Without a doubt, cryptocurrency and blockchain have been one of the hottest topics between 2017 and 2018. Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that requires the use of encryption techniques to control the generation of units of money and also verify funds transfer. Interestingly, cryptocurrencies operate without relying on a central bank. On the other hand, blockchain is a digital record in which cryptocurrency transactions are documented publicly and chronologically. The cryptocurrency technology today offers a different process of moving money across corporations, consumers, and governments without the need for middlemen and intermediaries. For instance, Bitcoin was introduced as a means of cutting the middleman by forming a new currency without the need for any monetary institutions. Also, the new technology has been vital in the avoidance of unnecessary interchange fees. Hence, due to our extensive knowledge about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the New Ventures’ division of Standard Pacific Capital has the aptitude to do your investing.
Because cryptocurrencies are covered on the news on a daily basis recently, most people are interested in investing. Precisely, investing in Bitcoin can be fun, profitable and rewarding; yet, there are significant risks involved. For instance, Bitcoin and Ethereum recorded 940% and 3404% growth respectively as of November 2017. Interested investors have been flocking into the digital currency marketplace, and according to reports by Coinbase, the digital wallet, the app receives more than 100, 000 signups from new users every day. The Bitcoin architecture, the blockchain, as well as altcoins (Bitcoin alternatives) have been a disruption to the intermediaries and acting in the same manner as the central banks (Xavier et al. 67). The general view is that the crypto trade is considerably hyped and requires the understanding of the rudiments before investing. Some people argue that Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value and, therefore, cannot be evaluated. Nevertheless, there have been numerous signs recently of legitimacy, which depict positive growth in the forthcoming years. For instance, many people have been considering the launch of Bitcoin futures on CME and CBOE as a considerable achievement that will take cryptocurrency into the mainstream.
Notably, you as the investor will have numerous options to bet on Bitcoin through the use of more traditional financial vehicles. Moreover, Bitcoin exchange has intensified in countries like Japan and South Korea, which are creating a considerable cryptocurrency market. Once the large-scale cryptocurrency exchange emerges, there will be an exponential growth in the local currency markets in both countries (Luther 559). To start, it is recommendable that you gain familiarity with the market controls prices of renowned currencies. Kindly note that the cryptocurrency market is exceptionally speculative, staying up-to-date with circulating information is imperative (Luther 560). At first, investing in cryptocurrency appears like a gamble, but you can become a successful investor. The vital requirement is to learn about each token as well as the underlying technologies and projects.
The first rule of spending on cryptocurrencies is “do not invest what you can’t afford to lose.” Precisely, this is a crucial piece of advice I was given when I first gained interest in the stipulated marketplace. Limiting your ventures to your disposable revenue saves you the stress of risking too much money in the worst-case scenario. However, do not allow this to scare you because the benefits are as high as the risks. Therefore, I have developed a principle that it might be imprudent to invest everything you have in cryptocurrencies but it is also unwise not to spend anything. For a variety of other reasons, you should capitalize on cryptocurrencies. Firstly, if you have interests in a specific technology or venture, procuring their currency is an excellent way of demonstrating your support. Besides, it contributes to a financial system’s vision that is free from the inaccuracy of any significant body.
Once you are decided on venturing into cryptocurrencies, I propose investing a little amount of cash in a common currency like bitcoin. The Coinbase usually is the best digital currency wallet, and there you can start spending with as low as $10 or $100. Doing so will help you see your percentage gains or losses more easily. Also, be prepared to deliver personal data so that the platform can authenticate your identity. Therefore, the overriding principle is to buy low and sell high. After that, your profits will be the variance between the expenses while buying and selling each currency. It is advisable to move your investment over to other platforms such as GDAX, a specialized trading platform the Coinbase makers. Note that this step will provide you with the capability to trade with a much lower exchange fee of about 0.16% compared to 5%.
However, the emergency of cryptocurrencies has a very high similarity with the emergence of the internet. In other words, both have undoubtedly many parallels. Just like the internet, the digital currencies such as Bitcoin are compelled by the core technology advances as well as a new and open architecture; that is the Bitcoin blockchain. Similar to the internet, this technology is intended to be regionalized, with “layers”. As such, each layer is distinct from an interoperable open procedure on top of which companies and individuals will be able to build products and services. In the initial stages of internet expansion, there were many technologies competing. Therefore, it is imperative to specify which blockchain one is stipulating. Lastly, the strength of the blockchain technology, just like the internet, depends on the network that everybody is using. In other words, we might be talking about “the blockchain” in future like we talk about “the” internet.
