How do commission-free exchanges make money?

The number of cryptocurrency exchanges has exploded since the Mt. Gox days. They were one of the first big digital currency exchanges, handling 70 percent of global Bitcoin transactions in 2014.

However, Mt. Gox fell to hacks and controversy, opening up a new pipeline of crypto-clients for new exchanges. Fast forward just four short years and the number of exchanges is in the hundreds.

Coinbase has been a steady force in the crypto-space. But as the number of available digital coins rise, people want more than the four lonely, run-of-the-mill coins on Coinbase. There have been rumors of Coinbase adding Ripple, but nothing has happened thus far.

The rise of cryptocurrency value and the number of digital coins on the market has caused an unprecedented boom of exchanges. This has made competition fierce among them, opening the door for commission-free exchanges.

Commission-free exchanges can capitalize on a relatively high commission-based marketplace. How do they work? How do they make money? Is it really commission free? Let’s take a deeper look.

Commission-Free Exchanges May Not Be Completely Transparent

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is all about transparency. Commission-free exchanges may not be completely transparent. No fee transactions sound great, but fees may be hidden elsewhere.

Earlier this year, Robinhood, a brokerage startup launched commission-free crypto trading via Robinhood Crypto. Robinhood was all about making the stock market accessible, and moving into the crypto market made sense.

They made Bitcoin and Ethereum easily accessible with no commission fees. This separated them from Coinbase, an exchange with transaction fees ranging from 1.5 percent to four percent. However, the lack of transparency is concerning. How is Robinhood recouping the costs of no fees?

Turns out that Robinhood Crypto’s revenue structure is a bit shadowy. For instance, they charge interest on user account funds, users need to pay for premium access, and digital coins have an added percentage, as high as five percent, during trading.

Digging a little deeper and you’ll find that commission-free is associated with other revenue distribution tactics users just don’t see. This lack of transparency supports an unfair promise, and they are not the only exchange using this “No Fees” tactic.

Circle Invest Uses Built-In Fees on Transaction

Another exchange that boasts commission-free trading and transactions is Circle Invest. However, they are recouping costs by adding percentage fees to the cryptocurrency value.

For example, if you use Circle Invest to purchase Bitcoin, you are not making purchases at market value. Instead, you are buying Bitcoin at a percentage markup. If Bitcoin is say $9,000 during the time of purchase, you may be paying $9,200 with Circle Invest.

“Indeed when you buy Bitcoins with Circle you won’t pay a fee but it seems that circle $500 don’t come up as $500 worth of Bitcoins,” Ofir Beigel of 99Bitcoins explained. “It seems that Circle doesn’t guarantee the exchange rate at the time of placing the order.”

If you think the big name exchanges are better, think again. In fact, there have been issues with Coinbase users having their transactions cancelled. The cancelled transactions are conveniently aligned with spikes in the crypto market.

Commission-Free Exchanges Offer Limited Flexibility

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts will continue to be lured in by commission-free promises. There are other baited promises used by exchanges to pad member numbers, like flexible, easy trading.

For instance, by promoting the integrated app of an exchange builds upon that easy, anytime and anywhere trading. Circle Invest and Cash by Square both do this. Unfortunately, those integrated apps are nothing different than the desktop platform. Most users can either buy or sell, that’s about it.

Transparency and Flexibility Trumps Commission-Free Option

Doing your due diligence and not falling victim to commission-free and integrated app promotional hype is the first step to securing a cryptocurrency exchange that works for you. The competition is fierce among exchanges, and they’ll be slightly less transparent to secure your membership.

When looking for a transparent exchange that works for you, keep these essential elements in mind:

  • The exchange is very transparent about fees and policies
  • They have a stellar reputation in the industry
  • The exchange is security conscious for both themselves and users
  • They have a wide range of cryptocurrency and fiat currency to choose from
  • You are buying and selling digital coins at current market value

Choosing an exchange or digital wallet platform doesn’t have to be challenging. There are a number of alternative options with lower fees and high levels of transparency.

Large exchanges, like Coinbase, and their four lonely digital coins is also not you’re only option. There is nothing more tedious than needing multiple exchanges to buy and sell the digital currency you want.

You want to have a robust cryptocurrency portfolio. You also want the control to do what you want with your digital coins or fiat currency, when you want. Remember, not all exchanges and digital wallets are created equal. Do your homework and ensure your funds are in capable hands.

Expert Opinion: How Can Blockchain Address the Issues of the Modern Job Market?

