CoinSpectator, Author at CoinSpectator Blog

Here’s How Cryptocurrencies Could Change the Gaming Landscape

Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain have started to change many aspects of our lives and entertainment in recent years. However, one area that appears to have been slower than others in adopting this approach is that of gaming.

At first glance, there are a lot of areas of crossover between cryptos and gaming. Some people have even suggested that gaming paved the way for these coins to appear as per https://medium.com/singulardtv/how-video-games-helped-pave-the-way-for-cryptocurrency-f930521eef55. Yet, the expected surge in this area hasn’t appeared so far. In what ways could these industries come together in the future to change the gaming landscape?

“a gamer of XboX” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by AleZZitO1

Gaming ICOs Being Launched

There is work being done on numerous new decentralised gaming solutions. These are projects that use the blockchain and introduce their own cryptocurrencies that users can typically earn, buy or exchange.

Among the biggest and most talked about ICOs of this type is Bountie, with full details on it to be found at https://www.bountie.io/tokensale/. This is a platform that promises to use AI and IoT in order to modernise the world of gaming.

Another project of this type is called ALAX. In this case, the idea is that players in developing countries can play on their mobile devices even if they don’t have access to traditional banking facilities. The platform uses their own ALX token to monetise gaming, as described on their site, https://alax.io/tokens/.

Unless an ICO offers something new and useful, the fact that it is decentralised isn’t going to be enough. Let’s not forget that over half of all ICOS fail in the first few months too, according to the Boston College research at https://www.coindesk.com/over-half-of-icos-fail-within-4-months-suggests-us-study. So, there is no guarantee that these new platforms will succeed. Many gamers are happy to play in the ways that are currently available to them.

Indeed, among the most popular gaming options gaining ground right now are online casinos. These are websites where numerous casino games are brought together. For example, at https://casino.betfair.com/c/slots we can see dozens of slots ranging from Hot Gems to Grease and from Big Bear to Captain’s Treasure.

Playing with Digital Currencies

Another possibility is that players start to use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin to fund their games online. This may seem like a natural progression, since many gamers are now used to using in-game tokens and currencies.

However, perhaps the volatility of virtual currencies will play a big part in how widespread this becomes. Since these coins can gain or lose value very rapidly, anyone who pays using them is essentially making an investment rather than simply exchanging tokens.

It seems fair to say more stable cryptocurrency prices are likely to encourage more gamers to use these coins. There are certainly some good reasons for thinking this is a good idea. For example, it allows for virtually anonymous spending and means that no link to a bank account or credit card is needed.

It wouldn’t be a big surprise if the future were to bring a closer relationship between gaming and cryptocurrencies. Having said that, it would appear that we are still waiting for the perfect combination of these technologies that allows gamers to use cryptos to their full potential.

Could Online Gaming Aid the Growth of Cryptocurrencies?

The growth of cryptocurrencies has been a source of many headlines in the last few years. Yet, research by Finder shows that only 8% of Americans have invested in these digital currencies. What is needed to help them to truly break into the mainstream?

One suggestion is that online gaming could be the key. Could gamers around the world give Bitcoin, Ethereum and other coins the boost they need to move to the next level of popularity?

“Young gamer playing video game wearing h” (CC BY 2.0) by nodstrum

Gamers Are Comfortable with Virtual Money

Perhaps the most important factor here is that gamers were comfortable dealing with virtual money long before most other people had even considered the idea. This has been an important part of many games for some time, but it is the Mesos used in MapleStory from Nexon that are widely credited as being the first gaming currency to really take off.

The most popular games now have giant economies spring up around them. Gamers are happy to spend their fiat money on virtual tokens that can only be used in a certain game. This concept has seen the gold mining industry in World of Warcraft pass the “$2 billion mark”, while in-game revenue in FarmVille is now over $1 billion.

Non-gamers tend to need to make a mental shift to value digital money as much as the paper currency they can hold in their hand, whereas gamers already understand that digital tokens can be just as valuable to them.

The global gaming industry is continuing to grow at an impressive rate. According to a forecast from analysts Newzoo, the $134.9 billion market value in 2018 was a 10.9% increase on the figure achieved in 2017. As more new gamers appear, the concept of cryptocurrencies is likely to be more widely accepted.

