Day: May 6, 2018

The concept of CryptoKitties has led to a fair few similar projects over the past few weeks. While cars, tanks, and other objects are all appealing, dragons are by far the most intriguing. A project known as Everdragons is trying to capitalize on the allure of these majestic winged creatures and combine them with blockchain technology. There are quite a few potentially interesting things about this concept to take into account.

The Idea Behind Everdragons

While most people would classify Everdragons as a direct CryptoKitties clone, there are some key differences between the two. The former project makes use of real-world events and focuses on gamification first and foremost, with a chance for users to actually win cryptocurrency. It also features blockchain assets, known as Everdragon Eggs, which will hatch when the marketplace goes online.

Under the Hood

There are three key aspects of Everdragons to keep an eye on. First of all, there is the collection aspect, similar to how CryptoKitties works. Users can buy 100% unique eggs with Ethereum. Every hatched dragon has unique stats, including mana, prestige, and gems. These dragons will be tradable on the marketplace once it goes live, which should take place sometime in the next few weeks.

Secondly, there is a “play” aspect, as one would expect. Everdragons can compete in various games, giving them a chance to win gems, prestige, and cryptocurrency. All games will be based on real-world events, including sports, cryptocurrency price movements, and so forth. Every dragon will respond to these games differently, depending on their source of mana.

Last but not least, players can also enjoy the betting portal offered by Everdragons. Even users who do not own any dragons can participate in this feature. Anyone who places the right bet on the correct dragon has a chance to win Ether, which will undoubtedly attract some attention down the line. The bets will revolve around real-world events as well, which will make this project highly engaging for most people.

The Road Ahead for Everdragons

Everdragons are ERC-721 tokens, and it will be interesting to see how this new standard holds up. The team is currently launching its Initial Dragon Offering and the associated pre-sale of eggs. Trading of assets should be going live in June, with the Play feature being added in July. Winning Ether will not be possible until September.

Crypto has “some positive aspects,” says new head of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service

Decentralized exchanges will shape the future of cryptocurrency. Although centralized trading platforms are still very popular, they also pose major risks. DDEX is a decentralized solution which currently mainly focuses on Ethereum-based tokens. There’s some good competition in this particular space, and giving users more options is never a bad thing.

DDEX is an Interesting Competitor

It is evident there is a growing demand for decentralized exchange solutions. Although centralized platforms offer a major degree of convenience compared to their decentralized counterparts, most people dislike the idea of undergoing a KYC procedure. Additionally, centralized platforms control user funds at all times, which is not what cryptocurrency is about at its core.

Under the Hood of DDEX

DDEX positions itself as a potential contender in the world of decentralized exchanges. The team is confident their system will be as “secure as a Swiss bank account.” While that analogy sounds compelling, living up to those expectations is something else entirely. This platform heavily relies on Ethereum smart contracts, as well as the 0x protocol, which is an interesting combination that can prove to be rather powerful in the long run.

Moreover, DDEX aims to become one of the bigger liquidity providers for ERC20 tokens. Although other platforms are trying to achieve the same goal, liquidity can remain a big problem. This decentralized exchange solution mainly focuses on listing popular token pairs and allowing users to trade directly from their wallets. The concept is quite similar to sites like EtherDelta.

Perhaps the main selling point of DDEX is that it doesn’t involve a signup process. Since this is a DApp running on top of the Ethereum blockchain, users can remain anonymous at all times. It is even compatible with MetaMask and Brave for added anonymity. This latter functionality is something a lot of users will thoroughly enjoy, considering how popular both Brave and MetaMask have become in the past few months.

A Glimpse at the Markets

As of right now, DDEX offers a fair few trading markets. Although not all of them offer a ton of liquidity, it seems the EOSDAC, BRM, and HOT trading pairs are all doing quite well. There are still a fair few ERC20 tokens to be added to this list, though. It seems users cannot set up their own trading markets, which is a bit unfortunate, but perhaps that’s something that will change in the near future. This project is still in the early stages of development, after all.

The Future of DDEX

It seems DDEX also has an interesting “activity campaign” going on as of right now. Users can earn HOT tokens for using the platform and completing a transaction. It is a great way to get more people acquainted with this particular project, although it remains to be seen how long this bonus offer will remain in place. If DDEX can add more tokens in quick succession – or allow for some customization – this decentralized trading DApp can quickly gain popularity.

A senior analyst at leading social trading network eToro has announced that he sees Bitcoin overtaking its all-time high of $20,000 with “absolute certainty”

Mati Greenspan, who is also a well-known bitcoin expert, told the UK’s Sunday Express that bitcoin’s January retracement was “a temporary swerve” and feels certain the trend will now be upward for the digital currency. Although he describes himself as, “not a fortune teller or anything like that,” Greenspan  suggested that “Whenever the price moves and jumps into a new order of magnitude, we need to see some sort of retracement on that.”