Lucas Hubert, CEO LifeTask

Innovation and globalization have radically changed life in society, including when it comes to finding a job. The problem is that modern staffing methods are not keeping up with these changes, and the gap between new needs and old approaches grows wider every year.

So what are the difficulties faced by the modern labor market? First off, the processes are ineffective while requiring large investments of time and money. Staffing is either outsourced to centralized recruiting agencies and head hunters or assigned to HR departments. A specialists reviews a database of résumés and chooses several candidates, each of which the employer calls in for one or several interviews; the primary criteria for evaluation, as in years past, still come down to the job seeker’s past experience and education. Under this model, the risk of error is high, as are expenses associated with staff turnover by attrition.

From the candidate’s point of view, this process is just as complicated. Candidates looking for jobs can send out dozens of résumés without getting a single response, and even if they are called in for an interview, there is no guarantee that they will be hired for the job they want or that the job will match their expectations.

Another issue on the job market is the general lack of trust. Candidates send their résumés to a recruiter or upload them to a website. From then on, they have no idea where and how their information is being stored and what it is used for. Recruiting companies store the candidates’ personal data (including contact info and data on past jobs and salaries) in a central location, with no encryption. But in our day and age, this data is a precious resource in high demand, one that is actively being sold and resold. A leak could lead to marketing calls, spam mailings, or even scams and fraud.

On the other hand, employers are also frequently faced with false information in candidate résumés, which is another factor that leads to errors when choosing who to hire.

The labor market needs new technologies that will help create an even playing field for all users and allow for direct interaction without unnecessary middlemen. The next-generation competence-seeking platform must offer features such as reliable digital identity verification, a transparent rating and skill confirmation system, as well as smart search that would reduce human error and potential mistakes to a minimum. And, of course, such a platform would have to be easy to use.

Blockchain applications have long since expanded beyond the limits of the financial sector. The distributed ledger technology is rapidly developing and finding applications in all sorts of fields. How could it be used to improve the labor market situation?

One of the base principles of blockchain is database immutability. Each new block stores information about all the preceding blocks, and any violation quickly becomes apparent. This principle will help solve the problem of trust and information asymmetry. The impossibility of

falsifying blocks makes blockchain an excellent tool for verifying identity and checking document authenticity, as well as creating a fair ratings and recommendations system.

Blockchain makes it possible to do this without middlemen and excessive commissions: all interaction between its participants can be regulated via smart contracts. Meanwhile, the distributed storage technology and ability to encrypt blocks reliably protects all personal data.

These new systems will offer the ability to use a more flexible staffing approach, taking into account all the candidate’s competences, knowledge, and experiences, as well as their location. Combined with a smart search matching system, which is quicker and more economical, these systems will accurately identify ideal competence providers for each task and ideal tasks for each competence provider.

Answering the pressing demands of the job market was the impetus behind creating LifeTask, the first decentralized platform for competence provision and staffing, which puts candidates’ competences first. LifeTask is a modern blockchain-based solution that offers both corporate and private clients convenient search based on competences, artificial intelligence and affordable prices: an individual candidate posts his or her data for 200 LTS tokens (roughly €9.90), while employers can access information about the specialists for the cost between 500 and 1000 LTS (€25 and €50). Candidates will receive bonuses for each time a third party gets an approved access to the competence providers contact.

All the payments within LifeTask system are made with LifeTask tokens (LTS). LTS token pre-offer starts 28th of May, 2018, and the main offer will continue for two months between June 27th and August 26th. One LTS token will be worth 0.0001 ETH; early buyers are eligible for bonuses. Minimum purchase volume is 0.1 ETH or equivalent, maximum purchase permitted is 30,000 ETH. ETH and BTC will be accepted as a payment as well as major fiat currencies.

The funds raised during ICO will be used for further development of the platform, its testing and launch.

To learn more, please visit the LifeTask website page -​ ​https://lifetask.io/

Thaler.One brings blockchain benefits to transform real estate investing Zurich based Thaler.One to issue security tokens

25 May 2018, Zurich Thaler.One is launching a blockchain real estate platform, offering institutional and private investors the combination of high-grade European real estate investment with the liquidity, flexibility and low transaction costs of the blockchain.

This represents the democratisation of investing into real estate, a proven high-performing asset class worth $220 trillion globally, as funds, private family offices and individuals can create a balanced portfolio of assets without the need to buy whole properties.

Thaler.One has the scalability to accommodate over $10 billion in assets and has already attracted high interest from institutional investors with aggregate assets under management (AUM) exceeding Euro 76 bn.

