Day: December 26, 2017

Central bank digital currencies may sound like a nice idea, but blogger JP Koning argues they’ll remain just that in 2018 – an idea.

Move aside IPOs, there’s a new kid in town with the speed and agility to take a concept to market without the excess costs, regulations and red tape that IPOs are known for. Where IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) come much later in the game to make them of any use to fledgling startups, ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) provide new businesses with the capital they need to get things started. ICOs obviate the need to qualify for business loans with potentially high interest rates or seek out investors that may or may not be interested in the risks your company poses. I sat down with Kai Chen, an expert in ICO’s and CEO of Olympus Labs, a blockchain platform that offers a marketplace of tools and derivative products for brokerage house and institutional investors to get his insights.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

What is an ICO?

An ICO enables a company to raise capital from a multitude of sources. Unlike an IPO, this new type of offering does not issue shares of ownership – they sell digital tokens that are developed via blockchain technology. The ICO process, like crowdfunding, allows the general population to more directly profit from the emergence of new technologies than they could under a traditional stock-ownership model.

Who Uses ICOs?

Generally speaking, companies that are developing DAPPS (decentralized apps built on blockchain technology like Ethereum) use ICOs to raise money and value the tokens they will use in their app or service. Once the tokens are attributed, they are listed and traded on private exchanges like Kraken or Poloniex (think of it like Nasdaq for tokens).

How Do You Start an ICO?

It is somewhat more nuanced now as some countries are banning ICOs such as China (already banned ICOs) and Korea (announced that they will), and other jurisdictions such as the US and Singapore are starting to issue ICO licenses/considering get-approved sandboxes for ICOs, there is no hard and fast rule in crafting an ICO. With that said, investors are not going to take a risk on your company without knowing something about your company. Most companies initiating an ICO will craft a whitepaper or other informational packet that provides details of the investment required, the players, the project to be funded, company goals and what will happen to their investment if the investment goals are not met. If an ICO meets its investment goals, the company can use that funding to launch their project. If the investment goal is not met, the funds are returned to the investors.

When Do You List Your Token?

The timing of token listing depends on the project, sometimes it’s not until months after the ICO that it is listed on private exchanges. Once the ICO date is chosen, the marketing begins.

The ICO itself is usually a short, fixed period of time (sometimes, only minutes) when investors may purchase tokens. In some cases, companies hold exclusive pre-sales of tokens to select investors, in some cases, with a discount.

How Are Token Prices Set?

The company initiating the ICO will decide how much funds need to be raised and how many tokens will be distributed. This simple equation forms the basis for the price. Once the tokens are traded on the cryptocurrency exchanges, the value will fluctuate based on market factors.

What Does it Cost to Run an ICO?

The majority of your costs are going to consist of legal fees and marketing, which can run anywhere from $50,000 to upwards of $1,000,000 or more. Other fees include operating your ICO on a platform like Ethereum, setting up the characteristics of your token, and blockchain registration fees for each transaction.

Where Can You List Your ICO?

Platforms to list your ICO are ubiquitous, with more popping up every month. Some popular listing platforms include:

• CoinSchedule
• ICO List
• ICO Tracker
• Reddit’s ICO Crypto Forum
• Smith + Crown

While ICOs are the new IPO for DAPP firms and are relatively unregulated at the moment, there are still pitfalls you will want to look out for. Be sure to connect with an advisor who is experienced in cryptocurrencies and the ICO process before moving forward.

The legalization of marijuana across the U.S. has proven to be a boon for numerous industry stakeholders. The cannabis sector is emerging from the shadows and establishing itself as a massive economic force. This has spelled numerous benefits for growers, manufacturers, couriers, sellers, and users, who can now transact in the open instead of having to engage in back-alley deals.

While legalization brings untold benefits to the marijuana sector, challenges remain.

The industry, still mired in fragmented processes and business practices, has yet to fully realize its potential.

To catalyze this revolution, Budbo, a blockchain startup, is working on a suite of products that will help streamline the processes of the marijuana supply chain and thus, induce transparency and efficiency in the industry. The project is headed by successful entrepreneurs and former top executives who have years of experience working in mobile t echnology, logistics, and blockchain development.

