.
This robot recognizes the pupils’ skill level and adjusts its questions accordingly. It also gives feedback to teachers about a student’s possible learning difficulties or deficiencies.
Elias, stands around a foot tall, and is based on ‘Soft Banks’ NAO humanoid interactive companion robot, with software developed by Utelias, a developer of educational software for social robots. The robots are in the pipeline or in the laboratories now.
There is a widespread concern over the potential impact of the 4IR on employment. Whether Elias can replace a teacher in the classroom?
It is a fact that 16 workers committed suicide recently at Taiwanese manufacturer, Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen which assembles Apple’s iPhones, and iPads. The Shenzhen alone now employs 60, 000 plus robots which replaced more than 1 lakh employees during the last 4 years.
What will be the classrooms of the future be like?
Emerging technologies such as cloud computing, augmented reality (AR) and 3D Printing are paving the way for the new classrooms. Virtual field trips are possible with augmented reality.
It will be very interesting for children to learn history when topics like Taj Mahal are being taught in primary classes. 3D printers in the classroom will lead to teachers being able to reconstruct complex models to teach theoretical concepts.
The digital library will be accessible even in a campus where there is no hardware library. With the help of cloud computing, schools will be setting up online learning platforms for students to log on an attend classes in a virtual environment. Social networks allow students to share their ideas freely, while teachers moderate.
Social networking tools will be incorporated to enhance collaboration and team building initiative. No doubt, laptops and smart phones will be replaced. An extremely light, paper thin, A 4-sized digital paper prototype will be used in future classrooms.
School Security Systems in American schools:
The recent school firing in the US opened the door for new debate on students’ security and safety at schools. The scientific and engineering community, however ,are proposing new technology driven security solutions using new biometric security processes, artificial intelligence and mobile Tele presence robots, voice recognition devices, unobstructive video and so on.
Tele-bot (Tele presence robots) designed for schools could provide pleasing, entertaining and educational devices, easily accepted into school community without fear of disrupting classroom activities or smooth school environment.
But now the question arises.
When it will happen here? It is a known fact that Qatar is the first county which made 5G services available now (2018). Let us explore and implore the technological breakthrough. The following examples which definitely open our eyes and bring this technology related developments happening worldwide into our subconscious mind.
We are the active customers of Uber taxi services. Aren’t we? What is Uber? Uber is only a software having no car of own but it is managing/regulates the largest taxi services in the world. Similarly, Airbnb is the largest network of hotels which operates in 190 countries or 34000 cities without having a single hotel ownership.
Paytm, Ola cabs, Oyo rooms and so on. are other examples.IBM Watson is a legal software which is replacing young lawyers in USA from their job. The same case of ‘Watson’, a healthcare software which can detect cancer faster than oncologists.
Visualize a situation in the near future with driverless cars or hybrid cars on the road which will dramatically reduce traffic density, air pollution as well as reducing the consumption of petroleum products by 90%.
The author is Principal, Doon International School, Srinagar. He can be reached at: [email protected]-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Developing and least developed countries are hoping the 4th IR coming will get them ready. They can't afford to loose another industrial revolution, and less this one which will fundamentally separate societies in a digital divide. Information is key, to raise a proper debate in all cultures. What is coming is transformative and disruptive.
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After three weeks of bulls, Bitcoin prices are yet to breach the $6,800–$7,200 main resistance zone. With this, bears are in control as Sep 5 bearish pattern overshadow buy attempts. Remember, this is printing at the time when investors, market influencers and traders are “over the top bullish”. This is all thanks to week ending Sep 23 double bar reversal pattern complete with volume expansion.
Latest Bitcoin News
At the United Nation’s 73rd General Debate, Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was very clear: Cryptocurrency is the inevitable future of money. This statement is true and ambitious as the Prime Minister himself. In less than one year, he has overseen the small Mediterranean country evolve to a small blockchain island. It is now a home to several exchanges like Binance and Huobi.
These new blockchain start-ups are thriving under Malta’s warm regulations supportive of cryptos. Muscat is at the forefront advocating for proper regulations that will allow for innovation in the blockchain space. He strongly believes that there is many more user case application of blockchain aside from being the future of money and as an effective filter between good and bad businesses.