Thaler.One operates upon stringent fund governance standards and is EU-licensed, with an SEC-compliant token placement. By incorporating this level of governance from the outset, Thaler.One creates an institutional grade platform for investors keen to explore the advantages that blockchain technology has to offer.

The Thaler.One platform consists of two parts:

  • The Thaler Fund – with digital units (Thaler Tokens) representing Fund units. The proceeds from the sale of Thaler Tokens are used to acquire real estate assets for the Fund’s portfolio.
  • The Thaler MarketPlace – where digital units (ThalerBlock tokens) will be issued for every real estate asset listed on the MarketPlace, allowing smaller investors to build real estate portfolios of their desired return and risk profile.

Early investors with the Thaler Fund will receive a return higher than that of traditional real estate, due to the rental yields from the Thaler Fund portfolio combined with income from the MarketPlace operations.

Investors in ThalerBlock tokens on the Thaler MarketPlace will be given the power of choice in selecting their own diversified real estate portfolio. Seasoned cryptominers can lock in their profits by linking them to different physical real estate assets, which each pay ongoing yields.

All investors will be able to buy and sell Thalers across the Thaler MarketPlace and, later, select crypto exchanges, providing the liquidity and low transaction costs not traditionally available in real estate.

Thaler.One was founded by experienced real estate individuals who have previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Cushman Wakefield and EY, with advisors from Credit Suisse, JLL and the Crypto Valley Association, Switzerland.

Unlike other crypto market participants, Thaler.One is a clearly defined security token offering, with the company adhering in all aspects to the regulatory framework required to make it legally compliant.

A full breakdown of Thaler.One’s legal structure, as well as a demonstration of how investor funds are used, is included as standard by the company.

Will Andrich, Co-founder and CEO of Thaler.One, commented:

“Our vision is to transform and democratise real estate investing. Thanks to the governance standards instilled within our offering, we are already seeing initial interest from institutional real estate investors, family offices and seasoned crypto miners. Our blockchain based approach offers confidence and security, which investors appreciate, as well as additional rewards to early supporters.

Our income model means that we need very low leverage on our assets – typically only 30-40% Loan to Value (LTV), so we can generate an overall higher income, which is then passed to our investors.”

ENDS

For more information, visit: http://thaler.one/

Media enquiries

Yellow Jersey

Adam Wurf: [email protected]

Georgina Whittle: [email protected]

About Thaler.One

Thaler.One is a new generation real estate investment vehicle which combines an EU-licensed fund with a crowdfunding marketplace, incorporating blockchain-based technologies to fundamentally improve investor access and control.

It is transforming real estate investing by offering investors access to core European real estate with the management experience, network and governance of institutional real estate, alongside blockchain based technologies to give investors greater control and flexibility with lower costs.

The Thaler.One advisory board comprises some of the world’s most successful real estate and blockchain investors, including Michael Lange (Managing Partner at ACG, Former Chairman of the Board at JLL), Mattia Rattaggi (Swiss Crypto Valley Association, former UBS Group executive), and Saydam Salaheddin (Head of EMEA Real Estate, Credit Suisse).

WISEBITCOIN LAUNCHES THE FIRST EVER CRYPTOCURRENCY TRADING PLATFORM WITH LEVERAGE LEVELS UP TO 20:1

Cryptocurrency trading just became faster and easier than ever before with the launch of Wisebitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency trading service offering leverage levels up to 20:1 utilizing the MetaTrader 5 trading engine.

KINGSTOWN, ST VINCENTANDGRENADINES MAY 26, 2018— Wisebitcoin is pleased to announce that their pioneering cryptocurrency trading platform is now up and running. The platform utilizes the MT5 trading engine, and has earned the distinction of becoming the first ever crypto trading platform with leverage levels that may extend up to 20:1. The team behind the creation of this start-up have a wealth of experience in the margin trading industry and are now applying their expertise to the cryptocurrency domain.

While cryptocurrency trading commonly begins solely with a buy to open order, margin trading allows the traders to open orders by either buying or selling. This means that depending on their views, the traders can take advantage of the market’s volatility by taking short or long positions. Moreover, margin trading also allows taking more cryptocurrency positions compared to the funds in the margin account. Though extremely profitable and popular, experts suggest a cautious approach to trading with the margin accounts, because if the trader’s equity drops below the minimum required margin, excessive leverage may lead to losses.

Wisebitcoin has built a user-friendly platform where traders thrive in a sound and secure trading environment. The primary areas of emphasis for this platform are fast and secure executions and proactive customer service. The company has partnered with several global cryptocurrency exchanges to offer the industry’s most reliable and secure trading environment. Wisebitcoin has already adopted a plethora of popular cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, BitcoinCash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, Augur, Gnosis, Melon and many others. They also have over 40 names in the trading venue.

