Potential for growth drives institutions into Bitcoin

People from all walks of life are investing in digital currencies, whether it’s the cryptocurrencies themselves or the idea of ​​diversifying their portfolios. If you are familiar with this concept and are interested in what is happening, here are some basic concepts and considerations for investing in cryptocurrencies.

What cryptocurrencies are available and how can I get them?

With a market value of about $ 278 billion, Bitcoin is the most established cryptocurrency. Ethereum is second with a market value of more than $ 74 billion. In addition to these two currencies, there are a number of other options, including Ripple ($ 28 billion), Litecoin ($ 17 billion) and MIOTA ($ 13 billion).

As the first to enter the market, there are many exchanges for Bitcoin trading all over the world. BitStamp and Coinbase are two well-known exchanges in the United States. Bitcoin.de is a European stock exchange. If you are interested in trading other digital currencies along with Bitcoin, then the crypto market is a place where you can find all digital currencies in one place. Here is a list of exchanges by 24-hour trading volume.

What options do I have to save my money?

Another important point is the storage of coins. One option, of course, is to keep them on the stock exchange where you bought them. However, you need to be careful when choosing an exchange. The popularity of digital currencies has resulted in the emergence of many new, unknown exchanges everywhere. Take the time to do the necessary research to avoid scammers.

Another option for cryptocurrencies is to be able to keep them yourself. One of the safest options to save your investment is hardware wallets. It also allows companies like Ledger to store Bitcoins and a number of other digital currencies.

How is the market and how can I learn more about it?

The cryptocurrency market is changing a lot. The changing nature of the market makes it more suitable for long-term play.

There are many established news sites that provide information on digital currencies, including Coindesk, Business Insider, Coin Telegraph and Cryptocoin News. In addition to these sites, there are many Twitter accounts that tweet about digital currencies, including @BitcoinRTs and @AltCoinCalendar.

Digital currencies aim to disrupt the traditional currency and commodity markets. While these currencies are still a long way off, the success of Bitcoins and Ethereum has proven to be a real interest in the concept. Understanding the basics of cryptocurrency investing will help you move in the right direction.

The popularity of digital currency is growing day by day. Bitcoin is one of the well-known cryptocurrencies. This allows the people involved to earn and receive currency without any regulation by a bank or central authority. Transactions take place directly between users.

Currently, cryptocurrency has its own special user segment, and the interest in searching for cryptocurrency or Bitcoin is growing rapidly. This is due to the following advantages of using cryptocurrency:

• Digital currencies are preferred because they are more secure than other currencies. Only the owner has access to the account, and he simply has to send the payment to the merchants. There is no need to disclose his details. Therefore, in this case, the risk of identity theft or fraud is low.

• Provides maximum privacy and security to the user as no bank or central agency monitors transactions.

• No third party participation provides lower transaction fees for the user.

As a business, you need to target better positions in the SERPs to stay ahead. It would be a costly mistake to miss search results on Google. SEO will help you rank your website higher in search engine results. This will result in a higher volume of targeted traffic and a qualified leader for you. More customers means more customers and more revenue.

For companies that use digital currencies, SEO is little different from traditional SEO. You need to be unique with both organic and paid search results and make sure your digital currency website brings quality traffic and conversions.

The following steps are important to optimize your website:

Monitor your keywords regularly

Make sure you use the most competitive keyword on the market. You can specify Bitcoin, Bitcoin value, Bitcoin price, Ripple, dash and so on. And adjust your content accordingly. Offering less competitive keywords may be a more effective strategy than offering highly competitive keywords in paid search.

Create Consistent Content

Fresh content not only brings back old visitors, but also provides more content to read on Google. More content will allow you to use more and more relevant keywords and help improve your rankings in search engines. Posting regular articles / blogs would help inform and educate your visitors and build trust between them. It would also encourage them to use digital currency more easily.

Analyze your competition

Checking your opponent’s performance will help you not to lag behind in the game. You can use the various tools available online and learn about your competitor’s promotion strategies and their results. Get information about your opponent and compare where he performed better. Investigate its organic and paid keywords and make appropriate adjustments.