According to CNN, this is not the first time that analysts have compared the recent slump to the drop in 2014 when bitcoin dropped by 80% in value and then failed to recover for over a year. The market is now considerably different from its position over three years ago with a daily global trading volume of $30 million.

Greenspan is not alone in his views regarding the figure, providing that bitcoin can continue its trading volume, but some investors and analysts see the 20k target happening sooner. Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz, and Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead, along with other investors, see bitcoin surpassing its all-time high by the end of 2018.

The market may have benefited recently from the frequent announcements made by well-known investors about to embrace cryptocurrency trading. Also, banks beginning to express a more favorable interest in the market, such as Goldman Sachs announcement to offer bitcoin futures trading on behalf of its customers, does have an impact as well.

Goldman Sachs has said that it has no plans to initially buy and sell Bitcoin itself, but a team is looking into the possibility, provided it can gain regulatory approval and then work out a plan for eliminating risk.

In the last few days, Bitcoin Foundation founder Charlie Shrem has tweeted that May 2018 will be the “last time” bitcoin costs less than $10,000.

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IT giant IBM has teamed up with jewelry consortium Richline Group to launch TrustChain to enable jewelry enthusiasts to track their precious metals from the source until delivery.

In just another demonstration of blockchain technology’s potential, TrustChain is expected to address the issues of customer trust in the precious metals trade.

Improving efficiency and trust

Expected to begin serving customers by the end of 2018, Reuters recently reported on its feasibility when they used it to track a diamond ring from manufacturer to the customer.

Mark Hanna, chief marketing officer of Richline Group, said, “This partnership has brought to halt the trust issues that had besieged the supply chain of for diamond and gold.”

The project has already received enthusiastic interest from jewelry supply chain players like Berkshire Hathway’s Richline Group Inc, retailer Helzberg Diamonds and Asahi refiners, keen to bring more transparency to the industry via blockchain.

Jason Kelley, general manager for blockchain services at IBM believed that it was the first attempt at using blockchain’s end-to-end capability to keep an eye on merchandise: “Now couples may know where their merchandise was manufactured and refined before being shipped to them.”

Blockchain’s intrinsic features as a distributed public ledger has opened possibilities for a range of industries, with the ability to store transactions as they happen, with the added security of tamper-resistant records – the so-called immutability of blockchain. It is seen as an improvement over conventional centralized databases vulnerable to hacking attempts.

IBM’s hyperledger Fabric blockchain will be used to permit the tracking of rings from source to store, allowing customers to verify that their jewels are sourced ethically and to track delivery all the way to stores.

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Weekends are usually a bit of an awkward period for cryptocurrency trading. This weekend is no different, as all top cryptocurrencies are down for no apparent reason. It seems the Bitcoin price got rejected heavily at $10,000, although this will not be the last attempt to surpass that level.

The Bitcoin Price run Isn’t Over

It has been a remarkable week for the Bitcoin price, albeit one that won’t end on a high. After a powerful trend which saw the value recover from a dip to just below $9,000, the week-high was just shy of $10,000. A psychological barrier for traders and speculators which will prove difficult to overcome.

As one would have expected, the Bitcoin price did not hit that illustrious five-digit figure. Earlier today, it seemed the uptrend was still in effect, but the momentum has turned against the world’s leading cryptocurrency for some unknown reason. A $400 setback isn’t new in the cryptocurrency world, but it will take a few people by surprise regardless.

As such, the Bitcoin price has lost nearly 4% in value over the past 24 hours. Compared to the onslaught users witnesses during Q1 of 2018, the current Bitcoin price is in a very good place. It seems likely the uptrend will be resumed at some point next week, yet that is no guarantee for surpassing $10,000 this time around.

The Bitcoin trading volume remains rather high, which is always positive to see. Albeit the overall crypto volume has dropped by several billion in the past 24 hours, Bitcoin still generates $7.455bn without any issue. This is also part of the reason why BTC is Bitcoin and not Bitcoin Cash, as the demand for the world’s leading cryptocurrency is simply too great. The market decides which currency is Bitcoin, and its overwhelming support leaves no room for debate.

The way things stand right now, OKEx is the biggest Bitcoin trading platform. In fact, the exchange has six pairs in the top 11, albeit none of them are related to fiat currencies. Bitfinex is in second place, followed by Binance. With just two fiat currency pairs in the top five, it’s not hard to see why the Bitcoin price has taken a step back.

For now, one has to wait and see what the future will bring for the Bitcoin price. It seems obvious the uptrend hasn’t been broken just yet, and the resistance at $10,000 was to be expected. The current Bitcoin price is near the same value as it was in early December of 2017. Everyone knows how that run ended, although history might not repeat itself so quickly.