Some of the most important features of Wisebitcoin include:

  • Leveraged trading and long or short positioning
  • Anywhere from 1:1 to 20:1 leverage levels, depending on the instruments
  • The option to either buy or sell to open
  • Deposit and withdrawal via bank wire, e-wallet, credit card, or crypto
  • Universally standardized MT5 Mobile/Webtrader/Download

Wisebitcoin currently offers three different types of product groups:

  • Crypto Currency 5d: Ideal for short-term momentum traders using highly liquid major coins
  • Crypto Currency 7d: Suitable for Alt Coin traders and long-term investors in major coins
  • Token Trading: Great choice for Bitcoin/Ethereum holders using the service for margin requirements to facilitate long/short positions in a larger selection of coins

 

Wisebitcoin is part of Land Prime Group, which owns well established financial institutions including Land-FX UK, Land-Liquidity, Land-FX of St Vincent and Grenadines.With subsidiaries all over the world, the group is known for its emphasis on safety and soundness in FX margin trading. With their support, Wisebitcoin has built a team of top notch engineers and developers to meet the ever increasing demand for online security and reliability.

“For the first time in the industry, our platform is exclusively designed to facilitate the needs of Cryptocurrency trading in a way no other margin trading exchanges have before,” claims  a senior spokesperson from Wisebitcoin. “With such exclusivity, we are confident that we can help our users trade without any friction.”

About Wisebitcoin: Wisebitcoin is the first ever crypto trading platform with leverage levels up to 20:1. This user-friendly platform allows traders to take advantage of the global blockchain market’s rapid growth and offers a sound and reliable trading environment with an emphasis on fast and secure execution and customer services.

For more information about Wisebitcoin’s revolutionary approach to cryptocurrency trading, contact Lucian Mihalachi at [email protected], or visit https://wisebitcoin.com/.

EXPERTS WOW AS MARK.SPACE LAUNCHES UNIT EXCHANGE AND DESIGNER RENDERS – MARK.SPACE

MAY 25, 2018MARK.SPACE, which operates world’s first open-source, platform-agnostic 3D, VR and AR-compatible ecosystem, today announced two major technological developments: the upcoming launch of their own unit trading platform UNITEX, as well as some spectacular additions to the design of their virtual universe – a rich variety of highly-realistic and thematic 3D renders.

MARK.SPACE enables businesses, e-commerce merchants, and private individuals to quickly and easily create a fully 3D, VR and AR-compatible world that can be accessed from any device with any browser, while also being well-suited for any VR-enabled headset. Using simple and easy-to-use proprietary tools developed by MARK.SPACE, users can develop state-of-the-art virtual ‘units’, and the 3D objects inside these units. Currently, five localized cities are open for settlement: Japan, China, Russia, Korea, and Global. The latter is already at its 80% capacity. To date, the company has raised a total of US$22 million from investors globally.

Set to launch in the end of May 2018, UNITEX, yet another convenient embranchment of the platform, will serve as an online exchange for existing units within the MARK.SPACE Universe. It will enable registered users (of which there already are approximately fifty-thousand, with the number steadily rising), to use this handy tool to browse, sell, buy, or exchange units with others registered in the system. Like all MARK.SPACE add-ons, packages and applications, UNITEX will be accessible through MARK.SPACE PASS – the users personal account that interconnects all of the platform’s integrations.

In terms of VR-compatibility, one of MARK.SPACE’s unique selling point has always been the know-how creation and integration of ultra-light weighted and, at the same time, incredibly realistic 3D-renders. Back in December 2017, the platform pleasantly surprised its Community and even more so the industry experts by launching and making publicly accessible their free visual Constructor. Today, MARK.SPACE is adding extensive designer packs to its already impressive 3D-template collection. Users will soon be able to choose from four designer packs, called “Lite”, “Smart”, “Exclusive”, and “Individual”, respectively. Each pack will include various thematic interior styles, decorative elements and items of interior.

MARK.SPACE is also allowing its residents to place project orders, after which 3D-architects will create unique location designs customized to someone’s specific order. Users can send their own templates, pictures, photographs, videos and such, which all could be integrated into their MARK.SPACE Units. Acquirers of customized designs can even choose to buy exclusive ownership rights to all unique decoration elements created. Some of the extensive designer packs are already available to registered users, with more to follow.

