Day: November 10, 2017

At this moment in time, studies have shown that the insurance industry actively generates billions of dollars in premiums every year. For instance, in 2016, the market for these premiums in a total of 40 countries was of $3.86 billion.

However, most people are not aware of the fact that insurance policies that have cash values can be traded on the market for an even higher value, by selling it to third parties, rather than surrendering the policy. In the U.S alone, policy surrenders and lapses in 2014 were of roughly $112 billion, yet $57 more billion worth of surrenders could have been resold on the market. Some of the main benefits associated with purchasing resold insurance include stable returns, liquidity, a low correlation with some of the other asset classes and a fixed tenure.

Unfortunately, this is often hard to do for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there is no recognized marketplace for selling insurance, therefore sellers often have a hard time when it comes down to finding clients. Secondly, there is no assurance that contracts will go through. If a sale does happen, the buyer will need to pay in advance and trust that the seller will transfer the policy. Last but not least, the process is also quite troublesome, as it can only be done face-to-face, rather than online.

A blockchain-based platform could help address these inefficiencies and turn the market into an open one, where insurance policies can freely be traded among those who are interested. FidentiaX therefore plans to make reselling easier, while also centralizing the entire market on a single platform where prices can easily be compare and insurance policies can be transferred.

With this aspect in mind, this is how the FidentiaX platform will work:

1.    Listing: Insurance policy holders who wish to get a higher value from their insurance can submit the policy on the FidentiaX blockchain platform and hence attract potential buyers. Clients will then be able to browse through a multitude of insurance policies, see their pricing, and pick what suits them best.
2.    Offering: Buyers who have made a decision will then submit documents and complete an application form. Afterwards, they cans imply deposit the funds onto the platform. Sellers will then be notified of this.
3.    Submission: the seller, who now knows that the funds are safe and in escrow, can head out to the insurance company and transfer the policy to the new owner, by submitting the relevant documents. The seller will then obtain proof that the policy has been transferred.
4.    Completion: Lastly, sellers will upload the proof of transfer onto the FidentiaX blockchain. After the documents have been verified, they’ll be transferred to the buyer, and the funds will be released to the seller at the same time.

By finding a smart way to leverage smart contracts, blockchain technology and consensus-based payments, fidentiaX will help revolutionize the insurance market, by making third-party sales easier, more valuable and trustworthy for both buyers and sellers.

Changing the entire industry is akin to manoeuvring a huge ship, you cannot change the course instantaneously, fidentiaX is taking a baby step approach to tackle the tradable policies market. Slowly but surely, the ship will turn its course and embrace blockchain technology.

fidentiaX well thoughout token strategy is based on 3 tokens to address the various business application of the Marketplace:

fdX token (ERC20) is for the ICO and is an utility token. fidentiaX is a membership based marketplace and membership fees collected will be converted to fdX tokens and destroyed. This effectively reduces the supply in the market and increase scarcity of the token.

ISX token is the Platform Unified Token which is pegged to US$1. This token will be the currency within the platform to facilities transactions.

Currency Representative Token is to electronically represent the deposits made by the customers which will be converted to ISX.

The rationale of having 3 tokens is to manage Anit-Money Laundering risk as well as Foreign Exchange Risk.

Crowd Token Contribution aka ICO started on 6th Nov and will end on 5th Dec. To participate, please sign up for whitelist Late Registration.

Introduction Video on fidentiaX

Find out more about fidentiaX, please visit the Website

Read more about fidentiaX Whitepaper

Join fidentiaX’s Telegram

Follow fidentiaX’s Twitter

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

Bitcoin cash rose to a three-month high of $872.24 today, two days after a controversial hard fork of the bitcoin blockchain was suspended.

Millennials have always proven to be an interesting crowd when it comes to finance. They do not adhere to traditional rules or reference points by any means. It also seems this particular demographic is quite keen on Bitcoin. In fact, a new survey suggests one in three Millennials will invest in Bitcoin rather than traditional stocks. That’s a pretty smart decision, to say the least, although it paints a rather interesting picture for the future of finance.

Stocks Have Less Appeal to Millennials

It is evident there are a lot of changes taking place in the world of finance right now. Both gold and stocks have become far less popular as of late. This is not a surprising development by any means, as both of those markets have struggled to yield significant returns over the course of the last year. Millennials in particular have little to no interest in stocks right now, and they are eyeing alternatives more than anything else. More specifically, they see Bitcoin as a far better investment alternative to the stock market.

