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Crypto Economy News

Here are the Best Bitcoin Alternatives: 4 Promising Altcoins

Following the success of Bitcoin, more and more substitutes of this cryptocurrency started to appear, known under the name of “Altcoins”. At the present time, there are more than 4,000 altcoins available to investors and this could make it harder for people to decide which is the best alternative to Bitcoin. That’s exactly why we came up with a list of four best such options that you can choose from, depending on your needs. In order to make sure that you select the best option, you first need to be aware of what kind of features you are looking for in your cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Cash

This altcoin is quite similar to Bitcoin from many points of view, with a major difference in the size of the blocks, as Bitcoin had a 1MB block size, while Bitcoin Cash (BCH) had 8MB blocks. This year in May, the size of BCH’s blocks was expanded one more time and it is now 32MB. BCH joined the market in 2017 on 1st of August and it was the first Bitcoin hard fork to appear.

At the moment, BCH is the cryptocurrency that is the most broadly recognized by vendors and when it comes to market capitalization, Bitcoin Cash remained in the top 5 cryptocurrencies ever since it came into the market. These days, several crypto investors believe that BCH is one of the best Bitcoin alternatives.

Ethereum

Ethereum appeared on the market in 2015, being the first cryptocurrency to provide smart contracts, which are self-initiated protocols that reside on the blockchain. Even though these contracts are normal these days, it wasn’t always like this in the past. Because it introduced smart contract capabilities, this altcoin was actually the first second-generation cryptocurrency.

It seems that more and more analysts believe that Ethereum will someday manage to be superior to Bitcoin when it comes to market capitalization. One of the crypto professionals that is anticipating this change is Roger Ver, also known as Bitcoin Jesus.

There is another thing that Ethereum is taking the credit for and that is the present-day boom in Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Currently, the ERC-20 token protocol of this altcoin is undoubtedly the most extensively used token creation platform. The funny thing is that the creators of ERC-20 initially produced this protocol only for intercompany use. However, once the executives of Ethereum realized that there is a great public demand for this kind of protocol, they made the decision to make it public. Ethereum is definitely one of the best alternatives to Bitcoin.

Stellar Lumens

This cryptocurrency entered the market in 2014, on July 31st, and the development team is run by Joyce Kim and Jed McCaleb. The main focus of Stellar Lumens is to create an open global financial network. Moreover, this altcoin is using credit anchors in order to make fund exchanges happen easier, without needing a third party approval.

Based on what we’ve seen recently, Stellar Lumens seems to have attracted some important partnerships with companies from all over the world, so we should expect a lot from this Bitcoin alternative in the future.

EOS

Dan Larimer, who is the founder of the project, has also co-founded Bitshares and Steemit, and the development team of EOS is Blockone. According to the developers, the EOS tokens can use the resources of the EOS platform, such as improved usability, scalability and flexibility, compared to previously created cryptocurrencies like Ethereum.

EOS is known for entering the market after it hosted an ICO that lasted for a year and which managed to raise more than four billion USD. Different from Bitcoin, EOS tokens do not perform any functions. The EOS platform is acting more like an operating system, which allows the execution and development, as well as the hosting of dApps – commercial-scale decentralized apps. A great advantage of EOS is that it has a Proof-of-Stake mining system and thus does not require that much computing power.

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Crypto News

Cryptocurrency Exchange Platforms Gathered To Create VCA To Self-Regulate Cryptocurrencies Market Across The US

A group of cryptocurrency exchange platforms operating across the United States created the Virtual Merchandise Association (VCA), with the objective of achieving self-regulation of the cryptocurrencies market in the country, as a consequence of the pressure exerted by regulatory bodies such as the CFTC and the SEC.

Virtual Merchandise Association (VCA) has the primary objective to prevent fraud and manipulation in the cryptocurrencies market

An inaugural meeting of the Association is scheduled for September, bringing together some of the important cryptocurrency exchange platforms in the US, including bitFlyer, Bittrex, Gemini, and Bitstamp. The latter is a company that currently operates in Europe and could enter the North American market through this association.

According to the official press release, the VCA will work with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) which, in June, announced that it would launch an investigation on cryptocurrency exchange companies, including Bitstamp, for possible market manipulation.

In this regard, the establishment of the VCA could respond to the growing governmental pressure on crypto trading companies and controversy surrounding the regulation of digital assets.

The VCA will seek to create a self-regulatory organization (SRO) to monitor the performance of the cryptocurrencies market to develop industry standards and promote transparency in the cryptocurrencies market.

Cryptocurrencies are considered commodities across the US, hence the VCA’s intention to operate in this country

Depending on the legislation of each country in part, specific crypto coins may or may not be considered commodities. It is usual that the main cryptos, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), to be considered merchandise. In other cases, some crypto tokens are deemed financial securities, because they promise a future profit.

After a long controversy to determine under what type of traditional assets cryptocurrencies should be classified and what kind of regulations should be applied across the US, in October 2017, the CTFC recognized cryptocurrencies as commodities, hence the VCA’s intention to operate in the United States.

To date, there is no global agreement on the matter, so the Virtual Merchandise Association (VCA) initiative would only apply in cases where cryptocurrencies are considered commodities.