A business can do its own SEO or it is advisable to hire Digital Marketing Agency Those who are experienced in search engine optimization services for digital currency.

Today’s Forex trading is known as one of the most profitable ways to make money online. All you need to trade Forex is a computer with an Internet connection and an account with a Forex broker. Because the market is open 24 hours a day (5.5 days a week), Forex traders are mostly free, regardless of place and time. Despite the high daily turnover (about $ 2 trillion per day), it is surprising to know that only a few currencies are actively traded: the US dollar, the Australian dollar, the Japanese yen, the British pound, the Swiss franc, the Canadian dollar and the euro dollar.

As a matter of fact, since FOREX trading was opened to the public in 1998, it has been traded mainly in large international banks. According to the Wall Street Journal Europe, 73% of trading volume is covered by ten major banks. Deutsche Bank, the leader in the table, covered 17% of total foreign exchange transactions; UBS in second place, Citi Group in third place; occupies 12.5% ​​and 7.5% of the market. Other major financial partners on the list are HSBC, Barclays, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Coldman Sachs, ABN Amro and Morgan Stanley.

About half of the transactions for the market participants segment were strictly between dealers (ie the Bank or a major currency dealer); others are mainly between dealers and non-financial institutions.

In practice, traders often use one or more trading systems / programs for online Forex trading. These programs are often included in the package when you open an account with Forex brokers. In short, this software works as follows: The Forex trading program connects to the brokerage system via the Internet, currency prices are updated live, and you call trading through the program. Such a trading program often requires a minimum of computer power, so it can be used on most home computers today as long as it is connected to the Internet.

Here are some key things to look for in most Forex trading programs:

1. Dealing Rates window: Display the prices of currency pairs with live updates. This window usually shows the high and low market.

2. Open the Tasks window: Indicate the number of tickets (trades) you have purchased. Basic information such as ticket number (trade reference number), trade amount, currency, open positions, current close position and orders are usually displayed in this window.

3. Closed Tasks window: Indicate the number of tickets (trades) you have sold. A good trading program will show you in this window a summary of your deal, for example, gross profit / loss, open / garden positions, the amount of the trade, as well as the amount of interest.

4. Account window: A window showing your general status. Your account balance, capital balance, daily profit / loss, gross profit / loss, usable margin and real capital. Note the usable margin of this window. Always keep enough margin to avoid “margin calls” that force you to close all deals.

5. Automated Trading Orders: Normally trading order functions are included in Forex trading software. For Forex trading, the stop loss order and the limit order are the two most commonly used functions.

Automated trading orders in Forex trading

Limit orders:

As a trader, you can place these orders whenever you want to buy / sell the currency at a better price compared to the current market. Limit orders are used to automatically win when the price reaches a certain level. For example, the current EUR / USD is at 1.2693 and your pre-set limit order is to sell it all at 1.2700. When the price reaches 1.2700, the order will be processed automatically.

It is important to learn that limit orders can only be placed at a minimum distance from the current market price. Also, if the limit order price tag is set more than the minimum allowable distance, such order can be canceled or changed at any time.

Stop orders:

These are automated orders, known as stop orders, or sometimes stop damage orders, used to limit and limit open position losses. It can also be used to make a profit in your trade when the market goes in the direction you like.

Stop orders work in the same way to limit sales orders, pre-determining what the lowest price will be sold in certain deals. For example, with the EUR / USD stop order at 1.2685 at 1.2693, if the price touches 1.2685, the system will sell your USD share. In this case, the price is guaranteed at 1.2685, which means that even if the market sinks very fast and falls below 1.2685, you can still sell your money at the price you set earlier.

The Stop command works perfectly for managing your risk profile. However, it is recommended to use the order carefully, because it provides a room for the market maker to deceive your money.