Players Spend These Currencies to Buy Games or to Play

It is still a fairly common assumption that Bitcoin can only really be used by gamers. Indeed, it is easy to imagine that some people have failed to invest in cryptocurrencies so far because they believe it is of no use unless they play games.

While there are now many other ways of spending Bitcoin, it is true that gamers can spend or earn these coins more easily than other people. On many sites, it is possible to buy games and there are games where you use virtual coins as you play. Steam has stopped accepting this currency but others, such as MMOGA and Microsoft, let you shop with virtual coins.

A case where future progress is expected is in internet casinos, where Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals make sense. At the moment, there is a limited number of Bitcoin casinos. The big-name casinos, the ones with dozens of slots, table games and live dealer lobbies, such as Paddy Power, have so far tended to stick to traditional payment methods.

If acceptance of cryptocurrencies goes mainstream, with gaming sites like this beginning to adopt them, the demand for them will greatly increase. People will also become more trusting of cryptocurrencies if they begin to use them on a regular basis for something that gives them a lot of pleasure.

Indeed, the world of gaming is still closely linked to cryptocurrencies. There is a good chance that any major growth in the future will be linked to gamers and how they spend their money online.

LyCI – the New Generation of Crypto. Global Access to the Top 25 Cryptos in One Click!

Zug (Switzerland) – As the global crypto markets move cautiously into 2019 – the demand for a trading platform that offers stability, security and market access have never been stronger.

Combining both traditional investment products as well as crypto assets into one trading platform, Swiss-based firm Lykke is proud to announce the launch of the LyCI Service Token (ticker:LyCI).

Introducing LyCI – Trading Power in a Single Click!

In short, LyCI is a Service Token that allows customers the ability to purchase and trade the top 25 global cryptocurrencies in a single click.

Crucially LyCI is also index linked which means a real-time and rebalanced market-cap-weighted basket of the top 25 crypto assets. Introduced at the end of 2018 the LyCI Index offers today’s investor piece of mind and flexibility in a single platform.

Mitigating Investor Risk Through the Power of Blockchain.

Pronounced ‘Lucy’ the LyCI Service Token allows both newcomer and professional trader alike the opportunity to participate in the crypto revolution – a diversified risk portfolio is assured as a result of the latest in blockchain technologies.

The sole aim of LyCI is to allow ease of access to the crypto markets and to help mitigate risk in an increasingly turbulent global economy. Formerly of Oanda, Richard Olsen, CEO of Lykke states:

“With the collapse of cryptos in 2018, investors are sitting on losses. They own BTC, ETH, EOS or AltCoins and have to decide if they should just stick with their holdings or switch to another crypto with a better outlook. Buying another crypto is risky, because their timing may be wrong. Instead, it is more efficient to switch to the Lykke Crypto Index (LyCI), a crypto ERC20 token in its own right.

LyCI is rebalanced every minute and profits from the narrow spreads of the zero fee Lykke Exchange. Crypto investors no longer have to index that tracks the winners.

The LyCI service token is the first token of its kind and makes it easy for investors to pick these winners, diversify risk and simplify the management of a broad universe of cryptos”

Available over the Lykke Exchange, LyCI is part of a growing and truly global online marketplace that puts the customer in control of their trading strategy with the option to exchange both crypto and traditional fiat currencies securely and with 0% trading fees.

The first in a series of planned Lykke financial products, LyCI offer security, flexibility and ease of use – combining both traditional assets and crypto in a single platform allows access to a truly global marketplace.

Join the Global Markets Today!

ABOUT LYKKE: Based in Switzerland, Lykke is a company with an international footprint, building a global marketplace for the free exchange of financial assets. Our mission is to not only democratise the financial industry by leveraging the benefits and power of blockchain but also to eliminate the barriers to market entry – we provide equal access to the platform from any global location.

For all press queries, please email or call Marina de Mattos on +41762274163 or visit our website for more information.

New Crypto Valley Top 50 shows Swiss Blockchain industry defying ‘crypto winter’

The recent fall in crypto currency prices saw the market valuation of the 50 largest Blockchain companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein’s Crypto Valley plunge from US$44 billion to $20 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. Over the same period, however, the number of participating companies soared by 20% from 629 to 750. Among them are four so-called ‘unicorns’ – start-ups already worth billions of dollars.