Given the Bitcoin price trend throughout most of 2017, it is anything but surprising that a lot of people see it as the go-to investment vehicle moving forward. Whether or not the current uptrend will remain in place for much longer remains to be determined, as we have seen quite a few cracks in the facade over the past week or so. The biggest correction yet is taking place as we speak, which started right after the Bitcoin price reached a new all-time high yesterday afternoon.

That being said, most Millennials don’t seem too concerned about temporary setbacks right now. More specifically, they still see Bitcoin as being a better store of value than stocks are in their current form. A Blockchain Capital survey showed that around one in three people aged 18-34 favors Bitcoin over traditional stocks. It is not an overwhelming majority by any means, but it goes to show that cryptocurrency is gaining traction among all demographics. It will be interesting to see whether or not this initial excitement is justified, as it could go either way.

Do keep in mind we are not talking about Millennials dumping all of their savings into either Bitcoin or stocks. We are merely talking about setting up a portfolio with US$1,000 or slightly more. This amount of money is still a lot for most people aged 18-34 right now, though. Even such a small portfolio could result in major gains over the coming years. If the current Bitcoin price trend keeps up, US$1,000 worth of BTC may be worth US$20,000 in the next ten to fifteen years.

Although these numbers may seem promising, very few Americans actually own cryptocurrency right now. Just under 2% of the survey respondents own any form of cryptocurrency, whether it be Bitcoin or any of the alternative currencies. That is a very small number, although it was even smaller not all that long ago. It will be interesting to see if this investor base can get much larger in the years to come. Once Millennials get on board the cryptocurrency train, interesting things will happen sooner or later. Although the future’s uncertain, there is reason for cautious optimism.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are quickly dethroning traditional investment vehicles. While this does mean there will be even more price speculation in the future, it also shows people are showing an increased appreciation for what may very well be the future of money. It is always better to keep one’s eggs in many different baskets when it comes to making any investment in this day and age. Bitcoin and altcoins are a good fit in this regard; that much is rather evident.

The executive member of European Central Bank shared the bank’s stance on cryptocurrency claiming that the bank is following the development of Bitcoin and other cryptos.

US Securities and Exchange Commission fights the opacity of ICO trading that can create “environment conducive to misconduct.”

This week the Blockchain-powered platform VIABET has announced players will be able to utilize BCH and ETC on their soon to be released casino and peer-to-peer sports betting site.  VIABET acts as the technological launching pad that allows regular players as well as gaming companies to create and launch their own casino games. Similar to the way Ethereum created a world running on DApps. VIABET aims to create a transparent and incentivized platform which proves itself to the world by remapping the online gambling industry.

The company announced adding the currencies on November 9th via Twitter stating;

“In our latest update, VIABET will be offering Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC) deposit and withdrawal options for our online sports betting and casino customers.”

Why Bitcoin Cash?

Bitcoin Cash, with its on-chain scaling and lower transaction fees, holds particular appeal for the sector that’s historically been the target of misguided government policies that aim to protect state-owned gambling monopolies and restrict the individual’s freedom to decide how to spend their entertainment dollars.

Either way, this looks like a solid business move on behalf of VIABET. According to Coinmarketcap.com, at the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash is trading heavily and is up 30.88%, currently in a bull market after slumping the last few weeks. VIABET becomes one of the first online gambling operators to offer Bitcoin Cash (BCH) deposit and withdrawal options to its online sports betting and casino customers.

VIABET Pre-ICO to Begin This November

VIABET will be offering 49 million VIA tokens in total. The Pre-ICO is set to begin on November 14, 2017 (10:00 AM PDT) and end on November 21, 2017 (10:00 AM PDT), finally giving its supporters a chance to get in on the profit that VIABET’s future growth will generate.

However, only 9.8 million VIA Tokens will be sold during the Pre-Sale. As the Pre-Sale is capped at only 7000 ETH, it is predicted to sell out and close its doors to new investors long before its November 21 deadline is hit. In addition, VIABET has early bird discounts in place to incentivize investor participation, a 40% bonus for early pre-sale investors is up for grabs.

Learn more about VIABET — https://viabet.io
Whitepaper – https://viabet.io/viabetio_whitepaper_v1.pdf
Join the community — Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, Medium

The post VIABET to Support Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum Classic appeared first on NEWSBTC.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Bitstamp CEO Nejc Kodrič provides insight into how Bitcoin’s addition to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange will affect the future of Bitcoin.

Many different cryptocurrencies have come and gone over the years. Most of them failed to provide privacy and anonymity features cryptocurrency users have been looking for. Monero is one of the main currencies delivering the goods in this respect. Now is a good time to take a closer look at how this currency came to be and why it matters so much to thousands of enthusiasts.