Since the article is intended for beginners in Forex trading, you are probably one of the beginners looking for some learning resources in Forex trading. Apparently, there is no immediate solution to make you a professional trader. The answer will only be education. Take everything you need to learn this new trading skill well – practice everything you learn with a demo account before you think about being “alive” with your own money. All you need to attend seminars, e-books, the Internet, as well as video courses.

Although there will be market corrections in the cryptocurrency market in 2018, everyone agrees that the best is yet to come. There are many activities in the market that change the flow for the better. Anyone who invests in the cryptocurrency market with the right analysis and the right dose of optimism can earn millions from it. The cryptocurrency market is here to stay for the long term. In this article, we present you five positive factors that can boost future innovations and market value in cryptocurrencies.

1. Innovation in measurement

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency on the market. It has the maximum number of users and the highest value. It dominates the entire value chain of the cryptocurrency system. However, it is not without problems. Its main bottleneck is that it can handle only six or seven operations per second. For comparison, credit card transactions are a few thousand per second. As can be seen, there are opportunities to improve the scale of operations. On top of blockchain technology, it is possible to increase the volume of transactions per second with the help of peer to peer operating networks.

2. Legal ICOs

Although there are cryptocurrencies on the market with a fixed value, newer coins are being created to serve a specific purpose. Coins such as IOTA are designed to help the Internet of Things market in the exchange of energy currencies. Some coins address cybersecurity by providing encrypted digital warehouses to store money.

New ICOs offer innovative solutions that disrupt existing markets and add value to transactions. They also gain market share with easy-to-use exchanges and reliable back-end operations. In exchange, they innovate in terms of technology, using more specialized equipment for both mining and the financial market, giving investors more freedom and choice.

3. Clarity on regulation

In the current scenario, most governments are studying the impact of cryptocurrencies on society and how its benefits can be calculated for society as a whole. According to the results of research, we can expect reasonable results.

Few governments are already taking the path of legalizing and regulating cryptocurrency markets like any other market. This will prevent ignorant retail investors from losing money and protect them from losses. In 2018, legislation is expected to emerge that will stimulate the growth of cryptocurrency. This will allow it to become more widespread in the future.

4. Growth in application

Almost every industry has a great interest in the application of blockchain technology. Some startups use digital wallets, debit cards for cryptocurrencies, and so on. offers innovative solutions such as. This will increase the number of traders willing to trade in cryptocurrencies, which in turn will increase the number of users.

The more people rely on this system, the stronger the reputation of cryptocurrencies as a means of operation. While some startups may not survive, they will make a positive contribution to the overall health of a competitive and innovative market.

5. Investments from financial institutions

Many international banks are watching the cryptocurrency scene. This could lead to institutional investors entering the market. The inflow of significant institutional investments will give impetus to the next stage of cryptocurrency growth. This has captured the imagination of many banks and financial institutions.

As surprises and bottlenecks around cryptocurrencies decrease, they will become more attractive to traditional investors. This will lead to a lot of dynamism and liquidity, which is very important for any growing financial market. Cryptocurrency will become the de facto currency for transactions around the world.

Forex investing is becoming more popular day by day. The number of Forex investors is growing every year as an exponent. I will explain to you the reasons for its popularity.

Profit: Well, the first reason is obvious profit. Profit is the main reason for any investment. Currency trading provides income that you can never get with simple investments, savings accounts, time deposits, marketing, stock markets, stocks, real estate and other types of investments.

Invest as much as you want: There are no restrictions on the amount of investment in Forex. You can invest as much as you want. You can even start forex trading with a very small initial investment. Well, a small investment will not save you much, but still this feature is very useful for new forex investors. You can even start your forex account with an initial investment of $ 30. There is no maximum limit.

Work 24 hours: There is no start or end time for the Forex market. You can invest in forex at any time. Works 24 hours.

Accessibility: You can do all forex transactions online. There is no need to travel from one place to another. All you need to work is a laptop and a fast internet connection. All programs used in Forex trading are very user friendly. Even an inexperienced user can easily handle them. No special training is required to make operations efficient.