Davos, January 24, 2018 – Investment company CV VC, in collaboration with PwC Strategy & and IT partner inacta, has published its new quarterly list of the largest and most important companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein’s Crypto Valley Blockchain cluster.

The survey finds that, at the end of December 2018, the cluster contained 750 companies using the distributed ledger technology that defines Blockchain. This corresponds to a growth of 121 companies, or almost 20% compared to the last count at the end of September 2018.

The data comes from CV Maps, an online directory of blockchain companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which is maintained by CV VC. Mathias Ruch, Founder and CEO of CV VC said: “This new report clearly reflects the market correction that started in early 2018, which is significantly based on cryptocurrencies. However, it also shows that companies developing blockchain-based applications and infrastructure solutions have been able to keep up, while an impressive number of new startups with innovative use-cases have risen to the top.”

20% of the global market in Switzerland and Liechtenstein

‘Crypto winter’, as 2018’s severe market reversal has been nicknamed, has affected the valuation of participating companies but not their number. The market capitalization of the top 50 dropped from $44 billion to $20 billion in Q4 2018, a decrease of 55%. Most cryptocurrencies worldwide lost value during this period. The global crypto market according to Coinmarketcap was valued at the end of 2018 at $130 billion. The Crypto Valley Top 50 accounts for nearly 20% of this market. Ralf Glabischnig, Founder and Managing Partner at inacta: “In addition to the growing number of startups we observe increased activities of corporates entering the blockchain space with their own projects or startup investments”.

On average, the top 50 companies are valued at $400 million each. Excluding the five largest, the average figure is still $365million; a sign that concentration is relatively low. The average valuation of all 750 companies was estimated at $27 million. Four unicorns – startups valued at over $1billion – are present in Crypto Valley: Ethereum, Bitmain, Dfinity and Cardano.

Around 420 people work in Switzerland and Liechtenstein in the 50 largest blockchain companies. Overall, the industry employs more than 3,300 people, most of them in the area between Zug and Zurich. The survey finds that it is business as usual for many companies despite the collapse in value on the crypto exchanges.

While over half of Blockchain companies are based in the canton of Zug, Crypto Valley extends to many other Swiss cantons: 42 are now in Geneva and 39 in Ticino. Switzerland’s neighbouring microstate of Liechtenstein registers 38 crypto companies according to CV Maps. There are no entries in the blockchain register yet from Appenzell, Innerrhoden, Glarus, Jura and Obwalden.

15 new companies in the Top 50

Compared to the previous quarter, 15 companies entered the top 50 in the fourth quarter:
Sygnum, HDAC, ICON, 4ARTechnologies, WPP Energy, Nexo, ODEM, Mt. Pelerin, Saga, Boscoin, Utopiamusic, Santiment, Quant Network, TokenPay Swiss und Zulu Republic.
Dr. Daniel Diemers, Blockchain Leader EMEA bei PwC Strategy: “This high dynamic in the middle of the crypto winter is very positive. It shows that the appeal of Switzerland as one of the world’s most attractive locations for blockchain startups remains unbroken”.

The second report on the Crypto Valley’s Top 50 contains a challenger list. According to CV VC, inacta and PwC Strategy&, the 10 startups have a good chance of making it into the top 50: ambrpay, Arca Trust, Blockimmo, Cosmos Network, Datum, Friendz, Grain, Metaco, Orion Vault, Pigzbe, PikcioChain, Qiibee, Request Network, Taurus Group, UTRUST.

In addition to CV Map’s database, sources for the quarterly Top 50 survey include company registers, crypto exchanges, media reports and LinkedIn. In cooperation with PwC Strategy & Switzerland, various valuation criteria and data were established as the basis of the survey: funding, market capitalization, number of employees, and age of company, all weighted on a scale of 1 to 10. Where no data was available, estimates were made and declared as such.

You can download the complete report on the Crypto Valley’s Top 50 here.