Budbo is building a comprehensive blockchain-based platform with broad benefits for everyone involved in the marijuana supply chain– growers, manufacturers, suppliers, couriers, dispensaries, and users.

The Budbo Blockchain will simplify, optimize and in many cases, automate the following processes:

• Supplies and Equipment Ordering– With the help of Purchasing Management module, growers can keep track of purchasing trends and inventory balances.
• Inventory Management– Budbo’s Inventory Management module can be used both by growers and dispensaries to manage all stages of the product life cycle efficiently. With this tool, growers and dispensaries can minimize excess stock, ensure regular inventory replenishment and timely order fulfillment.
• Seed to Sale tracking– With this GPS-based feature, businesses can track marijuana through all the steps of the supply chain- from growing to processing to product shipping, and finally to the transactions at PoS in dispensaries. Users can set geo-fences and alerts to know where their product is at all times.
• Point of Sale– With a mobile application, a PoS integration product, a payment portal, and an online plug-in for businesses, Budbo offers mobile payments and PoS services.
• Client Management– Budbo will build a Customer Database with information on the client’s preference of strains, time data and geo-location, and proximity to dispensaries for helping businesses make informed decisions.
• Analytics– Using real-time updates from Budbo on targeted user likes, preferences, and products most likely to be purchased, dispensaries can stock their shelves with the products which are likely to generate maximum sales.
• Retail Location Forecasting– Those looking to open new dispensaries can analyze customer metrics and compare locations to understand which towns and neighborhoods are the most potentially profitable for their business.
• User Interactions– The Budbo app provides a fun, immersive environment for users to connect, message, share reviews, and play games, thus building a widespread marijuana community. This app is the foundation for generating analytical data.

All the data generated in the Budbo ecosystem will be recorded on blockchain, and this data can be accessed by stakeholders in the marijuana industries using the BUBO token. The BUBO token is a utility token which will serve as an API key in this ecosystem. This data will allow government authorities to monitor adherence to regulations, while empowering businesses to make more informed business decisions.

The revolutionary potential of Budbo is immense, with its focus on bringing essential market data into a legal light, and tracking and helping secure the development of the legalized marijuana economy.

To participate in Budbo’s token sale or learn more about the platform, please visit https://budbo.io/.

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.

Don’t get into classic investor mistake when trading Bitcoin Spreads and Binary Options and always keep IRS in mind. #EXPERT BLOG

The old saying goes, “Numbers don’t lie.” That’s the mantra for cryptocurrencies this year, as blockchain powered coins have had an exceptional 2017 thus far. The total market cap is over $600 billion, tens billions of dollars worth of coins are traded each day, and over 1,300 coins exist in the open market. The only problem? There are over 120 competing cryptocurrency exchanges.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

Typically, competition is good–the invisible hand of the free markets tend to leave only the best and brightest alive. However, the sheer number of cryptocurrency exchanges has actually hurt investors. The system as a whole is wildly inefficient, resulting in trading process, that is  extremely fractured.

Fixing Issues

This means that investors not only deal with administrative headaches (such as account setup and access) but legitimate trading problems like thin liquidity, slow execution speeds, and uneven prices. One company, XTRADE.IO, is creating a standalone trading platform to resolve these issues. Their goal is to build a proprietary trading system for cryptocurrencies that serves as a one-stop-shop for large traders and funds.

XTRADE.IO’s first step is to develop a financial information exchange (FIX) application programming interface (API) that will allow institutions, hedge funds, and quant traders to communicate with the major crypto exchanges. By connecting all crypto markets to one FIX application, traders will have streamlined access to all the data and market information they need.

Next, XTRADE.IO will create their standalone trading platform called XTRADE Pro, which has features like consolidated book orders, hotkey order entry, and custom order types, bringing industry standard technologies to individuals and institutions alike. XTRADE Pro is the central hub from which funds, individuals and institutions can run their trading operations.

Lastly, XTRADE.IO will create a Single Point of Access (SPA) to aggregate  liquidity across exchanges.

Now, this all sounds well and good, but how does it address the trading issues mentioned above?