Narrow options: Most currency trades revolve around eight currencies, including the Australian dollar, the US dollar, the New Zealand dollar, the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc, the Canadian dollar, the British pound and the euro. Thus, unlike the stock market, there is a very narrow range of options. This reduces confusion and simplifies the decision-making process.

Fluid: This is a huge market. The daily turnover of the Forex market is about $ 4 trillion. Large-scale operations take place every day. Thus, you will never encounter a situation where no one is interested in selling or buying a particular currency. Currency flow continues.

Leverage: Most forex brokers offer you the Leverage option. I will explain the meaning of Leverage for readers who are new to forex investing. Leverage is a tool provided by forex brokers where you can trade with borrowed capital. If the leverage is 1: 200, it means that the broker will invest 200 times your investment. So you can make a good profit with a small investment. However, Leverage also increases the risk, so it should be used tactically.

Cryptocurrency has been around for a while, and there are many articles and articles about the basics of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency has not only prospered, but also opened up as a new and reliable opportunity for investors. The cryptocurrency market is still young, but mature enough to shed the necessary amount of data for analysis and forecast trends. While considered a major gamble as the most volatile market and investment, it has now become predictable to a certain point, and Bitcoin futures are proof of that. Many concepts of the exchange have now been applied to the cryptocurrency market with some changes and modifications. This proves to us that many people are mastering the cryptocurrency market every day, and now more than 500 million investors are involved. Although the total market value of the cryptocurrency market is $ 286.14 billion, it is about 1/65 of the stock market at the time of writing, and despite its age and the existence of already established financial markets, its market potential is very high given its success. The reason for this is that people are beginning to believe in technology and products that support cryptocurrency. This also means that cryptocurrency technology has proven itself, and companies have agreed to invest their assets in the form of cryptocurrency money or tokens. With the success of Bitcoin, the concept of cryptocurrency has become a success. Bitcoin, previously the only cryptocurrency, now accounts for only 37.6% of the total cryptocurrency market. The reason is the emergence of new cryptocurrencies and the success of projects that support them. This does not mean that Bitcoin has failed, in fact, that Bitcoin’s market capitalization has increased, but rather that the cryptocurrency market as a whole has expanded.
cryptocurrency live market
These facts are enough to prove the success of cryptocurrencies and their market. And in fact, investing in the crypto market is now considered as secure as investing in a retirement plan for some. Therefore, what we need from now on are tools for analyzing the cryptocurrency market. There are many such tools that allow you to analyze this market in a similar way to the stock market, which provides similar dimensions. Including coin market cover, coin tracker, cryptocurrency and investment. Although these measurements are considered simple, they provide important information about the cryptocurrency in question. For example, a high market value indicates a strong project, a high 24-hour volume high demand, and a total supply of cryptocurrency coins in circulation. Another important indicator is the volatility of the cryptocurrency. Volatility is how much the price of a cryptocurrency changes. The cryptocurrency market is considered to be very volatile, withdrawing cash at a time can bring a lot of profit or pull your hair. So what we are looking for is a cryptocurrency that is stable enough to give us time to make a calculated decision. Currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ethereum-classic (especially not) are considered stable. To be stable, they must be strong enough not to be unreliable or simply cease to exist in the market. These features make cryptocurrency reliable, and the most reliable Cryptocurrencies are used as a form of liquidity.
ethereum price
When it comes to the cryptocurrency market, volatility goes hand in hand, but its most important feature is decentralization. The cryptocurrency market is decentralized, which does not mean that a fall in the price of one cryptocurrency is a downward trend of any other cryptocurrency. Thus, it gives us an opportunity in the form of so-called mutual funds. This is the concept of managing the portfolio of the cryptocurrencies you invest in. The idea is to spread your investment to multiple Cryptocurrencies to reduce the risk if any cryptocurrency starts with a bear run.