Crypto Venture UpStake is Redefining the Industry with a Proof-of-Burn Stable Coin

UpStake, an exciting cryptocurrency project officially launched last year, is all set to take the global crypto community by storm. Unlike hundreds of crypto ventures that fail to make any impression, UpStake is dedicated to delivering a stable digital currency that will pave the way for mass adoption around the world.

London, UK – Jan 16, 2019

London-based crypto startup UpStake is well on its way to revolutionising the global cryptocurrency industry by eliminating many of the limitations that have stifled growth for years. Launched in 2018, this promising initiative is focused on ensuring mass adoption of cryptocurrency by providing a usable, stable form of digital currency to the crypto and blockchain communities across the globe.

This proposed blockchain ecosystem is built around UpStake tokens (UPS), the platform’s proprietary token. UpStake asserts that these tokens have been designed to increase in value over time, and set the stage to build great products and services which result in better user experiences.

In order to ensure continuous increase in value of UPS over time, UpStake has built a Proof-of-Burn model that burns a certain percentage of tokens sold through their exchange. This model helps create the value that contributes to the ever-growing price point of the token. It not only enables the token price to increase every hour, but also keeps it well protected from market volatility.

Highly volatile and unregulated markets have so far obstructed the path of mass cryptocurrency adoption. In order to eliminate this concern and enable mass adoption, UpStake relies on token features such as limited circulation, hourly increase of value, proof of burn, and anti-exchange manipulation.

Having developed a product that is immune to market-related uncertainties, UpStake is confident in bringing about a paradigm shift in the crypto world’s operations. Individuals and businesses using UpStake can now gain access to an asset with a store of value that can be safely used in day-to-day transactions. This will undoubtedly play a critical role in bringing cryptocurrency to conventional shopping, employee payroll, gaming, online gambling, network marketing, and much more.

“Knowing the future token price doesn’t create value,” said UpStake global influencer manager Seth Fontaine. “It creates a platform of transparency, and a foundation to build great products and services with an even better user experience than traditional fiat/banking.”

The UpStake platform also includes useful features such as its own exchange designed to combat market manipulation, a micro-networking investing product known as Edge, an affiliate program, and upcoming projects such as a dedicated UpStake marketplace and peer-to-peer transfer capabilities.

To find out more, please visit https://upstake.com/

About UpStake: UpStake is an exciting cryptocurrency project focused on delivering a stable digital currency that will pave the way for mass crypto adoption around the world. UpStake accomplishes this feat with a Proof-of-Burn model that periodically burns a certain percentage of tokens sold through their exchange.

Press Contact:

Seth Fontaine
Global Influencer Manager
Telegram: @sethfontaine
WhatsApp: +1 (909) 240-2158
[email protected]

Gold Backed Crypto Exchange Offers Safe Haven for Crypto Investors

GOLD.IO Seeks to Develop Decentralised & Self-Regulating Community Exchange

Turbulence in the global markets is nothing new but the cryptocurrency community has faced an unprecedented 18-month period of flux.

The need for a fully decentralised, stable, self-regulated and community-led exchange that can offer investor confidence amidst a chaotic global economy has never been stronger.

Setting the Gold Standard with Crypto’s Founding Principles.

With a scalable inter-blockchain and decentralised exchange the GOLD.IO platform is not only self-regulated and led by its stakeholders, but asset linked – offering exchange investors unrivaled portfolio security.

Gold has always set the market standard and has benchmarked traditional finance for centuries, so why should the cryptocurrency market be any different?

As a commodity, it has weathered many a financial storm and continues to do so today. Aside from a little price volatility it has consistently retained its market value, and with an unstable geopolitical, crypto-economic outlook the precious metal can provide a safe port for crypto assets.

In short, a gold-linked and backed exchange offers not only security of your assets but a piece of mind – the world has been through tougher times than we face today, but gold has always survived the course.

GOLD.IO – Providing a Defensive Asset Protection to your Investments.

With a team of over 30 experienced developers, GOLD.IO has simply put a sister chain of the EOS Project which has the mission of creating a Decentralised Exchange (DEX) of smooth inter-block communications that not only eliminates persistent market influences but has the unique benefit of being backed by a commodity asset class.