Fortunately, Malta is not the only country in the world that’s a crypto safe haven. Japan has and continues to embrace innovation and not a threat to their economies as Mark Carney stated early this year. Funds as Fidelity, for example, believe cryptocurrencies and blockchain are at a “proof of concept” stage with limited user cases and they plan to explore.
While the space can self regulate, the involvement of government regulators who board the crypto bus for the “sake of ordinary investors” isn’t well received by crypto maximalist. All the same, currently cryptos are still in the development stage. Once they grow large enough they can function without oversight of the SEC or CFTC or courts and governments as Satoshi intended it to be.Bitcoin Price Analysis
Weekly Chart
There are two opposing views as far as price action is concerned. There are optimistic traders forecasting gains above $7,200 and 8,000 because of a single bull bar printing at $5,800–$6,000 support. On the other end, there are sentiment-free realists taking contrarian positions. Bitcoin, despite all the euphoria, is bearish and trending inside a descending wedge.
When we take a top down approach, buyers are literally struggling to add to week ending Sep 23 longs. By doing so, it means week ending Sep 9 overshadow are literally clipping gains giving bears a upper hand in an effort versus result scenario: Two back to back bullish gains didn’t reverse losses of a single bear bar of week ending Sep 9.
This is why, like in our previous Bitcoin price analysis, as long as prices are trading between $7,200 and $5,800 supports, we recommend staying off. Once there is a definitive break out in either direction, that’s when traders can begin ramping up trades. Depending on break out direction, first targets can be at $4,500 or July 2018 highs at $8,500.Daily Chart
In the daily chart, prices are in consolidation moving inside Sep 27 high low with caps at $6,800–$7,200. Regardless of prevailing sentiment, we retain a slight bullish to neutral stand in this time frame. From our early reiteration, we shall only suggest trades once there are moves above $6,800 and $7,200 on the upside.
This is when after BTC prices are trending above the wedge and the main resistance trend line in the weekly chart. At the moment, we remain neutral.
Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the author and aren’t investment advice. Trading of any form involves risk and so do your due diligence before making a trading decision.- By Admin
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BUYING AND SELLING, BUT NOT SPENDING. In 2013, San Francisco-based cryptocurrency company Ripple began releasing its coin, named XRP. Today, XRP is the third most popular cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization (an asset’s share of the total crypto market), lagging only behind only bitcoin and ether.
But Ripple has a problem, according to a report by The New York Times: While people will trade XRP, they won’t use it.I SEE XRP ALL AROUND ME. By use, we mean do anything other than buying or selling as speculative investments.
Since you can’t exactly use crypto at your neighborhood grocery store quite yet, Ripple is primarily focused on getting people to use their XRP to conduct international money transfers.
If I have US$2,000 that I want to send to my friend in London, I would convert my dollars to XRP, send it to my friend in the UK, who would then convert it to Euros (or whatever currency they want). Ripple has already partnered with banks and other financial institutions to make this happen.
One way to get people to use a currency? Make sure they have a lot of it. And Ripple is making sure people have a lot of XRP by giving it away. In March, Ripple donated $29 million worth of XRP to a charity to buy classroom supplies for U.S. schools.
During an appearance on Ellen in May, actor/Ripple investor Ashton Kutcher presented $4 million worth of XRP to The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund on behalf of Ripple.Ripple isn’t just donating XRP to charities, though. It’s also rewarding people who use XRP.
In October 2017, the company put $300 million in XRP into the RippleNet Accelerator Program, a program designed to reward financial institutions that use XRP. Then, in May, Ripple created Xpring, an initiative that helps fund the development of XRP-focused start-ups.FLUSH WITH XRP. Ripple can play such a big role in how people use XRP (and how much there is) because of how the coin is generated.
While the number of bitcoin transactions determines the number of bitcoins in the world (more transactions = more mining = more bitcoins), all the XRP in the world was simply created in 2013. At that time, Ripple generated 100 billion XRP, keeping 80 percent for itself.
This has led to allegations that the company can and has artificially influenced the XRP market, but it also means Ripple has plenty of XRP to throw around.Now, no one can say for sure whether Ripple’s many initiatives will actually help XRP move from a speculative investment to a often-used asset.