MARK.SPACE is an open-source platform for creation of 3D, VR and AR-compatible websites, available on any browser, on any device, and without pre-installation or pre-registration. Users don’t need to know even the basics of programming to create VR-compatible web-spaces and headgear is optional. HTML5 frontend development allows to connect any top-level domain to any space in the virtual universe of MARK.SPACE. Website: http://mark.space

Contact:

Dmitriy Filonenko
Marketing & PR Manager
Website: http://mark.space/
Email: [email protected]

LocalCoinSwap might change how we trade, buy and sell cryptocurrencies

Blockchain technology has slowly creeped into every single aspect of modern business, with the technology rapidly expanding into most elements of our daily lives.

Almost every industry is making plans to embrace this exciting technology to some extent in the future. That being said, outside of bitcoin which has received massive media coverage in the recent years, other cryptocurrencies can still seem a little complex for users new to the space, whether it’s the purchasing, buying or selling.

There are a few platforms designed to make this process easier; for instance, the likes of Paxful and LocalBitcoins allow for the exchange of digital currency, but unfortunately this is restricted to very few assets at the moment.

One company looking to revolutionise this industry is LocalCoinSwap, It has hit on a real pain point and it wants to create a solution. Up until now, the difficulty to directly purchase cryptocurrencies or digital assets outside of an exchange from another individual has been an issue for many. Many people encounter problems with the exchanges who enforce overzealous KYC and AML regulations, high trading fees, breaking customers privacy and various other problems, not forgetting the useless customer support, cough!… CoinBase.

LocalCoinSwap is attempting to solve these common problems, while at the same time avoiding the downfalls of centralized exchanges.

How does it work?

It is a decentralised marketplace, where individual users can buy and sell any any cryptocurrency with any possible payment method. There is no external exchange market here and it is hoping to hit a niche in the market, where users can exchange any cryptocurrency – not just the usual bitcoin.

Its main quality is that it really does cut out the middleman. It allows users to find a match other users on the platform using the LCS as a traditional escrow system, which helps secure the safe transaction of coins.

Its fees aren’t massive either – they will range from three to ten percent.

Who is behind it?

The young and innovative team behind LCS include Economics graduate, Nathan Worsely. He is a bit of a whizz, having already had a series of exciting and successful trading algorithms made and implemented.

He is the founder and CTO of LCS and is also the person behind Digital Assets Management Ltd. Worsely is also an experienced high volume P2P trader on LocalBitcoins.com himself.

The CFO of the team is Thomas Underwood. He is an accounting graduate, with experience as a financial analyst and business development manager, with roles at major Australian and international private companies. He is also the Australian Regional Manager for TradingView.com
Token

LocalCoinSwap practices what it preaches – it has its own token, called LCS. Its an active cryptoshare and for anyone considering it, you should know that the platform wants to distribute literally 100 percent of profits made by their p2p exchange service to the respective shareholders.

Thus, if you get in on the ground level, you could be in for a big chunk of cash as the business grows. LCS holders will also get airdrops of new listed ICO tokens on the LocalCoinSwap platform.

The total supply of LCS tokens is 100 million units, with 70 million of them being distributed through the various crowdsale stages. Meanwhile, there are 20 million reserved for sale at a later date.

Ten million have also been reserved for the platform in order to operate and keep updating their services.

If transparency is important to you, then you’re in luck as LCS will adhere to that in its entirety. Their OpenSource code on GitHub will be accessible by everyone.

The starting price of an LCS is set to 0.0004 ETH, making 1 ETH equal to 2500 LCS.

Investment Details
Type: Cryptoshare
Symbol: LCS
Platform: Ethereum
Pre-Sale: March 2018
Public Sale: Apr. 15, 2018
Hard Cap: $20.000.000 USD
Payments Accepted: ETH, BTC, LTC, BCH, DASH, ETC, USD, EUR, GBP and other fiat currencies (KYC Required)

Website: https://www.localcoinswap.com/

LocalCoinSwap independent review

Peer-to-peer crypto exchanges are hot stuff at the moment with many users preferring them over centralised alternatives, they solve many of the faults and bugbears that currently exist. From our independent research we believe that LocalCoinSwap will rapidly take a large chunk of the P2P trading volume when it launches in August 2018 from its closest competitors due to the multi coin support which will open the platform to millions of new users. The team behind LocalCoinSwap are no strangers to the crypto world, they bring experience from technical, academic and financial backgrounds.

LocalCoinSwap is officially registered in the HongKong jurisdiction under their trading name Digital Assets Management Ltd which was incorporated in 2015 originally operating as a private hedge fund operating by two of the staff members

LocalCoinSwap’s Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Underwood, brings experience from TradingView and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting and Finance from Griffith University.