#1 Liquidity!

XTRADE.IO’s system combats thin liquidity by using its FIX API to limit slippage and narrow spreads. The traditional method involves spreading an order out over time. However, cryptocurrency prices are notoriously volatile, so at times the amount lost to slippage may actually be more than the amount lost because of price fluctuations.

In contrast, XTRADE.IO’s system simultaneously routes an order to several exchanges, thereby executing the order in a small amount of time while also minimizing slippage. By splitting the order into  “parent” and “child” orders, the XTRADE.IO team estimates they can reduce both execution times and slippage costs by 96%.

What’s more, low trading volumes typically result in higher transaction fees. This is because when liquidity is thin, prices tend to fluctuate more violently and spreads widen. Exchanges therefore charge a premium to make markets for these transactions.

However, XTRADE.IO’s platform allows for large players to get involved in cryptocurrency trading. Institutions, hedge funds, and quant firms who trade in large volumes can bring liquidity to thin markets, thereby stabilizing prices and resulting in lower transactions costs for all parties, big or small. Additionally, the SPA aggregates liquidity across exchanges, further narrowing spreads.

In order to dramatically increase execution times, XTRADE.IO will create a private network that provides access to trading services and market data feeds. By building custom routing paths with dedicated internet access (DIA) technologies, XTRADE.IO’s private network will be two to ten times faster than the public internet.

With servers on both U.S. coasts, XTRADE.IO’s network covers the entire country. The current internet latency for order entry and execution is 150 ms, but XTRADE.IO’s solution has reduced that  latency to an average of 1.5 ms. Roughly 100x faster than the current standard.

The combined effect of higher trading volumes and quicker execution times results in fairer, more accurate prices for cryptocurrencies. Coupled with a far lower rate of slippage, narrow spreads, and small transaction costs, XTRADE.IO ensures that its clients will get the best prices available. And individuals benefit from this set up as well. Higher liquidity and narrower spreads means that small trades can be executed on a more frequent basis, encouraging market participation from all types of traders.

The goal is to have the alpha and beta versions of the trading platform launched by Q2 and Q3, respectively, followed by the SPA by year’s end. By 2019, the project should be in production mode. By then, who knows what the cryptocurrency markets will look like. If XTRADE.IO has any say, they’ll be a whole lot better.

DASH/USD

DASH continues to be very noisy during the trading session on Tuesday, as the $1200 level offers resistance. We are getting close to the overbought part of the stochastic oscillator on the 4 hour chart, so perhaps more sideways action is to be expected. I also recognize that the $1000 level underneath is massively supportive, so we may retest that area to find more buyers. If we break above $1200 though, that could be a very bullish sign.

LTC/USD

Litecoin continues to go sideways as well, essentially going nowhere. The volume is almost nonexistent in this market as we are in the middle of the holiday trading season, and right now it looks more likely that we will drift towards the $250 level than anything else. Breaking above $300 would be a very bullish sign though.

Thanks for watching, I’ll be back tomorrow.

The post DASH and Litecoin Analysis December 27, 2017 appeared first on NEWSBTC.

ETH/USD

Ethereum rose slightly against the US dollar during the trading session on Tuesday, as we continue to grind higher. However, the $760 level has offered resistance again, so it remains to be seen whether we can hang onto these gains. For what it’s worth, the stochastic oscillator has crossed over in the overbought condition on the 4-hour chart, so we may need to pull back a little bit to build up enough momentum to break out to the upside. Volume is almost nonexistent.

ETH/BTC

With Bitcoin rallied a bit during the trading session it’s not a huge surprise that this market rolled over and could not hang above the 0.05 level for a significant amount of time. If we break down from here, there is a potential uptrend line below, but I think we could be looking at a move towards the 0.04 handle. Nonetheless, this is a very ill liquid market right now, so these moves don’t actually mean much.

Thanks for watching, I’ll be back tomorrow.

The post Ethereum Analysis December 27, 2017 appeared first on NEWSBTC.

The year of interoperability? Or enterprise digital asset adoption? Both futures might be on the table for 2018, according to Ripple’s CTO.