Similar to this concept is the concept of indices in the cryptocurrency market. Indexes provide a standard reference point for the market as a whole. The idea is to choose the best currencies on the market and distribute investments among them. These selected cryptocurrencies change if the index is dynamic and takes into account only the best currencies. For example, if the ‘X’ currency falls to 11th place in the cryptocurrency market, the index, which includes the first 10 currencies, will no longer consider the ‘X’ currency, but will replace it with the ‘Y’ currency. Some providers, such as Cci30 and Crypto20, have tokenized these Crypto indices. While this may seem like a good idea to some, others argue that there are some preconditions for investing in these tokens, such as requiring a minimum investment. While others, such as cryptocurrency, provide methodology and index value along with currency components, the investor is free to deposit the amount he or she wants, otherwise he or she may choose not to invest in the cryptocurrency included in the index. Thus, indices provide a choice to further smooth the volatility and reduce the risk involved.

The result

The cryptocurrency market may seem risky at first glance, and many may still doubt its authenticity, but the maturity it has achieved in the short time that this market has existed is astonishing and sufficient evidence for its authenticity. The biggest concern for investors is volatility, which is addressed in the form of indices.

One of the main principles of blockchain technology is to provide users with inviolable privacy. Bitcoin was the first decentralized cryptocurrency to rely on this basis to sell itself to a wider audience in need of a virtual currency that was then free from government interference.

Unfortunately, along the way, Bitcoin has proven to be rich in a number of weaknesses, including scalability and a changing blockchain. All transactions and addresses are written in a blockchain, making it easy for everyone to combine points and disclose users’ personal details based on existing records. Some government and non-government agencies are already using blockchain analytics to read data on the Bitcoin platform.

These shortcomings have led developers to look at alternative blockchain technologies with improved security and speed. One of these projects is Monero, usually represented by an XMR ticker.

What is Monero?

Monero is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency project whose main goal is to provide better privacy than other blockchain ecosystems. This technology protects users’ information through secret addresses and call signatures.

The hidden address refers to the creation of a single address for a solo transaction. No two addresses can be linked to the same transaction. Accepted coins go to a completely different address and make the whole process uncertain for an outside observer.

An alarm signature, on the other hand, involves mixing account keys with public keys, thus creating a “ring” of multiple signature holders. This means that the monitoring agent cannot link the signature to a specific account. Unlike cryptography (a mathematical method of securing crypto projects), the ring signature is not a new child in the block. Its principles were researched and documented in 2001 by the Weizmann Institute and MIT.

Cryptography has undoubtedly won the hearts of many developers and blockchain enthusiasts, but the truth is that it is still a new tool with fewer uses. Monero has distinguished itself as a legitimate project worth adopting because it uses the already tested Ring signature technology.

Here’s what you need to know before you start trading Monero

Monero market

The Monero market is similar to the market of other cryptocurrencies. If you want to buy it, Kraken, Poloniex and Bitfinex are some of the exchanges to visit. Poloniex was the first to adopt it, followed by Bitfinex and finally Kraken.

This virtual currency seems to be mostly tied against the dollar or cryptocurrencies. Some of the available pairs include XMR / USD, XMR / BTC, XMR / EUR, XMR / XBT and more. The trading volume and liquidity of this currency are very good statistics.

One of the good things about XMR is that anyone can participate in its mining, either individually or by joining a mining pool. Any computer with significantly better processing power can mine Monero blocks with a few sobs. Don’t worry about going for ASICS (application-specific integrated circuits), which are currently mandatory for Bitcoin mining.

Price volatility

Although it is a huge cryptocurrency network, it is not so special when it comes to volatility. Almost all altcoins are extremely volatile. This should not worry any enthusiastic trader, because this factor makes them profitable in the first place – you buy when prices fall and sell when there is an upward trend.

In January 2015, XMR went for $ 0.25, then ran up to $ 60 in May 2017 and is now bowling above $ 300. The Monero coin, along with other cryptocurrencies, recorded an ATH (all-time high) of $ 475 on Jan. 7 before falling as low as $ 300. At the time of this writing, almost all decentralized currencies are in the process of price correction, with Bitcoin rising from a spectacular $ 19,000 ATH to $ 10-11,000.