There are many different trading-related protocols under development in the cryptocurrency world. MARKET Protocol is trying to make a name for itself in this regard, although doing so will not be easy. What makes this concept so interesting is how it provides secure and flexible trading of any asset on the Ethereum blockchain. This includes real-world goods as well as commodities.

The Idea Behind MARKET Protocol

In the cryptocurrency world, most trading protocols focus on the same things. In virtually every case, they are only applicable to cryptocurrency, token, or asset trading. That also means those assets are usually related to cryptocurrency projects and companies in one way or another. MARKET Protocol is looking well beyond this niche industry by developing a trading solution usable for real-world assets and products as well.

How Does it Work?

Developing a protocol designed to trade real-world assets in a decentralized fashion is not easy by any means. MARKET Protocol offers a wide range of solutions, including decentralized exchange, clearing and collateral pool infrastructure, and third-party application development services. There is quite a lot going on in this particular ecosystem, even though most of the features are still under development as we speak.

All of the trades taking place on the MARKET Protocol will be fully collateralized. This is achieved by making use of smart contract technology, which will also aid in decentralizing the accounting process. Establishing a trustless ecosystem to globally trade assets related to both the real world and cryptocurrency will not happen overnight, but so far, the progress being made seems rather solid.

There are some other features to take note of as well. Unlike what one might expect, MARKET Protocol will also let users short cryptocurrency assets without borrowing. There’s also cross-chain exposure without having to use multiple exchanges and wallets. Moreover, there is an option to recreate off-chain relationships using stablecoins such as Tether or Maker Dai.

Putting Users in Full Control

As one would expect, MARKET Protocol is all about empowering the end user. It is possible to create new contracts through the project’s DApp. These contracts are then used to define which ERC20 token will be used as collateral. Once contracts are deployed, they can be used immediately for trading in a trustless manner. Positions can be exited once the contract expires or a trade with another user is completed.

What Comes Next?

The MARKET Protocol is currently still in the relatively early stages of development. With partners to be onboarded pretty soon, this concept will continue to grow and attract a lot of attention. Third parties will also be able to build their own applications on top of this protocol, which will be interesting to keep an eye on. More competition in the world of decentralized trading and related activities can only be considered a good thing.

Former Wall St. exec Mike Novogratz replies “enough already” to a Bitcoin Cash-promoting tweet

Even though the current cryptocurrency situation in India doesn’t look all that appealing, most investors aren’t too worried. There is a growing group of cryptocurrency traders who remain confident that Bitcoin and its cohorts will overcome the upcoming bank ban. Cryptocurrencies have seen many setbacks over the years, and it seems this will be another footnote in the Bitcoin annals.

India’s Bank Ban Has Little Effect

It is always interesting to see how the general public responds to new regulations imposed upon the cryptocurrency industry. Although banks and governments think they can directly influence this ecosystem, the reality is often a bit different. Attempting to prevent customers from accessing cryptocurrencies usually has the opposite effect, for obvious reasons.

In India, an initiative is set to go into effect preventing banks from dealing with cryptocurrency trading platforms altogether. Some banks have already suspended the accounts of local exchanges, although others are not inclined to take a similar approach as of right now. It is evident that this measure will not dissuade people from trading cryptocurrencies by any means, as it seems the exact opposite is taking place.

More specifically, the Bitcoin and altcoin trading volume in India has surged over the past week. All exchanges have seen an influx of new users looking to buy and sell cryptocurrency before the official bank ban goes into effect. With the Reserve Bank of India giving financial institutions a three-month window to get their affairs in order, it is evident most firms will continue to support exchanges and trading platforms for as long as possible.

This also means we will see significant trading volume in India for some time to come. Investors are more than willing to convert rupees to cryptocurrency, mainly because the latter form of money has a lot more potential. Even if centralized exchanges were to be shut down because of this bank ban, the OTC trading market would continue to thrive, as it is not subject to these regulations by any means.

Overall, there appears to be a genuinely positive sentiment in the Indian cryptocurrency space. Government officials are not inclined to ban cryptocurrency trading, even though this measure by the Reserve Bank of India will shake things up quite a bit. Crypto-to-crypto trading platforms will always remain accessible, and it is evident the peer-to-peer trading markets won’t be going anywhere either.

Whether or not this means we will see more positive cryptocurrency price momentum is a different matter altogether. Issues created by governments and central banks have far less of an impact than they did a few years ago. It appears the cryptocurrency revolution cannot and will not be stopped, despite the best efforts of government officials all over the world. If market confidence remains this high even when the going gets tough, the remainder of 2018 is sure to be very interesting.