A Brief History of Monero

Most people will know that Monero has been around for quite some time now. It uses the CryptoNote protocol, which dates all the way back to 2012. However, Monero was only created on April 18th of 2014. Although Monero is pretty unique in many ways, the original project came to be with the help of Bytecoin. In fact, both currencies are a lot more similar than one might think at first.

Back in 2014, Bytecoin suddenly started gaining traction. No one knows who its developer was, but given the strong focus on anonymity, it didn’t matter all that much. One thing that became obvious immediately was how the Bytecoin code was pretty well optimized, indicating the project had been around longer than most people realized. It is possible this was merely a research project first and foremost, but no one knows for sure. In fact, to this very day, there are still some unanswered questions as far as Bytecoin is concerned.

What is clear is that this currency suffered from one issue: around 80% of all coins had been minted by the time people started paying attention to it. Some people then took the existing code, created a hard fork of it, and labeled it Monero. As it happens, the original plan was to call it Bitmonero. After some back-and-forth took place between supporters and developers, this new currency was created. On April 17th, the Bitmonero launch was to have happened. However, without proper wallets for either Windows or MacOS, things quickly derailed.

Despite these challenges, the launch only had to be pushed back one day. Bitmonero was launched on April 18th, which was when the member known as Tacotime made his first appearance. The decision was then made to hard split Monero from BitMonero and create a new development team altogether. On April 23rd, the official Monero launch occurred, and a new ecosystem was created. We have seen great interest in this project ever since, to say the very least. However, it is evident this currency heavily revolves around cryptography, which makes it one of the more advanced currencies to date.

Fluffypony, also known as Riccardo Spagni, entered the picture in May of 2014. He has become the main public figure associated with Monero and was responsible for some major progress made at that time. He was not alone in this regard, as Monero has received a lot of support from multiple developers over the years. It is also worth noting that the Monero ticker was MRO up until June of 2014, before it was renamed to XMR. Its first real-world transaction involved a painting purchased for 2,500 XMR. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Monero; that much is certain.

An executive Singapore’s central bank has said that developments around initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies can offer lessons for regulators.

Can BitIndia become the Paytm of cryptocurrencies in India?

Citigroup CEO Corbat claimed that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies threaten the current financial system’s capabilities around data, tax collection, money laundering and KYC protocol.

DALLAS, TX – In February 2017, more than fifty of the most respected players in the blockchain industry are coming together to show cryptocurrency enthusiasts and private investors how they can buy into the blockchain revolution while it is still on the ground floor. There are still spots available. However, “Early Adopter” registration closed at the end of October and tickets are selling out much faster than conference organizers had originally planned.

The Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference is organized by Richard Jacobs, publisher of the Future Tech Podcast and co-founder of Blockchain Edge, a consultancy firm that helps blockchain entrepreneurs turn their ideas into sustainable revenue models. Confirmed speakers include Tim Draper, the Billionaire venture capitalist, Erik Voorhees, who was featured in the Netflix documentary Banking on Bitcoin, Charlie Shrem, founder of the Bitcoin Foundation, and more than fifty other thought leaders and respected players in the cryptocurrency space.

“I think ‘Bitcoin mania’ has caught all of us off-guard”, said Mr. Jacobs. “Even though the Super Conference is almost four months away, more than half of the spots have been taken. And at the rate they are disappearing, I wouldn’t be surprised if all the remaining tickets are gone by New Year’s.”

The Super Conference covers three days. In addition to the main conference itself, there is also an additional “beginners track” for those who are new to cryptocurrency to get up to speed quickly on how the industry works. There will also be a complimentary hackathon for kids, teens, and young adults, providing them with the perfect opportunity to get their hands dirty with blockchain technology.

The main conference will feature more than 45 headline speakers, whose talks will all converge around the following theme: how can regular, Average-Joe investors get in on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and reap outlandish profits when blockchain technology enters the mainstream in 2018?

Registration for the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference is still open. However, those who interested in attending are advised to register as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

For all Merkle readers we’re offering 10% off on conference tickets. Use the code “superconinsider7” to avail the offer.

Ready to reserve your spot? Purchase your tickets over HERE:

Want to learn more about the conference? Join the free notification list over HERE:

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Press contact:

Richard Jacobs

[email protected]

(888) 984-0070

About the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference:

This three-day conference will be held at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport from Friday February 16th to Sunday February 18th, 2018. We are expecting more than 800 attendees, at least 45 headline speakers, and upward of 50 exhibitors – with talks from founders, developers, and early-stage investors of blockchain startups, including many that are planning ICOs throughout 2018.

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.