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Crypto News

CoinTree and Gobbill Teamed Up To Allow Australian Citizens Pay Their Bills With Cryptocurrency

Australian citizens who wish to pay their bills with cryptocurrency will have a new option to make these types of payments, thanks to an alliance between the CoinTree crypto exchange platform and Australia’s automatic payment and billing platform, Gobbill. According to the statement, the partnership will allow those interested in paying services and other household bills with cryptos to do so straightforwardly.

Australian citizens can pay their bills with cryptocurrency thanks to the alliance between CoinTree and Gobbill

Gobbill will perform the functions of an intermediary, using user funds and paying bills on their behalf, while CoinTree will allow the use of cryptos such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC), among others.

“We anticipate an increase in the number of customers who would like to pay their bills in cryptocurrency in the coming years. Our partnership with CoinTree will serve this market and ensure that Gobbill remains at the forefront when it comes to allowing our users to pay their bills automatically, knowing that they are protected against fraud and scams,” stated Shendon Ewans, Gobbill CEO.

Gobbill users will be able to link their cryptocurrency wallet to their accounts to pay their bills, using crypto of their choice. The service is mainly aimed at small businesses and households.

Also noteworthy, this is not the first service of its kind in Australia, as, since 2014, the Australian startup Living Room of Satoshi has made it possible to pay bills with cryptos, and the list of its permitted tokens has grown over time.

Australia is going through a significant growth regarding cryptocurrencies uses and blockchain technology

In early August, Australian entrepreneur Fred Schebesta announced his intentions to create a cryptocurrency bank that could start operations in 18 months. The purpose would be to encourage cryptos ecosystem growth through loans.

Besides, in June, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) said it would identify investors in cryptocurrency to prevent them from evading paying taxes related to the purchase and sale of crypto assets.

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Crypto News

US FINRA Released Some Tips For Investors To Avoid Fraudulent ICOs

The US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published an update on its website on August 16th with a series of tips for investors on how to avoid fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The aim of the publication, according to FINRA, is to generate an alert about the implications of investing in digital assets, such as tokens or cryptocurrencies, and to make clear the differences between this type of investment and those made in more traditional assets, such as stocks and bonds.

The agency says that investments in Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs can represent a challenge, due to the difficulties in verifying the information they offer. The dangers inherent in market volatility, speculative risk and the potential for fraud are also mentioned. However, it also recognizes the potential of these instruments to develop legitimate innovations. Thus, in addition to explaining what ICOs are and how they issue new cryptocurrencies, the publication provides advice to investors to help them make decisions.

FINRA’s publication has an intertitle entitled “7 things you should know now about ICOs” which speaks at first of the lack of ICOs regulation and the lack of legal protection for investors in such business models, which exposes them to fraudulent schemes and deceptive tactics, with little chance of recovering their money.

FINRA states that some ICOs are using Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs) to offer new crypto tokens to the public

“SAFTs are investment contracts that appear to be modeled after SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), contracts that arose with value-based crowdfunding. Be aware that investing in a SAFT contract does not mean that the offer is “secure” or that it complies with applicable federal and state laws,” stated FINRA.

It is clarified that in a SAFT the issuer announces that the token will begin as a security token, subject to federal securities laws, but will then be transformed into a utility token, outside of these laws. FINRA notes that, regardless of what a company says, there is no guarantee.

On the other hand, FOMO (fear of missing out), meaning the fear of losing something or being left out of something, is a form of anxiety that has proliferated with the technological boom. It arises among social network addicts and also among ICO traders and investors. FINRA states that studies are confirming that many decisions are made by FOMO, regardless of market fundamentals, project development forecasts and the nature of the tokens.

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News Tech

iPad Pro 2018 is the Bigger iPhone X? See what Features will the Tablet Get from the Phone

Over the last few months, the rumors about an upcoming iPad Pro launch kept getting more and more often on the internet. According to them, it seems like the awaited Apple tablet will have some similarities to the iPhone X.

Usually, every iPad and iPhone display would come with squared-off edges, but when the iPhone X arrived in the game, it changed it all featuring a display with rounded edges aiming to match the handset’s curvature.

After significant digs through the iOS 12 developer data, 9to5Mac has found an asset similar to a visual mask which might be used to round the UI’s corners. This asset comes with the codename J3XX, and it is considered an indicator of 2018’s iPad Pro model.

It seems like this information suggest that the 2018 iPad Pro will look like the iPhone X due to the introduction of rounded corners on the device’s display.

Will the iPad Pro turn into iPad Pro X?

After taking into consideration the rumors that iPad Pro will support the Face ID technology and the UI mask, there are no other proofs needed to believe that the 2018 model of the tablet will not feature a Home button and its bezels will be significantly reduced.

According to 9to5Mac, there are more juicy hints enforcing this rumors, and it is here to inform the Apple fans. These are the two small icons in a diagnostic of the battery usage. The tiny tiles we are talking about giving hints about a future model that will lack a Home button and prominent bezels plus a model which will not.

If you are wondering what tablet you should buy and you are a fan of iPhone X, you should take into account the possibility of purchasing the 2018 iPad Pro.

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