Admittedly, Blockchain technology has less likelihood of capturing the public mind just like the colorful preliminary wave of online modernization did. Moreover, its influence will be fundamentally behind the scenes. Nonetheless, the blockchain potential is vast: I see blockchain becoming a disseminated platform that can assist us in reshaping the business world of business. Blockchain’s profits, which include better security, efficacy, and speed, are enthusiastically applicable to the public sector administrations. The technologies probably help elucidate why so many administrative leaders are aggressively exploring how to use it in government. Undoubtedly, blockchain experimentations in the public domain are speeding up globally.
Approximately three years ago, agencies in many countries such as Canada, USA, Brazil, the United Kingdom, India, and China were running tests, pilots, and trials exploring both the design’s general usefulness as a foundation for government service delivery and attainment. Also, these countries are developing discrete blockchain-based applications to be used internally. The applications, often exceptional to the specific situations of a country or region, are in expansion around the world in an increasing range of use cases. For instance, in the United Arab Emirates, the government is inspecting a more extensive range of use cases. These include use cases for trade, business registration, and central bank procedures. On the other hand, Estonia, a country that is generally noted as the leader in tech knowledge and e-services, the government is conducting blockchain-based resolutions to be used for voting, health care, and identity management.
In the Delaware state in the U.S., many businesses choose to integrate piloting a blockchain-based business registry method while exploring shared issuance. Notably, this use was confirmed by the state legislation passed in July 2017. The country approved the trade and upkeep of business stock on a blockchain. Also, the United States has several centralized agencies, including the Homeland Security Department, General Services Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services have publicized blockchain packages. Texas, New York, and Illinois are some of the states that are also testing blockchain submissions (Zhang et al., 25). Therefore, many businesses, individuals, and governments are seeking to understand the idea of venturing into this new investment. In all the above cases, blockchain has the prospect of creating value irrespective of the asset or transactions involved.
Many government frontrunners are aggressively involved with blockchain investment risks and benefits evaluations. However, more are yet to start exploring blockchain and probably have a partial comprehension of what it comprises and what sort of issues it comes with. The problem is that most people only read a few sources about a new development and start investing in it. Hence, my appeal to you is that you should allow our group to spend based on our evaluation of the benefits. Please do not consider the general features and advantages. When thinking about blockchain, it is crucial to contemplate the transaction part of it. Most organizations have conventionally recorded dealings in ledgers, which use lock and key. The ledgers are characteristically secluded to protect their precision and sanctity.
Most importantly, each business maintains their separate records when trading, which is used for independent verification of information. Well, blockchain is the heart of the ledger, but one with an alteration because it is built-in confidence. Blockchain acts as a circulated accord ledger, at once both public and trusted. Upon companies’ creation of distributed trust via the consent protocol mutually agreed upon, they also create distributed trust through a communally agreed-upon consent protocol which is hypothetically transformative. Therefore, releasing the ledger from its segregation limitations, just like the World Wide Web, unconstrained information and communications are transformed into business, governments, and personal lives are crucial.
It will take time before we see how blockchain will affect the public and the consumers. Peer-to-peer connections authentication on the blockchain will indicate the largest change. Putting into consideration the Open Bazaar, which is a decentralized peer-to-peer ecommerce application that operates on the Bitcoin block chain, we can come up with various observations. This application enables anyone to buy or sell any commodity to any other person worldwide with the exclusion of fees or rules imposed by the intermediaries. It introduces openness, giving hopes to the society that it will provide a new level of independence, enablement and reaching others except intermediaries at the center to tax, control or censor. It will mark a new era characterized by the ability to manipulate our identity. Each consumer will be in a position to be whatever he or she wants, with the ability to be private, public or anonymous. That is, they will have the ability to own their individuality.
The cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is still in its early days of prospected maturity. The blockchain software, policy, and environment create the proficiencies that software designers can exploit to write the new breed of submissions that are dispersed and living on the blockchain from the word go. By way of equivalence, today, Java has become one of the most common programming languages available. Whenever you want to write an application, there is a high likelihood that you write it using Java. The Java advent in the 90s was crucial because it permitted web creators to write applications without worrying about the kind of computers they were going to run on because Java was neutral. In comparison, the blockchain developers are still working on increasing its efficiency; hence, we are still in early development where there is need to comprehend how to program it.