But given the bad publicity Ripple has recently faced — including criticism in a U.K. court and a class-action lawsuit in the U.S.— giving millions to charity should help the company improve its public image if nothing else.
READ MORE: Here’s Some Cryptocurrency. Now Please Use It. [The New York Times]-
Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Ripple and its XRP currency are successful in banking institutions but not yet in the normal use as an asset. The initiative to give away XRP through donations and other ways is unusual, but probably the way they have to spread its use beyond financial institutions. What is this going to mean for the future of XRP? Is people going to use it as a mean of transaction or a crypto asset?
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Recommended: Mike Butcher of TechCrunch: It Is up to the Industry to Get Its Own... (cointelegraph.com)Mike Butcher, an editor-at-large of TechCrunch is a pioneer of the tech and journalism industries. He has also started covering the crypto industry and blockchain technology, as — in his words — “that is effectively going to be a new way to the future.
”He first heard about crypto back in 2011 and it was ‘Bitcoin that got [him] interested’ in the space.’“I think it is sort of a general theme — decentralization. It is really fascinating, you know.
We had Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, effectively build centralized networks for the last 25 years of development of the internet and what we are doing now is we are looking for [the] decentralized players of the future.
I mean, the fascinating ideas: for instance, you can create the decentralized Uber, which will be an incredible kind of move. And the exciting thing about it is how we will have brand new actors. There is more collaboration between all of these projects than in previous systems, so that is why it is so amazing.
”Catherine Ross: Does the crypto space really resemble the beginning of the tech market? There’s been a lot of comparison to the ‘dotcom’ bubble.’
Mike Butcher: Yeah, it is very similar to previous bubbles in many ways. What is different about this one is the amount of money that is in the space.
Previously, in sort of mid-nineties [sic], in order to be able to work in the internet space, you had to raise proper, real money. And that was a different kind of era. But now, the money is effectively built into the bubble. And so that is why it is so fascinating and potentially dangerous for some people, given that there is such a lack of sophistication amongst people who want to be involved in this space — whether or not the’re investors or the people who want to be involved in the ICOs.
CR: Do you think the crypto industry is similar to the derivatives market?
MB: Well, there are some parallels out there.
CR: And do you think [crypto] will have the same fate?
MB: Well, I mean if you look at what is going to happen in the next year or so, crypto assets will probably eventually be regulated, like other kinds of assets — to some extent — depending on what they are. You’ve got some big players like Goldman Sachs becoming involved, launching their own [cryptocurrency] trading desk*.
So, that is clearly going to happen, and you have got some sovereign funds becoming involved as well. I think that there's the legitimacy coming, it is not there quite yet in some places. But it makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. You know, even [science fiction] writers have been talking about the idea of having global currencies, which are not the fiat currencies.
We already have credit in things like Star Trek and Star Wars. So it is clearly the idea that the time has come.
Mike Butcher at BlockShow, Berlin 2018In his speech at BlockShow in Berlin entitled ‘Disinformation Can Kill Crypto,’ Mike stressed the importance of creating the ‘trust’ toward the industry or “the public will return to centralized systems.
”CR: You talked about the danger of disinformation in the space, mentioning that it’s very important to build content platforms that people can trust. How do we achieve that?
MB: Well, I mean the way that the traditional financial media operates is that there is a separation of powers: between journalists who write content, news and advertising and commercial people. And they don’t talk to each other, right?
CR: Right!
MB: So, in fact, they are not allowed to talk to each other. And if they do talk to each other, that is a conflict of interests. The people who advertise on the website go through the commercial people by advertising, and they speak to the clients. When you write the content, you should not be talking to those people. You should be actually writing about what is going on, and then you are paid by the media organization.
That is how journalism has evolved over the last two hundred years or so, roughly. And if the media outlet is abiding by those rules, the separation of powers between the advertising and editorials, and if journalists are not being paid to write about the companies, and if they are being paid generally as a salary to write about what the news is, then that is ok. But if there is any change in that, if journalists are being paid to write specific stories, then that is not allowed, that is wrong.
CR: That is not journalism.
MB: That is not journalism! And right, so, don’t read those guys! So, just don’t read them. I’ve been shown [that] you guys are abiding by those rules. And so the market is always in the crypto moving [sic] every day, it is kind of [a] pretty crazy world out there. And it is up to those journalists that bad actors don’t get any promotion. And, like I said, there is independence out there.