Fungibility and acceptance

Thanks to its ability to offer reliable privacy, XMR has been adopted by many people to easily replace their coins with other currencies. Simply put, Monero can easily be sold for something else.

All bitcoins in the Bitcoin Blockchain are recorded, and therefore, in the event of an event such as theft, each coin involved cannot be exchanged by distracting them from working. With Monero, you can’t separate one coin from another. Therefore, no seller can reject any of them, because it is associated with a bad event.

The Monero blockchain is currently one of the most trending cryptocurrencies with a significant number of followers. Like most other blockchain projects, its future looks bright despite the government’s ongoing repression. As an investor, you need to do the necessary research and study before trading with any Cryptocurrency. If possible, seek the help of financial experts to help you get on the right track.

The foreign exchange or Forex market is one of the largest markets in the world in terms of both volume and transaction amounts. Forex, of course, offers many opportunities to earn large amounts of money and do it quickly.

However, there is the same amount of risk in losing at the same rate and at the same speed. This article aims to introduce you to automated Forex trading to live in this ruthless market and increase your chances of success.

The Importance of Psychology in Forex Trading

There are many trading strategies you can adopt or develop to increase your chances of success and give you a better chance of survival. Regardless of the strategy you choose, psychology plays an important role in the success or failure of any Forex trader.

The psychological aspect of forex trading is that most traders find the hardest part to master. It is estimated that less than one in ten Forex traders survive to succeed in this market. The main factor in the failure of the vast majority of people who try Forex is the psychological aspects of trading.

New traders who follow the recommended steps to get started suffer from this mentality. They did their research on the basics of Forex trading; opened a demo account; they tested several strategies; and chose the one that brought the best income. However, despite all the preparations, when it comes to trading with their real money, this is a completely different story.

It is common for an inexperienced trader to open a trade too early, close too late or vice versa. Results? Every time you work on a demo account, the “perfect” strategy suddenly explodes and your capital begins to decline. Certainly not an explosive strategy; it is a trader’s reaction to the psychological aspects of trading valuable capital.

Automated Forex trading

One of the important aspects of Forex trading is that the process can be automated. Doing so removes all the pressure from the trader and their very human flaws! Automation trading is handed over to the Expert Advisor (EA).

So what is EA? Metatrader is an MQL-programmed program designed to work with the Forex trading platform. It is placed by linking the EA to the appropriate trading schedule and allowing you to trade according to your strategy.

The beauty of EA is that it will automatically trade your business without hesitation as a human trader can. Nine out of ten unsuccessful traders will follow your strategy without suffering from the psychological aspects of Forex trading. As long as you keep it online, it will continue to trade 24 hours a day (when markets are open).

Programming and installation of EA

You can learn MQL yourself to program EA, or hire a computer programmer to do it for you. On sites like Fiverr or Upwork, you can find very affordable and talented programmers.

When you program your EA, it must be posted online and allowed to work around the clock. Instead of running your computer constantly, consider using a Virtual Personal Server (VPS).

The VPS can be deployed anywhere globally and allows your EA to work 24 hours a day for about $ 10 a month. You can even find a broker that offers a free VPS service. Once you have your VPS, log in, install MT4, connect the EA to the appropriate trading schedule, and start automated trading.

Optimize your trade

Regardless of the effectiveness of your strategy, you will always have some losing trades. The key to success is to optimize the EA to minimize these losses. To do this, you can use MT4 commercial copying software. This program transfers Forex trades from one MT4 platform to another, and you can assign the program only to transfer successful trading operations.

You will want to install two MT4 platforms, one for your Real-Money account and the other for your Demo account. The EA is launched on a demo account and the copying program is loaded on two MT4 platforms. Assigning a copying program to transfer only successful (positive value) trades will significantly increase your successful trading ratio. All losing auctions remain in the demo account, and this is the best place for them!

This year, we can see that cryptocurrencies are moving up and down on a daily basis, up to 15% of the value. Such price changes are known as volatility. What if … this is completely normal and sudden changes are one of the features of cryptocurrencies that allow them to make good profits?