BTC/USD

Bitcoin rallied a bit during the trading session on Tuesday, reaching towards the vital 16,000 level. If we can break above there, then I might be convinced that we are going to revisit the highs. However, this was done on extraordinarily light volume, and that does give me a bit of concern. Because of this, you should be very cautious about this market, as we could just as easily rollover. One thing that I cannot help but notice is that most of the strong volume is on red candles.

BTC/JPY

Bitcoin rallied during the trading session against the Japanese yen as well, reaching towards the ¥1.8 million level. The ¥2 million level above is the next major barrier, and it remains to be seen if we can continue. We are in the overbought section of the stochastic oscillator, so I suspect that it will take more than one attempt to break above ¥2 million.

Thanks for watching I’ll be back tomorrow.

The post Bitcoin Analysis December 27, 2017 appeared first on NEWSBTC.

With over $220m lost to crypto criminals in 2017, BTC’s surge, and new mainstream interest, the cryptocurrency marketplace is in dire need of new security tools – and CTN delivers

London, England – December 26th, 2017 – Technology company Crypto Trust Network today announced the launch of their highly-anticipated Token Sale for their ERC20 token, the CTN.

The company aims to reduce fraud and theft in cryptocurrency through a selection of tools for exchanges, wallets, and merchants. The tools reduce exposure to risk by adding an extra layer of trust to transactions such as identify verification, trust rating, and data analysis for wallet and transaction portfolio.

While fraud and theft have always been an issue, 2017 saw a marked increase in incidences. In January 2017, 1 Bitcoin (BTC) cost an average of $969. Just eleven months later, that same Bitcoin is set to steamroll through the $20,000 barrier. With alt coins also exploding in a bullish marketplace, people with less than honest intentions have also crowded the space, adding even more risk to the marketplace.

“2017 was a watershed year for cryptocurrency, and it has erupted outside of its former nerdy space onto the public stage – it is bigger than Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and all the Kardashians combined. However, this new popularity does mask a big problem: crypto is risky, and unlike banking, this is an unregulated industry with few of the safeguards that are offered by traditional banking,” said Jim Dowling, CEO of Crypto Trust Network.

“This is the issue that we are solving. Enthusiasts talk about ‘trustless’ networks. While they are a good thing, we need to build more trust and security into cryptocurrency so people – especially mainstream investors – reduce their vulnerability to fraud, theft, phishing, and service breaches.”

The Token Sale for CTN will open to the public at 6:00pm GMT on December 22nd, 2017 and will complete when either the hard cap of 10,500,000 CTN issued is reached or at 6:00pm GMT on January 22nd, 2018.

CTN tokens are valued at $1 (USD) and minted as they are sold. Participants will purchase their tokens using Ethereum (ETH). the rate of tokens per ETH is to be determined one hour prior to the sale, and Crypto Trust Network also confirmed that the first 2,000,000 tokens sold would come with a 20% bonus.

Find out more about the Crypto Trust Network by watching the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qchi8ZToF9w

For more information about Crypto Trust Network and to read the company’s white paper, please visit http://www.cryptotrust.network. To find out more about the token sale and how to participate, visit https://medium.com/@cryptotrustnet/participating-in-the-ctn-token-sale-5f07eeb82bad. For media inquiries, please contact Jim Dowling at +64 027 954-4155 or email him at [email protected].

About Crypto Trust Network

Crypto Trust Network is a platform which aims to make the cryptocurrency industry safer. It does this through tools which help crypto companies to protect their customers by reducing fraud and identifying high-risk transactions. For more information about the company, its mission, and the ICO, please visit the Crypto Trust Network’s website.

Website:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qchi8ZToF9w
Website: https://cryptotrust.network

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CTNCrypto

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoTrustNetwork/

Medium: https://medium.com/@cryptotrustnet

Telegram:https://t.me/cryptotrustnetwork
ZDNet:http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-most-high-profile-cryptocurrency-data-breaches-vulnerabilities-and-disasters-in-2017/

CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/21/confido-ico-exit-scam-founders-run-away-with-375k.html

Investopia:https://www.investopedia.com/news/phishing-scams-have-cost-ico-investors-225m/

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.