One part of the problem, of course, is that journalists are not just a part of the media space anymore, you have all these Telegram groups, you have got all these WhatsApp groups, you have got online boards, or whatever it is, messaging services. That is where a lot of the problems develop.
But I do think that the part of my talk [at Blockshow] was that if we do not pay attention to this, then decentralization and the blockchain technology will not be trusted. It won’t ever go mainstream because it will not be trusted by anybody.
And so it is everybody’s job in the industry to promote good media, media that actually has the separation of powers in between advertising and editorial and that is independent. It is our job to do that and de-emphasize and detune the bad actors in the space.
CR: So what you mean is that you can read medium and any other blog articles, but you need to be very cautious about making an investment decision.
MB: Absolutely! I mean that is always out there, isn’t it? Checks and balances, always do your research. Even the most sophisticated investors today find it difficult to understand what is going on. And many of them are extremely cautious. Actually, they operate much more [cautiously] than the average person.
So, and I think what’s going to happen is that, if more problems continue to happen, then regulators will come in, then there actually will be some heavy-handing regulation and some of the more innovating aspects of what has happened in the last few years might be stamped on, you know, it might change. So, it is up to the industry to get its own house in order.
Mike Butcher at BlockShow, Berlin 2018
CR: You have obviously visited a lot of events and have met a lot of people from the [crypto] industry. Is the crypto community somehow different from others?
MB: It depends. I mean, if you take blockchain projects, they remind me of early internet space with developers coming up with the fascinating new ideas, and you have got that sort of people much more involved in the crypto [industry]. As a currency side of things, it is sort of different from the traditional services. It’s a startup space where you have got, you know, the entrepreneur and the venture capitalist. But the two are merging. If you think about six months ago or a year ago, the ICO space took place really quickly.
CR: Indeed.
MB: Everyone was actually quite blindsided by how quickly it took off. Now what’s going on with private sales, private ICOs is that you have got more traditional investors becoming involved at the earliest phases of an ICO and a private sale. And actually sometimes even [a] public ICO is being cancelled. Or the public sale is changed in sort of different order, sort of [a] 50/50 relationship later on with the public sale.If you want to build something, and if you want to be an entrepreneur, you don't just make money from the ICO, [...] you go build it.
MB: What you do is you bring another partner to help you build it. People who have networks and relationships you don't have as an entrepreneur. And it does require professional investors, because they have the contacts, they have the know how, the knowledge. They have the partnership relationships and they have the experience about how to scale the company. All the staff [are] familiar with the start up space. So the worlds are gradually starting to merge.
CR: You’ve visited quite a lot crypto events recently. What is the best way to benefit from one?
MB: It is always the same — as at any conference. Just learn how to network, learn how to introduce yourself well. I mean, the best way to do these things is just to introduce yourself, but talk about the issues [that], you know, display your knowledge. As soon as somebody starts pitching you, well, it is kind of discouraging. I think it is more interesting to have a conversation first. Show up how clever you are first.
CR: Great advice. Thank you, Mike! And thanks for being here with us!
MB: My pleasure!
https://cointelegraph.com/news/mike-butcher-of-techcrunch-it-is-up-to-the-industry-to-get-its-own-ho...
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The Token Foundry Team discusses tokens, cryptoeconomic systems, and potential token designs.
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Learning more about tokens, systems and designs from the Token Foundry Team, a "global platform for everyone to safely buy vetted tokens". Exciting seeing this young team discuss with confidence the future of digital economy through tokenisation, advocating by a token democratisation with well-designed tokens and token-powered networks. This is the type of disruption by positive change we need.
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A new set of web technologies are enabling a more distributed economic model based upon the blockchain and token markets.
These token markets greatly reduce our dependency on centralized organizations and expand markets as systems of distributed organization. In this video we explain the workings of the blockchain, tokens, distributed markets and token investments.
Produced by: http://complexitylabs.io
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst Tokens, tokenisation is at the core of Blockchain and the new digital economy. This is not just for programmers, developers, o crypto traders. Anyone interested in actively participating in the creation, development and running of the new economy needs to really understand what a token is, types of tokens, tokenisation, and what it means in real life for us in the very near future.