The firms CTO, Nathan Worsley, brings experience from another crypto project called Webcoin and also holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from The University of Queensland.

Daniel Worsley holds the position of COO at the firm and rightly so, with experience advising the Musards ICO, 1 year as a financial planner and two Bachelor’s degrees in finance and Economics.

The LocalCoinSwap White Paper does not contain any red herrings, its unique and consistent in what it aims to achieve with clear goals for the future. It does not appear to be any plagiarisation from competitors

Unlike many other token sales the legal aspect of carrying out an ICO has been taken seriously by bringing three key advisors into the mix, this includes Mr. David S. LEE, Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Law at Hong Kong University, Dr. Artem Sergeev, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Hong Kong and Frank Zhu who’s currently an analyst at major investment bank based in HK who all advising the LocalCoinSwap ICO on its legal positions.

Another key advisor on the board is former FCA Registered Representative (1993-2012) Mario Innecco, who undoubtedly brings a wealth of financial experience to the project.

We have given LocalCoinSwap a rating of 4.5/5.

Every ICO Needs a Blockchain: How to Compare Developers, Services and Prices

These days, blockchain is creating a lot of buzz and it’s becoming easier than ever before to include it as part of a company’s tech stack, or as a central component to an up and coming ICO.

Buzz aside, blockchain is simply another way that structured data is stored. The key difference is that it has a lot of unique features, compared to other databases. Blockchain is a network of interconnected peer nodes that stores a chain of consecutively connected data blocks. Such architecture is called “peer-to-peer” and it is absolutely essential when one or more of the following elements are present in your product:

  • The solution relies on data entered by several parties — or several hundreds of them.
  • Participants are not known to each other and therefore have not established trust.
  • Third-party interference with transactions must be prevented.
  • The data must be handled in the most secure manner.

The great thing about blockchain is that all of the data in blockchain is accessible to all users simultaneously, yet no one can make modifications without the knowledge of all of the parties involved. This is how blockchain grows trust in the solution and safeguards transaction permissions. All data inside blockchain is also cryptographically protected. What’s more, the process is transparent and fast because the middleman is excluded. It’s clear to see why blockchain is quickly growing in popularity.

Yet, despite all of the increased attention from the media and businesses, blockchain has not proved to be so useful that it has become mainstream. Right now it’s just a tool that has its pros and cons, which you need to remember if you want to create a startup based on blockchain. By 2025, industry analysts expect blockchain to be fully matured and a mainstream component of the capital market ecosystem. Let’s not forget- this is still 7 years and many billions (if not trillios) of dollars in investment away. In 2018, blockchain may not be the most relevant tech solution for your startup.

If you plan to build a solution that relates to finance, insurance, or transaction exchange of any kind based on peer-to-peer architecture, blockchain is the only way to go. The question is no longer whether blockchain can be developed as more than just the foundation for cryptocurrencies, but how development will happen, and by whom.

Choosing the right blockchain development company for your ICO solution is like hiring a crew to build your new house. Finding the right company to develop the blockchain for your ICO project means looking at core competencies, contractual models offered, and services provided. Let’s discuss these important factors to help you identify which company is most suitable for your blockchain project. Some of these factors include:

Technological stack
Blockchains are built using several standard programming languages including C++, C#, JavaScript, Python, Java, Node.JS, Golang, and Perl, among other common languages. Smart contracts that run on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) are written in Solidarity. Blockchain development company such as Krusche & Co also have expertise in cryptography and cryptocurrencies, distributed ledgers, consensus methods, decentralized technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), P2P networks, and online security. Insufficient knowledge of these subjects may compromise the entire success of your ICO.

Scope of services
Picking the right software firm for your project means picking one that has experience in writing the kind of software you need. Some companies specialize in writing applications and point-of-sale interfaces for Bitcoin. Others only write smart contracts that will run on Ethereum. Starting prices also depend on the depth of their expertise.

Some firms work on various web and software development projects and only occasionally on blockchain projects, so their minimum project price can be around $5000.

Some development companies specialize in cloud, web, AI and blockchain working both with startups and established enterprises. The minimum size of a project they will undertake is $10,000.

At the other end of the spectrum, companies with lots of experience in blockchain technologies focus solely on ICOs and cryptocurrency technologies. They may build advanced applications for healthcare, banking, finance, eCommerce, education, telecom and will likely start working on a project with a minimum starting price of $25,000.