First of all, cryptocurrencies have recently become popular, so all the news and rumors about them are “hot”. After every statement by government officials about regulating or banning the cryptocurrency market, we are witnessing large price movements.

Second, the nature of cryptocurrencies is more like a “storehouse of value” (as in the past with gold) – many investors see them as a backup investment option in stocks, physical assets such as gold and fiat (traditional) currencies. The transfer rate also affects the volatility of the cryptocurrency. Transfers with the fastest ones take even a few seconds (up to a minute), which makes them an excellent asset for short-term trading, if there is currently no good trend for other types of assets.

One thing to keep in mind is that this speed is in line with the lifetime trends of cryptocurrencies. In ordinary markets, trends can last for months or even years – even for days or hours.

This takes us to the next point – even if we are talking about a market with hundreds of billions of dollars, it is still a very small amount compared to the traditional currency market or the daily trading volume of stocks. Therefore, a single investor trading 100 million shares on the stock exchange will not cause a major price change, but it is an important and noticeable transaction in the cryptocurrency market.

Because cryptocurrencies are digital assets, they are subject to technical and software updates of cryptocurrency features or the expansion of blockchain partnerships that make it more attractive to potential investors (for example, activating SegWit doubles the value of Bitcoin).

The combination of these elements in the price of cryptocurrencies can be several hours, days, weeks, etc. are the reasons why we observe such large price changes during

But answering the question from the first paragraph – one of the classic rules of trading is to buy cheap, sell expensive – so the presence of short but strong trends every day (instead of weaker trends lasting weeks or months, as in stocks) gives more chances. to get a decent income if used properly.

In 2008, after the financial crisis, an article entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” was published, detailing the concepts of payment systems. Bitcoin was born. Bitcoin has attracted worldwide attention using blockchain technology and as an alternative to fiat currencies and commodities. Called the next best technology after the Internet, blockchain has offered solutions to issues we haven’t been able to solve or see in the last few decades. I’m not going to explore the technical side of this, but some of the articles and videos I recommend are:

How Bitcoin works under the hood

A subtle introduction to blockchain technology

Have you ever wondered how Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) actually works?

To date, to be precise, on February 5, Chinese authorities have introduced a new set of rules banning cryptocurrency. The Chinese government has already done so last year, but many have prevented it with foreign currencies. It has now launched a powerful “Great Wall of China” to block access to foreign currencies to prevent its citizens from conducting any cryptocurrency transactions.

To learn more about the Chinese government’s position, let’s go back to 2013, when bitcoin became popular among Chinese citizens a few years ago and prices rose. Concerned about price volatility and speculation, the People’s Bank of China and five other government ministries issued an official statement in December 2013 entitled “Bitcoin Financial Risk Prevention Notice” (Link in Mandarin). Several points were highlighted:

1. Bitcoin is not an official currency, but a virtual commodity that cannot be used in the open market due to various factors such as limited supply, anonymity and lack of a centralized issuer.

2. All banks and financial institutions are prohibited from offering Bitcoin-related financial services or engaging in Bitcoin-related trading activities.

3. All companies and websites offering Bitcoin-related services must be registered with the appropriate government ministries.

4. Due to the anonymity and cross-border nature of Bitcoin, organizations that provide Bitcoin-related services should take preventive measures, such as KYC, to prevent money laundering. Any suspicious activity, including fraud, gambling and money laundering, must be reported to the authorities.

5. Organizations that provide Bitcoin-related services should inform the public about Bitcoin and the technology behind it, and should not confuse the public with misinformation.

In Layman’s language, Bitcoin is classified as a virtual commodity (for example, in-game loans), which can be bought or sold in its original form and cannot be exchanged for fiat currency. It cannot be defined as money – something that serves as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a storehouse of value.

Although the announcement was made in 2013, it is still relevant in relation to the Chinese government’s attitude towards Bitcoin, and as noted, there is no indication that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency will be banned. Instead, regulation and education about Bitcoin and blockchain will play a role in the Chinese crypto market.