Combining the proven power of gold as well as a growing community that is not only self-regulated but also stakeholder-led – GOLD.IO is also seeking to develop a fully-fledged Decentralised Autonomous Community (DAC) based on the founding principles of the blockchain. The DAC will serve as regulatory oversight of the exchange with all stakeholders enjoying full voting rights, a say over project development and more importantly the ability to define their profits.

Gold Backed Tokenomics Offers Trading Efficiency & High Liquidity.

With global stock volatility at best and a downward trajectory at worse – according to Goldman Sachs the markets are gripped with a fear of what may come in the coming year, a gold-linked exchange, with inherently high liquidity can part-mitigate investor risk.

With no independent or fair exchange yet to provide what GOLD.IO can, the benefits of the platform as a market leader are clear but the real magic comes with the EOISO blockchain system itself – it eliminates third-party manipulation and offers a unique architecture to ensure users remain the custodian of their gold. Join The Power of GOLD!

Join the Gold Renaissance Today!

For all media and industry queries, please contact us via our website or chat to us today – we are keen to hear from you!

To find out more about us please visit our website – as leaders in the decentralised exchange space we want to work with you!

Blockchain Community Returns to Its Founding Principles with Revolutionary New Smart Contract Investment Platform

With global cryptocurrency investors hit by a near 18-month period of industry turmoil – the community requirement for a stable investment platform that can mitigate market volatility has become ever more important.

With hundreds of cryptocurrencies traded on global exchanges and even more coming to sector every quarter – the success rates of new ICO’s remains low against established currency platforms and with ICO funds often held in situ for 1-3 months until publicly traded, investor risk remains high.

What is needed is a Platform that can Reduce Investor Risk & Boost Confidence.

Introducing URA.market – The only blockchain venture of its kind offering a fully automated, independent and secure 100% divestment option.

Based on Etherium and with strict adherence to the founding principles of Blockchain – namely a deregulated global economy free from state manipulation, URA.market has already provoked the market with a Market Capitalisation of 630 ETH and 200 investors in 7 days.

Founded in December 2018 and based on a proven mathematical algorithm, the platform excludes the possibility of price manipulation and allows for both token overflow and price collapse scenarios. In short, URA.market offers private funders a true rarity – stakeholder and trading stability in an unstable market whilst maximising token utilisation.

Modelling to Innovate.

In a word our platform offers investor contract protection with open-coded and transparent smart contracts – underpinning this is a winning combination of both market and mathematical modelling.

The URA.market platform also offers investors a range of benefits including lifelong dividends as well as cash-outs to an ETH wallet at any time, flexibility as well as token price growth with dividend payouts on each transaction. URA.market operates an honest refusal of ownership and secures your transaction through the latest crypto technology.

No investor deposits are taken or transferred to the platform operator, and users are free to leave the platform at any stage. With all smart contracts immune to the developer and third-party manipulation, any contract that imitates a token is given a ‘Withdrawal from Ownership’ status offering the investor a piece of mind.

Following the BTC lead, we are a community- led project whose sole aim is to provide a stable, innovative and secure platform to maximise your crypto investment and market assets.

For all media and industry queries, please contact us at [email protected] or chat to us today – we are keen to hear from you!

About Ura.Market: To find out more about us, please visit our website or read our manifesto.

MinexSystems Ships the Crypto Cards with Global Coverage and Cash-Out Starting at 0%

MinexSystems, a full-service development company specializing in blockchain products, has started shipping the globally accepted cards ordered via MinexPay. Soon, users from all over the world, without limitations, will receive the first batch of cards ordered with MinexPay service, allowing them to spend the crypto on goods and services where usual payment cards are accepted and, more importantly, cash out crypto at the nearest ATM starting at 0% fee. As an integral part of the ecosystem, Minexcoin is expected to grow in demand thanks to the general amount of MNX held at the minimum required card balances. MinexSystems also invites users to benefit from 45% yearly parking rates within its unique service — MinexBank.

Currently, MinexPay offers four different tariff plans for the ordered cards: Standard, Gold, Platinum, and Infinite. Depending on the plan type, the ATM withdrawal fee starts at 0%, meaning that users can cash out crypto for free and receive up to 1% cashback for payments with the card purchased at MinexPay. More information about the tariff plans, fees, and limits can be found here.