Proven track record
Ask the companies that you are reviewing for recommendations; look for reviews online on websites such as Clutch, Facebook, and Google+. Look at LinkedIn and which of your contacts have the founders of the company in their network and ask them for opinions. Check reviews to get a more holistic understanding of the company.

Geography
Language barriers may not be a problem since English is commonly used, but cultural and time zone differences may affect communication. Besides, you want to have a software development company as your partner and problem solver, so they can advise you, not only to write the code. One of the clear advantages of Krusche & Co is that the company has offices in most of the global development centers and we pride ourselves on our customer-first focus.

Being clever with modern tech only goes so far for businesses. ICO entrepreneurs can benefit from partnering with developers with a proven record of success. If you’ve reached this point and you still think that blockchain is right for your ICO, then it’s essential to set your project up for success. If you’re ready, then come and talk to experienced blockchain professionals to decide the best course of action.

About the author: Michael Krusche is the CEO and founder of Krusche Company. With more than 20 years of experience in IT industry, Michael has both a passion and reputation for helping grow businesses through digital transformation. He is especially passionate about blockchain development.

Blockchain For Private Messaging?

Invasion of privacy has become a commonplace occurrence due to the greater amount of technology that is being utilized in our everyday lives. People are economically dependent upon the global central-banking system and reluctantly trust their Government to keep life fair. Most of us have forgotten what true independence feels like, due to the economic pressure that has been forced into our lives. Technology is advancing rapidly, and most are reluctant to keep up, let alone take the time to understand if it’s causing harm to us. We all have the right to keep certain things about ourselves private, so stop and think before you install that next cool application onto your smartphone. Read the permissions and ask yourself if it’s worth it.

Technology does have its purpose, we are beginning to see the dawn of a new era of technological breakthrough that is bound to change the playing field. It’s called the “Blockchain”. The Blockchain has introduced a means that can implement fairness and democracy once again. For the first time in history there has never been an opportunity of this sort that could impact our desire to achieve individual freedom, independence, or even convert the world into unprecedented unity. For eons we have been led and misled for the purpose of entertaining the elite few that are in charge. Let me introduce you to a genuine example of how this technology is being utilized today. This is only a small step into the vast sea of solutions that will become available in the near future due to the creation of blockchain technology, but it is one that you can utilize today.

The ADAMANT Messenger is a brilliant conception. ADAMANT deploys cryptography into this blockchain-based application to achieve a totally anonymous messaging service that is sure to change the Crypto world. The ADAMANT team has developed a messenger that serves as a private wallet for its unique encrypted currency. The attraction for utilizing this as a web-based application allows accessibility on any device. When a message is created, it is only visible on the device being used, then fully encrypted when sent, and decrypted on the consensual receiving end only. The message is totally hidden within the blockchain.

There are some huge advantages and perks for using ADAMANT Messenger. There is no access to the users location information, no user identification can be acquired (not even their address book), and no accessibility to the users private key or mnemonic phrase. ADAMANT accounts can not be closed, blocked or limited by anyone, including the developers. The only trace of any message written can only be seen, when the user of the message (protected by a highly encrypted mnemonic phrase) decides to view it. Not even the developers have the capacity to view messages. The program code for the ADAMANT Messenger and blockchain are open-source; the prospect for future development is realistic. Certified authenticity for the message sender and its recipient, “MITM-attack protection” (this kind of attack will be detected, because the sender identificator will be changed); The security provided by the following encryption schemes already exist: Ed25519 EdDSA, Curve25519, Salsa20, и Poly1305.

Go to https://msg.adamant.im, create your wallet and receive .49 in ADM tokens for free to begin messaging.

Utilizing ADAMANT (the ADM token) as a legitimate form of payment provides anonymity unlike no other Cryptocurrency, because ADAMANT operates completely-independent from all other services and blockchains. ADAMANT is built as a self-sufficient system, along with a fast and efficient transaction speed with a 5-second block time. ADM is used as a transfer fee for messaging, direct payments and other additional system functions in order to maintain the entire network infrastructure. It makes sense that ADAMANT can become one of the most trusted and reliable Cryptocurrencies found today.

Get ADM tokens while the Project still in the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) stage. Begin using the ADAMANT Messenger today, with no commitment, or verification needed.

Sean Kirtz, CEO of ICO Services Inc. Calls for A More Decentralized World

Someone, somewhere back in 2008 decided to publish a whitepaper with the intent of building a disruptive and innovative technology way ahead of it’s time. 10 years later, this revolutionary technology is on the headlines of every major newspaper in the world, and now serves as the backbone technology powering Bitcoin and most other digital currencies, needless to say, we’re talking about block-chain technology, sometimes also called the distributed ledger technology.