A similar announcement was made in January 2017, emphasizing once again that Bitcoin is a virtual commodity, not a currency. In September 2017, the initial coin offer (ICOs) boom led to the publication of a separate statement entitled “Financial Risk Prevention Notice for Issued Tokens”. ICOs were soon banned and Chinese stock exchanges were investigated and eventually closed. (Hindsight 20/20, they made the right decision to ban ICOs and stop pointless gambling). Another blow to China’s cryptocurrency community came in January 2018, when mining operations faced severe pressure due to excessive electricity consumption.

Although there is no official explanation for the cryptocurrency crackdown, capital controls, illegal activities and protection of citizens from financial risk are among the main reasons cited by experts. Indeed, Chinese regulators have tightened controls to limit capital inflows and to limit domestic inflows, such as exit limits and regulating foreign direct investment. Anonymity and ease of cross-border transactions have made cryptocurrency a favorite tool for money laundering and fraud.

Since 2011, China has played a key role in the meteoric rise and fall of Bitcoin. At its peak, China accounted for more than 95% of global Bitcoin trading and three-quarters of mining operations. With the advent of regulators to control trade and mining operations, China’s dominance has diminished significantly in exchange for stability.

Countries such as Korea and India are following these pressures, and now the future of cryptocurrency is being overshadowed. (I will repeat my point here: countries regulate and do not ban cryptocurrencies). Undoubtedly, in the coming months we will see more countries join to curb the stormy cryptocurrency market. Indeed, some kind of order was long overdue. Over the past year, cryptocurrencies have experienced unprecedented price volatility, and ICOs literally happen every day. In 2017, total market capitalization rose from $ 18 billion in January to $ 828 billion.

Nevertheless, the Chinese community is in a surprisingly good mood, despite pressure. Online and offline communities are flourishing (I have personally attended several events and visited some firms) and blockchain startups are booming all over China.

Large blockchain companies such as NEO, QTUM and VeChain are attracting a lot of attention in the country. Startups like Nebulas, High Performance Blockchain (HPB) and Bibox are also quite attractive. Even giants like Alibaba and Tencent are exploring the possibility of blockchain to improve their platforms. The list goes on and on, but you understand me; It will be GOOD!

The Chinese government is also adopting blockchain technology and has stepped up its efforts in recent years to support the creation of a blockchain ecosystem.

In China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), he called for the development of promising technologies, including blockchain and artificial intelligence. It also plans to strengthen research on regulation, cloud computing and the application of fintech in big data. Even the People’s Bank of China is testing a prototype blockchain-based digital currency; however, it is still being accepted by Chinese citizens, presumably to be a centralized digital currency stuck with some encryption technology.

The launch of the Secure Blockchain Open Laboratory by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as well as the China Blockchain Technology and Industry Development Forum, is another initiative of the Chinese government to support the development of blockchain in China.

The latest report by the China Blockchain Research Center, “China Blockchain Development Report 2018” (English version at the link), details the development of the blockchain industry in China in 2017, including various measures taken to regulate cryptocurrency on the mainland. In a separate section, the report highlighted the optimistic outlook of the blockchain industry and the massive attention it received in 2017 from VCs and the Chinese government.

In summary, the Chinese government has shown a positive attitude towards blockchain technology, despite its application to cryptocurrency and mining operations. China wants to control cryptocurrency, and China will gain control. The re-introduction of regulators was aimed at protecting citizens from the financial risk of cryptocurrencies and limiting capital inflows. Currently, it is legal for Chinese citizens to keep cryptocurrencies, but they are not allowed to carry out any form of transaction; therefore, the exchange is prohibited. As the market stabilizes in the coming months (or years), we will no doubt see a revival of the Chinese crypto market. Blockchain and cryptocurrency go hand in hand (except for the private chain where the token is unnecessary). So countries can’t ban cryptocurrency without banning the awesome blockchain technology!

One thing we can all agree on is that the blockchain is still in its infancy. We have a lot of exciting developments ahead of us, and now is definitely the best time to lay the foundation for a blockchain world.

Finally, HODL!