“We have successfully launched the card program until the end of 2018,” says Boris Shulyaev, Founder and CEO of MinexSystems. “And even though we didn’t manage to issue the cards with MinexPay logo before the winter holidays, we are working on that and will present the branded cards in the nearest time, already this year.”

Minexcoin is an integral part of the MinexSystems network. Therefore, the more people use any of the services, the more demanded MNX becomes. In case of the cards purchased via MinexPay, users need to have 1,000 MNX as the minimum required balance to cash out crypto at 0% fee, or 200 MNX — to cash out crypto at 2% fee. This minimum required balance in MNX entirely belongs to the card owner and they can withdraw it at any moment. However, to take advantage of such low fees, users need to hold a particular amount of MNX on their card balance, as shown in the example above.

According to the requests, MinexSystems is expecting 30,000 card sales by the end of Q2 2019, and, if the forecast is correct, there will be over 3 million MNX held at the minimum required balances, which is 75% from the existing circulation supply. Naturally, it will affect the Minexcoin price positively.

More information about the minimum required balances for each tariff plan can be found here.

Apart from the global crypto debit cards, MinexSystems offers various blockchain products. Thus, one of the company’s unique services, MinexBank, is the first that encourages Minexcoin owners to hold the MNX coins in their wallets with a savings purpose. Thanks to this mechanism, everyone can get Minexcoin for free as interest for their balance assets in MNX without transferring funds to anyone.

MinexBank uses parking as a confirmation of the intention of Minexcoin holder not to bring the coins from the wallet to the market within the specified period. This intention is confirmed by the Minexcoin owner by creating an application in the MinexBank algorithm. MinexBank offers various parking rates depending on the timeframe. For example, currently, users can benefit from up to 45% of the yearly rates. More information about MinexBank services and rates can be found on the official website.

Press Contact:

Liudmyla Tovstenko
[email protected]

MGO Tokens of MobileGO: ICO, Price and Review

Cryptocurrency market is on shake. Someone has already thrown the auction and brought everything to fiat, someone just “gossip” in the hope of the future. After the late 2017 hype, money that goes around the market seems ridiculous. In fact, even in flat and falling, you can earn. For example, MGO is a very promising token.

Token has a very good scope of application: computer and mobile entertainment market. The industry shows explosive growth and it is not going to stop. Is it any wonder that MobileGO is growing where the rest of the market is heading down? In addition, the very concept of the token finds approval and positive feedback on MobileGO from the players.

MobileGO token can be found under the ticket MGO. Token is traded on dozens of different exchanges, but in fact, only two of them provide enough volume for trading: Digifinex and BCEX. There is little on Ethfinex and Bitforex.

MGO is a token for HODL

Let’s proceed directly to trading and profits. MGO is a token for HODL. In other words, it should be taken into a portfolio for long-term investments. Why? Let’s look at the dynamics. In the trading pair with USD, growth for the year – 157%, growth for the month – 236%. In the short term, on the contrary, it falls, about 11% per week.

Check the MobileGO ICO price chart (07.12.2018):

What are the prospects? They talk about cooperation with several leading IT-companies. On the part of the product – no concerns. From the market side, the token varies slightly. However, the price of it can take off at any second. The potential of MGO is huge.

Where you can buy MGO tokens?

According to CoinMarketCap, MobileGO tokens are available here:

MobileGO is a great token with good prospects for the future. We won’t be surprised at all if in half a year its price breaks through one dollar mark.

By the way, on December 5 – December 19 in 2018 MobileGO is having another airdrop. In order to become the rewarded participant of this MobileGO airdrop it’s necessary to follow all social media pages and channels of the project. Also, users must retweet posts about two main releases of December. Such activity is rewarded with 1 MGO token.

If a user wants to earn more MGO tokens, 1 is given for installing GShare and earning 1 GShare Gold.

Two more MGO are shared as a free reward for the first 100 participants who will complete the mentioned above tasks.

10 users with the largest Gshare Gold balance will also get additional 6 MGO tokens on their accounts.

Anyone has a chance to get from 1 to 10 MGO tokens for free taking part in the airdrop! If you need more details – visit t.me/mobilegoairdrop or airdrop.mobilego.io!