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Former regulator under Obama says more than 1,000 ICOs are not following the law... (technologyreview.com)
Gary Gensler, now a lecturer at MIT, says some popular cryptocurrencies should be regulated as securities.
- by Mike Orcutt
More than 100 cryptocurrency exchanges and over 1,000 initial coin offerings are operating outside US laws meant to protect investors from fraud, says Gary Gensler, who chaired the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014. This must end before some of the most promising financial applications of blockchains can be realized, Gensler—now a lecturer at MIT and senior advisor to MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative—told the audience today at MIT Technology Review’s Business of Blockchain conference.
Even popular cryptocurrencies XRP and Ether might be securities and thus subject to relatively strict regulation, he said.
More than $10 billion has been raised via ICOs, a blockchain-based fund-raising method. But a significant fraction of these are fraudulent, and many were launched in a way that is not compliant with US securities laws established in the 1930s.
To reach its full potential “blockchain technology will need to come within the public policy framework,” Gensler said. “We’re not in very good shape right now.”Blockchain technology has a chance to lower costs, lower risks, and remove unnecessary middlemen in the global financial system, said Gensler, but “the question is: how do we move forward?
” First, what’s needed is a lot more clarity in the marketplace, he said. Regulators across the globe are scrambling to make sense of ICOs, trying to determine whether they are traditional investments like stocks and bonds—or something else that shouldn’t be subject to securities rules.
In fact, in many cases the answer is that they are both, said Gensler. If investors are buying tokens with the expectation that they will appreciate in value based on the efforts of others, that matches the traditional legal definition of a security, he said.
Related Story
What the Hell Is an Initial Coin Offering?
The ICO boom looks a lot like a bubble, but at its heart is a genuine innovation.That could spell trouble ahead for Ripple's crypto-token, called XRP. That’s because the company has so much control over XRP’s monetary policy, and because many XRP holders are hoping the token will increase in value thanks to the efforts of the company’s developers, he said.
Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency network after Bitcoin, may also be a security, said Gensler, since its token was first sold in 2014, before the network actually launched. (Bitcoin, he said, does not have the features of a security.)
There are now a number of open questions for the SEC, said Gensler. Is it possible to design a so-called “utility token” that is solely about consumption, as opposed to investment? If developers sell tokens before a network launches, as a security, can it “evolve” into something other than a security after the network launches?
Cryptocurrency challenges the traditional definition of a security, and some rules may have to be “tailored” in some way, he said—“but I don’t think it means that we just exempt the whole field and say good luck to investors.”
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Tagged
Ethereum, Ripple, Business of Blockchain 2018, blockchain, regulation,cryptocurrency
Mike Orcutt Associate EditorI’m an associate editor at MIT Technology Review, focusing on the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchains. My reporting, which includes a twice-weekly, blockchain-focused email newsletter, Chain Letter… More- By Admin
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst The regulation's debate continues, mainly in USA, about ICOs and tokens as securities or not. This needs to be solved soon in order to clear the environment. Rules which don't stifle the market for the ecosystem should be welcomed, as they will protect both investors and start ups. In a decentralised ecosystem your opinion is important. What do you think?
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Robert Wynne
CONTRIBUTOR
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
It’s been a bad week, month and year for the technology known as Cryptocurrency.Earlier this week, Bitcoin prices plunged, yet again, after Twitter, Facebook and Google announced they will no longer accept ads for Initial Coin Offerings.
"We are committed to ensuring the safety of the Twitter community. As such, we have added a new policy for Twitter Ads relating to cryptocurrency," a Twitter spokesperson told CNBC Monday.
"Under this new policy, the advertisement of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and token sales will be prohibited globally. "If you’ve seen some of the ads on Twitter, Google and Facebook, this is quite insulting.
These tech giants take money from a variety of clients, and countries, so if the ICO market doesn’t make the grade, it looks really bad, like being kicked out of Studio 54 a year after it was shut down. Upon hearing the news about the advertising ban, many people probably wondered two things:- Is Bitcoin a scam?
- What’s an ICO?