And of course, we should never fail to remember the man, the myth, and the legend Satoshi Nakamoto, I’m sure you know who that is, right? (oh wait, no one really does!) — The mysterious creator of Bitcoin, as well as Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, are two of the most prominent and industry-recognized figures in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.

But you may or may not have heard of Sean Kirtz—the 33-year old ambitious entrepreneur, blockchain specialist, and software engineer by profession from San Juan, Puerto Rico — is also among the most influential people in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sphere.

While he may not be as famous and well-known as Satoshi Nakamoto or Vitalik Buterin, Sean Kirtz is beyond any doubt one of the most influential people in the blockchain space having made great contributions to the industry by helping startups and everyday people better navigate this perplexing and tech-savvy space.

From crypto trading and advising blockchain projects to creating his own ICO and ICO marketing agency, Sean Kirtz have done it all in this space and is still determined to continue his way to reaching new levels of success and progress towards his mission of helping blockchain projects decentralize everything and give the power back to the people.

Sean Kirtz is also the owner of a large Facebook group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts called Bitcoin Day Traders (Whale’s Club) created to help crypto traders and investors connect with other like-minded people. In addition, Sean Kirtz was also the founder of CloutNetwork, a blockchain-based user-generated content platform.

But currently, Sean Kirtz is more focused on his new company ICO Services, a full-service blockchain marketing and consulting agency created to help ICO startups to develop, market, and raise funds to fulfill their goals and visions.

With the growing number of new ICO projects coming out everyday, Sean Kirtz believes that not all of them are prepared and have the necessary planning and strategies to raise the necessary funding for their business.

‘’I think that it’s getting very diluted and majority of the ideas are not well thought out’’, says Sean Kirtz, CEO of ICO Services, Inc.

For this reason, Sean Kirtz believes the days where an ICO project could raise 10 million dollars in less than 60 seconds with a fancy website and whitepaper are long gone.

In other words, blockchain entrepreneurs looking to launch their ICO nowadays need a much more efficient token structure, marketing strategy, and community building skills, as well as solid connections and advisors to make it in today’s super competitive and increasingly-sophisticated ICO space.

Fortunately, Sean Kirtz’s ICO Services have thought about that beforehand and are now working with numerous game-changing ICO projects to help them advertise their idea, raise funds and building a strong, supportive community to realize their business objectives and decentralize their respective industry.

Sean Kirtz, who was an ICO advisor to Patron, the blockchain-based Japanese influencer marketing platform that raised $40 million USD Dollars, is now offering his consulting services and in-depth industry knowledge and experience to help ICO startups to properly launch their ICO and raise funding to transform their ideas into million-dollar businesses.

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/icoservices/

Gana – Motivated Investors Get 100 Gana Tokens For Free

GANA is the blockchain company providing personal assistant services and business intelligence to the cannabis industry. The team that successfully combines AI and сannabis industry gives everyone an opportunity to take part in token public sale from May, 21 till July 20th, 2018.

Moreover, now investors can get 100 GANA tokens for free if they register for the white list! To get listed, you need to go through KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Cannabis and AI

Cannabis is one of the most fast-growing industry in the North America, and definitely one of the most exciting to invest into. Artificial intelligence (AI) implementation has also been a highly popular trend – and GANA combines these two in a perfect mix.

GANA uses AI as the base for its recommendation system. How many times have you seen the phrase “Customers who bought this item also bought…”. This feature works as a recommendation system that understands your taste better than anyone else. Amazon, Youtube, Netflix and Facebook all use similar methods to recommend media content, and to provide it, they use the data they collected from their customers.

“The cannabis industry has faced many changes in the course of its fast legalization around the globe. The market is growing exponentially, and we believe that the number of cannabis users will also increase,” – says Gapseong Noh, CEO of the project. “More products and more content will be created for them. Digitizing cannabis user activities will provide us with data to create a relevant systems of recommendations.”

About Gana
GANA aims to become the first – and the biggest contributor in this field. Such information as media contents and munchiz is collected and processed by the AI to provide the best possible experience, services and products for the cannabis users as the industry grows.

For more information on how to do KYC, please follow the link.

About Gana Token
GANA will issue 2,400,000,000 tokens. Half of this amount will be sold during the public sale, with the token rate of 1 ETH = 20,000 GANA tokens.

8.3% of tokens have already been distributed in the course of the private sale.
Another 41.7% will be available during the mainsale.