“An ICO is a recently emerged concept of crowdfunding projects in the cryptocurrency and Blockchain industries, according to CoinTelegraph. “ICO stands for Initial Coin Offering. It’s an event, sometimes referred to as ‘crowdsale’, when a company releases its own cryptocurrency with a purpose of funding.
It usually releases a certain number of crypto-tokens and then sells those tokens to its intended audience, most commonly in exchange for Bitcoins, but it can be fiat money as well. As a result, the company gets the capital to fund the product development and the audience members get their crypto tokens’ shares.”
Unlike an IPO, or Initial Public Offering, the ICO doesn’t have to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other entities. Because most investors don’t understand the benefits, much less the definitions of what these products and technology offer, one solution would be a Cryptocurrency Council or a Blockchain trade group focused on public relations and marketing.
Bitcoin exchange shop at Grzegorzecka Street in Krakow, Poland on 15 March, 2018. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Here are some other groups that pool their resources to lobby legislators, the media and the general public:
The National Peach Council
American Petroleum
Institute
Solar Energy Industries Association
Specialty Coffee Association of America
International Solid Waste Association
California Avocado Commission
American Dental Association
If the industry wants to be taken seriously, they should educate the public on their technology and embark upon a PR campaign. The topics could include ease of transactions, safety, reliability, the democracy of a decentralized financial network, lower transaction fees, and more.
The Bitcoin Foundation is one such group. They define their mission to "coordinates the efforts of the members of the Bitcoin community, helping to create awareness of the benefits of Bitcoin, how to use it and its related technology requirements, for technologists, regulators, the media and everyone else globally."
In February, CryptoUK was announced. It will be “a self-regulatory trade body to set standards for the volatile sector. The group’s founding members includes trading platforms, exchanges, intermediaries, and asset managers, among other sorts of firms.”
These two advocacy groups seem like a good start, but without healthy and consistent public relations efforts, they may not succeed. Too much bad news coupled with public ignorance or misunderstanding can’t be battled with regulations alone.
Here’s what's happening now – bad news hits the market, Bitcoin and similar currencies lose value, competitors to the blockchain technology (banks, credit card companies, etc.) pile on, and there’s no official worldwide trade group to fight back.
Because many people still don’t know the difference between blockchain and Bitcoin, baubles and beads, my previous column on the PR Battle for Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency gained some traction. My friend and former client, attorney Sky Moore, succinctly defined the terms in his Forbes column:- "Blockchains are permanent records of transactions that are recorded on chains of individual computers (“blocks,” and thus the name “blockchain”). By creating a permanent digital record over an entire chain, blockchains permit instant verification and authentication of any information, including contracts, account information, currency transactions, and records of stock ownership.”
- “Cryptocurrency means any digital medium of exchange, generally traded using a blockchain. A cryptocurrency only has value to the extent that people are willing to accept it in exchange for something else, like dollars.”
- Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, and it also introduced and used blockchain technology."
If there are going to be future Bitcoins, the industry needs to organize, educate and lobby. Otherwise, the industry gambles on becoming the next Betamax, and Bitcoins will be used like pennies stuffed into those metallic press machines found at the zoo or the local amusement park.
There’s still time to avoid this development. Recent prices for Bitcoin dipped below $8,000, but that’s still much higher than $1,100, roughly the price from one year ago, according to Coindesk. Of course, pessimists will note the price topped $17,000 as recently as January.
If the industry is serious about propping up their financials and their reputations, they won’t wait much longer to create a credible -- and fast acting -- public relations trade group focused on education and promotion to publicize their benefits.
Otherwise, investors in cryptocurrency may not be able to buy a bushel of peaches. Or some delicious California avocados.
Robert Wynne owns a public relations and events agency in Redondo Beach, CA. He is the author of the Amazon bestselling book, "Straight Talk About Public Relations."
Discover more from Forbes here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2018/03/29/blockchain-and-the-cryptocurrency-business-need-...- By Admin
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Francisco Gimeno - BC Analyst "You must be a good person, but you have to appear to be a good person too", Saint Augustine stated already in the 5th century AD. #Blockchain and #crypto are hailed the best thing after invention of the wheel, beer and bed, by evangelists and enthusiasts, but a lot of education, promotion and lobbying is needed to be recognised by the financial actors and the public as it, in order to really make it the motor of the new society.